Description

The Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA is a lovely campground nestled on the banks of the Belle Fourche River with the looming Devils Tower as a spectacular backdrop. The KOA is just outside of Devils Tower National Monument, Americas first national monument, and is part of the historic Campstool Ranch, owned by the Driskill Family for six generations. Famously, the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed in the area in 1976, and the campground shows the film nightly.

Location

Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA
60 WY-110
Devils Tower, WY 82714
Park: (307) 467-5395
Latitude: 44.588465 N, Longitude: -104.699103 W, Elevation: ~3,845 feet (1,171 m)

Details

We stayed for seven nights at the Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA in late August of 2017. This is a clean and well maintained campground featuring many amenities and a spectacular view of the Devils Tower. The campground staff was friendly and helpful during our stay. 

Cost

For seven nights at a 50 amp full hookup pull-thru site, we paid about $60 per night, including tax and our KOA Value Kard Rewards Discount. There were no fees for pets or an extra vehicle.

Amenities On Site or Nearby

The campground offers the basic amenities expected from a KOA, including full and partial hookup sites, dry tent sites, rental cabins, RV dump station, propane, firewood, restrooms and showers, game room, laundry room, playground, horseshoes, tether-ball, volleyball, dog run, and swimming pool. The park features a restaurant, snack shop, trading post and general store with basic groceries, household goods, camping supplies, souvenirs and tourist info for the local area. An US post office is conveniently located on-site. A small grocery store, gas station, restaurants, and some automotive services are nearby in Hulett, WY(10 miles). A larger choice of services and shopping are available in Belle Fourche, South Dakota (52 miles) or Rapid City, South Dakota (107 miles).

Ratings (1-5)

Accessibility – 4/5

The campground is easily accessible from highway US-24. Lanes in the park are well-maintained gravel. The park has both pull-thru and back-in sites and can accommodate large rigs. The campground facilities have provisions for Universal access.

Facilities/Amenities – 4/5

The campground offers the basic amenities expected from a KOA, including full and partial hookup sites, dry tent sites, rental cabins, RV dump station, propane, firewood, restrooms and showers, game room, laundry room, playground, horseshoes, tether-ball, volleyball, bike rentals, dog run, and swimming pool. Facilities are clean and well maintained. Staff was friendly and helpful.

The park features a restaurant, snack shop, trading post and general store with basic groceries, household goods, camping supplies, souvenirs and tourist info for the local area. The park features nightly hayrides through the historic Campstool Ranch, as well as nightly showings of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The Belle Fourche River is open for fishing.

Site quality – 3/5

Sites are basic, including only the full or partial hookups with 50/30/20 amp electric and a picnic table. Sites are gravel with a grassy lawn. Sites are wide enough to accommodate slide-outs and awnings with a fair amount of separation between sites. Some sites have a fire-box/grill. Scattered cottonwoods and other trees provide shade for some of the campground sites.

Scenic Value – 5/5

The campground is nicely landscaped and has a spectacular view of the Devils Tower, as well as the cottonwood lowlands and red cliffs along the Belle Fourche River.

Location/Isolation – 4/5

The campground is quite remote from any other town or busy highway, but is also a very popular and heavily used park. The campground is generally quiet, but is very busy weekends and during peak travel season. During the day, a long line of traffic queues up just outside of the campground at the entrance to Devils Tower National Monument.

Paws Friendliness – 4/5

The campground is pet friendly and has a large enclosed pet run with cleanup bags. The campground is large enough for a decent walk with your pet.

Overall Rating – 4/5

Overall, the Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA campground is a lovely place to stay while exploring Devils Tower National Monument and surrounding area. We enjoyed our stay and look forward to another visit sometime in the future.

Additional info

Internet access

We received a moderate 4G Verizon signal at this campground. We did not need to deploy our cellular antenna booster to improve MiFi hot spot internet access. The campground provided free WiFi, but we did not use this during our stay.

Water Quality

The water at this campground tested hard – we added our water softener to the water filtration stack.

Nearby attractions

Here are a few local attractions and activities:

• Devils Tower National Monument
• Keyhole State Park
• Vore Buffalo Jump
• Jewel Cave
• Golf Club at Devils Tower
• Climbing, hiking, biking, fishing

Photos