Mount Rushmore KOA Resort at Palmer Gulch Reviews

Overall, decent stay. A lot of fun things to do- horses were our favorite. Unfortunately, the pool near the lodge was always full and we could never get on the pickleball court, like we wanted. We stayed in one of the rooms for 3 nights and not once was our room cleaned up- I did not know until the last day that they don't come in the rooms without a request- this needs to be communicated at check-in (a family of four- there were towels piling up on the floor and would've been nice to have our trash taken out, plus we had to go to the desk to ask for toiletries and fresh towels). The lodge has very limited breakfast items (just cereals, muffins, yogurt, etc); would've been nice to have a free hot meal. TV didn't work for 3-4 days (offered very low compensation for this). While the front desk was overall helpful, there were times they could get snarky/short. Would've loved a fitness center/gym offered. Beds were comfortable. Water pressure in shower was good. Room on arrival was clean. Would come again.

We planned our vacation to the Mount Rushmore KOA Resort based on a recommendation from a friend. Since we aren't campers, we opted for a camping cabin, thinking it would be a comfortable alternative to traditional camping. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The website notes that the cabins do not have air conditioning, but it also suggests that it's not needed because temperatures cool off significantly at night. While that may be true under normal circumstances, it wasn't our experience. We visited during a stretch of upper-90-degree temperatures, and our cabin received direct sunlight for most of the day. Because of the cabin's location and window configuration, there was very little airflow. We ran three fans 24 hours a day and kept the front door open whenever we were at the site, yet the cabin didn't reach a reasonably comfortable temperature until after 1:00 a.m. each night. In addition to the heat, the beds were extremely uncomfortable. The mattresses were so firm that we may as well have been sleeping on the ground in a tent. The bottom bunk was especially difficult to use. There was very little clearance, making it hard to crawl in, roll over, or get out. I hit my head multiple times throughout the night. While the camping cabin was not a good fit for us, the resort itself was nice. The property is very large, but they also pack a lot of campsites into the available space. Our cabin site included a picnic table and fire ring, but there wasn't much additional room. We're used to having space to spread out, set up a grill, toss a ball around, and relax, and that wasn't really possible at our site. The bathrooms appeared to be recently renovated. The shower stalls were somewhat small and the water pressure could have been better, but everything was very clean and well maintained. The pools were decent and provided a welcome way to cool off, when they weren't temporarily closed for hygiene-related issues. I do wish there had been more shade around the pool area, such as umbrellas or covered seating. Because one of the pools was closed multiple times during our stay, everyone crowded into the remaining pool. It became too crowded for us to want to get in, and there wasn't enough shaded seating for parents who simply wanted to watch their kids swim. Ultimately, after two nights of miserable sleeping conditions, we decided to cut our stay short and move to a hotel. The staff were very understanding and apologetic about our experience. They refunded the unused nights without hesitation, and I was genuinely grateful for that level of customer service. Overall, if you're an avid camper who doesn't mind dealing with the elements, or if you're traveling in an RV, this is likely a great campground. As for us, we learned an important lesson the hard way: we're just not campers.