RV Park Review – Hart Ranch RV Resort, Rapid City, SD

September 27, 2015 by libertatemamo 14 Comments

A VERY nice private RV resort just south of Rapid City in SW South Dakota. This is advertised as a members only park, but they allow non-members to stay (you call 24-hours ahead of time to reserve) depending on time of year and availability.

Link to RV park info here: Hart Ranch RV Resort, Rapid City, SD
Link to map location here: Hart Ranch RV Resort, Rapid City, SD

1. Site quality = 5/5
   Excellent sites here. The majority of the sites are large, perfectly flat back-ins, full hookup (50amp/water/sewer plus cable TV) with spacious concrete parking area for the RV and a nice, concrete “sitting area” containing picnic table and space to put up extra chairs & outdoor stuff. A few sites offer partial hookups (50amp/water) and there is also a small, separate tenting area and rentable cabins. Lots of individual trash cans (every few sites or so) and also LOTS of green all around. Each site has generous slices of grass (both to the side and back) interspersed with mature trees. Unlike many private parks it doesn’t feel cramped at all and you have room to breathe. RVers with pets are allocated to a separate section near the pet area, but there’s absolutely no difference in quality between this and the other areas of the park.
2. Facilities = 4/5
   Very nice facilities here with just one ding. There are several facility buildings located throughout the park. Each building has showers, with several individual “shower stall units” containing flush toilet, sink, mirror, bench and clothing hooks. Only ding is that the showers are a tad dated (older tile, older shower heads), but otherwise they are impeccably clean and very spacious. Each building also has a very nice laundry facility with brand new laundry machines that offer very reasonable wash and dry rates ($1.75 for wash, $1.25 for dry).
3. Amenities = 5/5
   Outstanding amenities here! Honestly there’s just about everything (and more) that I could EVER think of in a private RV park. This place is HUGE and has an on-site lodge, mini-mart, restaurant, gas station (!). Recreation-wise there is a large pool (although it was partially drained when we were here), hot tubs, pickle-ball courts, tennis courts, mini-golf, game room, sand volleyball court. They even have an 18-hole miniature golf course, 9-hole frisbee golf course and 9-hole pasture golf course. Plus you can request trail rides, play paintball, ride on the BMX/RC racetrack and rent bicycles. And if that wasn’t enough there is an extensive social calender offering get-togethers, water aerobics, potlucks and more. Extra bonus? The park offers free WiFi and it WORKS. They also offer a premium WiFi service, but we didn’t feel the need to use it. Phew! I think that’s just about everything.
4. Location = 5/5
   This is a great location to explore Rapid City and the surrounding area. You are just south of town (less than 15 mins away), but you’re also well set-back from the main highway so it’s convenient, but also extremely quiet and green. No road-noise at all.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   Very, very dog-friendly spot. RVers with pets are put in a separate section of the park near the pet-walk area which is a HUGE green field (literally the size of a football field) with poo bags and ample trash bins provided. There are also two separate, large fenced-in area for off-leash fun. In addition there is a walking/hiking around most of the park which makes for fairly extensive walks.

Overall rating = 4.8
BONUS ALERT = Camp in a spacious and green resort just minutes from downtown Rapid City!

Summary: This is one of those places that calls itself a resort and actually LIVES up to that name! It’s HUGE, spanning more than 195 acres and offers 413 full hook-up and 48 partial hook-up RV in a lovely, quiet, green environment. All sites are very nice, flat concrete pads with a generous amount of green and space interspersed with mature trees. Unlike most private parks this didn’t feel cramped at all. Amenities are out the wazoo including pool, courts, game-room, mini-golf, disc-golf, regular golf, trail rides, paintball you-name-it. Plus there’s even on-site mini-mart, gas and restaurant. Doggie-wise there is an ENORMOUS doggie-field as well as several fenced-in areas, and the fact that you’re set well back from the highway means the entire park feels very quiet and relaxed. Everything green is well-kept and trimmed and there are pots of colorful flowers by all the buildings. The park is targeted as a membership resort, so the majority of folks here are on a membership plan. However they do allow non-members to stay depending on space and time of year. Non-members can call 24-hours (no more) ahead of time to check availability. Stay limit is 2 nights at a time (in high-season, you can keep checking back every 2 days if you want to stay longer) or unlimited (in off-season). Pricing is a pricey $59.95/night in high-season (May 22 through Sep 6), but a very reasonable $31.95/night off-season, and obviously much cheaper for members. We came here in the off-season to renew our drivers licenses in town, and if we weren’t on a time crunch we’d have stayed much longer. The folks at the registration desk were lovely (and knew exactly what documents to prepare for our DMV appointment) and the resort was pleasant and inviting, with not the slightest hint of snobbishness. Plus no-one tried to sell us on a membership (something I really appreciated). We really felt comfortable here! A VERY nice RV park that I’d definitely recommend to others.

Extra Info: Free on-site WiFi which works well. Also excellent Verizon & ATT signal (4-5 bars of LTE). Extensive on-site amenities including several laundry areas. 413 full hook-up (50amp/water/sewer plus cable TV) and 48 partial hook-up RV (50amp/water). Sites for non-members cost $59.95/night in high season (May 22 through Sep 6), $31.95 in off-season. Non-members can stay for 2-nights at a time in high season (you check-back every 2 days to stay longer) or unlimited time in off-season. No discounts except if you are a member of the park. See more info HERE.