While the Badlands is very remote in relation to restaurants and grocery stores, this KOA had it all right there for us. The Badlands/White River KOA Holiday is about 5 miles down the road from the national park entrance in Interior, SD. The staff was super friendly and knowledgeable! This KOA has a lot of recreational options to enjoy when you finish with the park each day. Here are our pros and cons to this little fella:
PROS:
- This KOA has a pool and a dog park!
- I was able to get a package delivered here! 🙂
- There is a little cook shack that offers breakfast and dinner options if needed; you get a pancake ticket or two when you check in to swap for a double stack of pancakes. (this was a bonus as grocery stores were 45-50 minutes away)
- Most sites are shaded and we were upgraded to full hookups rather than just Electric/Water. I think they may have done some updates after we booked – see the map above!
CONS:
- The cell service here is nonexistent. Be prepared with an internet option for communicating with family and friends.
- Summer mosquitos… seriously vicious, even though they spray for them at least once a week.
- The pool is on the smaller side for such a large KOA – best times to hit the pool are between 11-2 (check out/check in times).
- The weather can be great, and the weather can be trash in the Badlands. We had great weather until our last night when a huge thunderstorm ravaged the camp with hail. Such is weather in the Badlands, not really a fault of the KOA but just be aware and prepared.
- We were not super impressed by the drinking water here, and were glad we stocked up on gallons of water and water bottles before we arrived.
We really enjoyed the amenities at this KOA since there was really nowhere else to go close by other than the national park! lol – Let us know if you get to visit this one! 🙂