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Stacy
Trip Date 08/06/2020 Posted On 03/10/2021 09:09:09 |
Camping | South Dakota | Black Hills | Northern Black Hills | Piedmont | Sturgis | Sacora Station RV Park and Campground | Sacora Station | Passport America
Especially during the summer months, visitors from all around the world head for the hills. In addition to camping and hiking, the most adventurous of travelers participate in active or extreme sports. Whether it's the Northern or Southern Hills, even those less adventurous will love their time in the Black Hills!
Our search for campgrounds near Sturgis found Sacora Station RV Park and Campground. Located just 15 miles from downtown Sturgis, the city of Piedmont, South Dakota is a good place for lodging when exploring the Northern Black Hills. Depending on the dates of your visit, if you are a Passport America member, you may even qualify for a discount.
Before making a reservation, be sure to read about our three night experience at Sacora Station. In this article you'll find an overview of the campground and amenities. We also share details on the park's pluses and minuses from our perspective. If you do decide to reserve a spot, you'll also find our favorite campsites at Sacora Station as well as why we liked them. If they are available, you may be able to make a request!
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Reserving a Spot at Sacora Station
We originally planned an 8 night stay in Custer for our exploration of the Black Hills. After reviewing our itinerary, we realized that we should split our time between two cities. Custer was perfect for seeing the Southern Black Hills, but we wanted another campground to save driving time when exploring the Northern Hills.The problem was that the timing of our trip was just days before the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The rally attracts more than a half million people, many of whom stay in the area's campgrounds. When the demand goes up, surge pricing kicks in. The prices at some campgrounds that we considered were 250% higher than regular summer rates!
We found Sacora Station Campground in Piedmont through our Passport America app. Although our dates did not qualify for a discount, the standard rates were lower than anyplace else that we found. The campground had fewer amenities, however we planned to spend most of our time out and about any way.
Less than 5 1/2 weeks before our arrival, we called and reserved a site. Payment in full ($162.00) was due at the time that our reservation was made.
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Arriving at Sacora Station
When calling to make our reservation, we had asked if there would be a place where we could unhitch and park our RV beginning mid-morning on our day of arrival. We planned to get to the campground before check-in time and knew that we would be anxious to get out and about exploring (without our travel trailer). We were assured that would not be a problem.We arrived at about 10:30 AM and were promptly greeted. Even better than what was promised when making our reservation, we were immediately able to set up in our site!
First, Scott joined the host and rode around in her "buggy" to select a site from those that were unoccupied. After selecting campsite 7, we positioned "RV There Yet?" in the site, disconnected our tow vehicle and got set up. Shortly thereafter, we were off to take in some of the nearby sights.
The roads within the campground were a mix of asphalt and gravel. Driving around, we could see that there were a number of longer-term residents living in RVs as well as tenants in mobile homes.
The Positives From Our Three Night Stay
First and foremost, the price of $54.00 per night of camping in the days just before the Sturgis Rally was a big positive. While the rate was higher than our average nightly cost over the past three years, compared to nearby places at this time of year, it was a bargain!
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Parking in our site (# 7) was pull-through, and we had 30-/50-amp electric and on-site water. There were no trees, but we did have a generous-sized covered patio. Dumpsters were available at the campground and we didn't see trash laying around.
Telephone and data service with both of our carriers, Verizon and T-Mobile was good. While we were primarily only at the campground in the mid-to-late evenings, there was a decent selection of local broadcast television channels with good reception.
Although we didn't have a chance to take a tour of the inside, the exterior of the cabins available for rent at the campground looked nice.
We also didn't make time for a visit to the Flathead Saloon, located at the entrance to the campground. We did see several groups of people who seemed to be enjoying themselves. The saloon reportedly offers live bands, karaoke and games including cornhole, darts and pool.
We did do our traditional walk about the park in search of our favorite sites:
- The winner was site 23, a pull through site with utilities properly positioned - assuming your RV is parked so that it is facing the highway. RVers at the site would also enjoy the benefit of afternoon shade.
- Our second favorite was site 22, also a pull through site. This site has a tall tree on each side, and is therefore well shaded. During our visit, the site did have a wooden picnic table, however it was not covered.
The only drawback of our two favorite sites is that they are very near the highway.
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The Downside of Our Three Night Stay
Parking at campsite 7 was on an unlevel gravel pad (sloped side to side). The site also had some fairly deep ruts which meant being extremely cautious as you walked near the RV. Hopefully, these have been filled in since our departure.Although our site was technically a full-service site, the set-up was different from the norm. The 30-/50-amp electric hookup was on the opposite side than is traditional. Fortunately we were able to park close enough for our cord to reach. The campground had no dump and, during our three night stay, our sewer hookup was unavailable as a neighboring RV had connected to it. (Fortunately our stay was short and we did have a sewer connection at our upcoming campground, so it was not too difficult for us to make do.)
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Having a covered patio was nice, although there was no picnic table at our site. The patio was paved, however much of it was covered with gravel and sand. That may have been the reasoning behind the table being missing? At check-in, we were told that we could use the table on the opposite side of our trailer. We were able to take advantage of the table during one night of our stay. On our final morning when we planned to use it again, it was unfortunately occupied!
The bathhouse was dated and the women's restroom was not well cleaned when we arrived. In terms of cleanliness, it was more similar to a traditional campground than most RV parks.
Sacora Station Campground is very near Interstate 90, making it easily accessible for travelers. The downside of being near the highway is road noise. Our space was several rows away from the interstate, and we could still hear highway noise. Because of the sand and gravel throughout the park, there was also a lot of dust, plus we noticed a heavy concentration of flies.
The campground swimming pool was closed (and empty) during our stay. We originally thought that the pandemic was the reason for its closure. On closer inspection, the pool appeared that it may have been empty for longer than just one season.
On our first night in the campground, the WiFi connection was excellent. As it got nearer to the beginning of the rally, the park got busier and the internet connection was intermittent, at best.
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The "WE Stayed Here" Bottom Line
Sacora Station is in a good location for getting around the Northern Black Hills and, for our three night stay, the price was right. As you may have guessed by this point however, the negatives outweighed the positives during our stay. (I truly hate to have to say this, but I vow to always be truthful in our blog.)Although there aren't too many places that we would prefer not to return to, Sacora Station definitely is on that list. It actually may be the first campground on the Wordy Explorers' "do not return list"! We felt bad that we brought Scott's brother and sister-in-law to stay here on their first ever RV trip with us. Fortunately, other places that we stayed helped to make up for our three nights at Sacora Station.
Since leaving, I stumbled upon a review that, in my opinion, sums up the campground based on our experience, "If you are desperately looking for a spot to just sleep, this is fine".
I've also read that the current owners are relatively new to the park and plan on doing some improvements. It may be worth checking Sacora Station out in the not too distant future.
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Places to Visit in the Northern Hills of South Dakota
If you are headed to the Black Hills, have no fear about finding things to see and do to fill your time. Our recent article, "Guide to Sturgis and 9 Must Sees in the Northern Black Hills" includes 10 great places to help with your planning. Our stay in Piedmont was convenient to all ten, as would a stay in Sturgis or another nearby city.Best Camping in the Northern Hills
What's your favorite campground or RV park in the Northern Black Hills?
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Related Wordy Explorers Original Posts:
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