It is 388 miles or 6.5 hours of travel from Chatfield to Fort Welikit Campground in Custer South Dakota. I typically don’t like driving that long with the girls (Hannah and Kendra), but the temperatures would only be reaching the upper 80’s towards the end of the trip which makes it a little more bearable. When traveling we usually are stopping at a wayside every two to three hours to spell the girls and give them some water. They look forward to getting out of the truck but as soon as they do their business they want to get right back in again. My girls are smart; they know the difference between a rest stop and a campground.
As soon as we arrive at a campground, even though the truck is still hooked up to the trailer when they get out, they go potty and head for the trailer door. The next thing they do is “guzzle” a nice long drink of water. Then they will lay down, or if the weather is nice they look out the door and watch me get the trailer set up for the night.
We left Chatfield State Park about 7:00 AM. I have to say, I hated leaving that park.
The drive to Fort Welikit Campground was long and for the most part uneventful. The mountains were to our left side for hours as we wound our way through Colorado and then Wyoming, finally crossing into South Dakota. There are some interesting man-made landmarks as you travel through Wyoming and South Dakota. On one hill there was a huge Buffalo and then maybe a hundred miles later a Cowboy.
As we got closer to the campground I remembered something Fort Welikit had posted on our email confirmation about getting into the campground. It stated that you should ignore your GPS and follow their written directions:
IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT TRUST YOUR GPS!
If coming from Rapid City on route 16, do NOT take the highway 87 turn off
to Sylvan Lake, continue on highway 16 into the town of Custer then turn
left on Mount Rushmore and proceed to highway 89/Sylvan lake road on your
left, we are 1 mile up on 89. There are low/narrow tunnels on highway 87
that your rig will not fit though.
DO NOT TRUST YOUR GPS!
If you were to follow your GPS and take SD-87 you would be in a world of hurt with your trailer. There is no way you would ever get through the tunnels.
Fort Welikit Campground is about one mile outside of the city of Custer South Dakota. I believe we rolled into the campground around 3:30 P.M., and I was happy we were going to be staying there for a few days. I became less happy when I saw our site. It was pretty difficult to get into because the roads are narrow and there are trees along the site (as you can see in the picture).
I should have known it was going to be hard to wedge in there because the person who checked us in warned us. She said we should try to be far right in the lane as we swing the rig into place. Another draw back is that our site was not level. As you can see there is a pretty significant slope up hill as you exit the trailer. Getting out of this spot would also be difficult, but we would figure that out later.
Welikit, we are the third trailer from the left
The campground gets great reviews on Google. The staff is nice and the facilities are decent, with clean bathrooms and a few laundry facilities. They include free wi-fi and cable TV at the full hook up sites. It’s very quiet and conveniently located for trips to Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, Keystone, Hill City, Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park, and more! They have a big dog run at the front of the campground but they could do a better job of keeping their grass mowed. The grass was pretty long in the field leading to the dog park so my shoes were soaked each morning. Other than that, no complaints.
You are going to spend about 41 dollars a night here for full hook up and that’s with an AAA, Good Sam. Active Military or Veteran discount. Its a good value when you compare it to a KOA where you may pay even more for a tiny site. For more information on Welikit Campground click here.
Speaking of KOA’s, there is the Mt Rushmore KOA which is much closer to Mount Rushmore than Welikit, but it is not the same KOA we stayed at with the kids 20+ years ago, and we stayed there many times.
We drove through it one day to see how much it had changed and it was horrible; small sites and it’s expanded beyond what I would think is reasonable for their amenities. There are people everywhere crossing through other sites to get to other spots in the campground. It was like being at Disney; we had our windows down and it was loud. This might be nice if you are looking for a resort type of campground with small kids and you’re not picky about how close you are to your neighbors, but it’s not for us. It confirmed to us that we made the right decision in staying at Fort Welikit.
I have to say, I love South Dakota. Maybe it’s because this is where our whole Travel Trailer Experience started back in 1990. The picture below is our first Travel Trailer with Jennifer and Jeff in 1990. This was the Mount Rushmore KOA before it got crazy. Look at the size of the sites – beautiful. The kids had a blast here and so did we. Jeff being only 4 years old referred to Mount Rushmore as “The Heads”, a term that has stuck with us over the years. Great memories with the kids! I wish I still had that travel trailer – it was a classic.
1971 Jayco JayWren and Jennifer and Jeff
We had a few different goals for visiting South Dakota:
- Mount Rushmore
- Keystone or Hill City
- Lake Sylvan
The first full day in Custer South Dakota we started out for Mount Rushmore. We’ve been to Rushmore at least five times maybe more, but I’ll go every time I get a chance. It never gets old or boring, it’s awe-inspiring. The pictures you might see of it really don’t do it justice, it’s huge and amazing. Every time we go to the monument it’s like I’m going for the first time, it never fails to impress. The sculpture aside, just the man who created it, Gutzon Borglum, is inspirational as well. His studio where he watched the work progress and made measurements to send to the men working on the mountain is still there. Unfortunately it was closed for some renovations while we were there.
John and Tammy – It doesn’t get any better than this!
Even though Borglum’s studio happened to be closed, there is still plenty to do here. There are plenty of trails, a museum, a movie about the history of the construction, and more. There is also a really nice and inexpensive restaurant there where you can get a really nice breakfast or lunch and dine on it while you look out the window at Rushmore.
Having breakfast with the Presidents
The visit to the monument is free but you will need to pay for Parking. Here’s the good part; the parking pass is good for a year. We went back the next day and had breakfast there again and relaxed. I can’t stress enough how much everyone needs to visit Mount Rushmore.
A great photo opportunity at a wayside next to the monument.
After a few hours it was on to Keystone, a great but touristy little spot about fifteen minutes or so from Rushmore. While we were walking around Tammy decided to purchase some moccasins at a local shop there. She’s a flip-flop moccasin sort of girl. After that we decided to walk the other side of the street and then I saw a beer sign. Apparently Ice Cream must be a pretty big draw at this place but I was happy to settle with a Pabst.
The weather couldn’t have been any nicer in Keystone so we sat there for about an hour and just watched all the people and all the travel trailers going by, It was amazing how many travel trailers were cruising through town. After the beer was finished we continued our walk down the street and went back to camp via Hill City.
Tammy and I were in Hill City last in 2010 I believe. We had come out west on our motorcycles and stayed at a motel on the edge of town. Well this city has changed a lot in eight years, the growth (or sprawl) was quite surprising. It’s still a great little city and if you get a chance take the steam train from Hill City to Keystone, it’s about an hour ride each way and well worth it. It’s the steepest grade of any railroad in the country (if I remember correctly).
Keystone – PBR, Moccasins, and People watching
Then back past the Crazy Horse monument and we were back at camp. We didn’t stop to see Crazy Horse. I don’t think it has progressed much since the last time we had seen it, and my guess is that it wont be completed for generations, not fact, just my opinion.
Day 2 – Sylvan Lake and Custer State Park.
Wow – what a disappointment…the parking at Sylvan Lake is atrocious. We went pretty early in the day but not early enough. You have to pay a pretty good price to get in and then to not be able to find parking smacks of a rip-off. On top of that, you can’t buy a one day pass – it’s a week pass, so if you are only there for a day it really is a rip off. Tammy had her heart set on walking around the lake there but it just wasn’t going to happen. So instead we decided we would go through Custer State Park and have some lunch. Custer State Park is miles and miles of very slow tight curves and some tunnels (see Picture Below).
Mirrors had to come in – Really tight fit
The scenery is beautiful, but given the road conditions; do not be surprised at how long it takes to drive through this park. Every once in a while there is a spot to stop for photos and a very occasional spot where you can have lunch. We found a spot for lunch and it became more crowded as we ate. What started as a pretty relaxing lunch became less so when some parents decided to let their kids run rampant at the rest area. Even so, it was a nice break.
Driving through Custer State Park is not something you can do quickly, so make sure you budget enough time if you have reservations somewhere.
After we got back to the trailer we did some research and decided to try out the Black Hills Burger and Bun Company Restaurant in Custer. We arrived at their location (which is about five minutes from camp) about fifteen minutes before they were set to open. after observing the line at the door I was glad we arrived early.
Black Hills Burgers and Bun Company
If you are anywhere near Custer South Dakota, you need to stop here for a burger – everything is fresh and delicious. They have limited hours for lunch and dinner so make sure you check out their hours of operation before you make plans to visit. It didn’t take very long before they were full and there was a line waiting to get a table. Check them out – you will be glad you did.
Day 3 – Time to Leave Custer South Dakota but not so fast!
We only have a 90 minute ride to the Badlands/White River KOA, so there is plenty of time to drive back to Lake Sylvan (remember we have a week pass) and try to take a walk around the lake. We got there shortly after the park opened and parking was not an issue. Sylvan Lake is located in Custer State Park. It was created in 1881 when a dam was constructed across Sunday Gulch Creek. The park has spots where you can picnic, rent boats (non-motorized), go swimming, or hike the trails.
A foggy cold day at Sylvan Lake
Sylvan Lake
It was surprisingly cool for a mid July morning but walking the trail around the lake got my internal temperature up quickly. The trail around the lake is not an easy one. There are many uneven and steep areas around the lake. Quite frankly sometimes I wondered if we were still on the right trail. I would guess to walk around the lake will take you at least 30 – 45 minutes. You can see the water falls (dam) about half way around the lake. Overall a nice place to take a morning walk.
By the time we got back to the truck, the parking lot was starting to fill up. Many folks were meeting to hike and go rock climbing. As we rolled back into Custer we could see the city setting up baracades for a Parade. Our plan was to leave town at about 10:30, and it was now about 8:50. I told Tammy we needed to beat feet out of there since it looked like we were going to have our only exit through town blocked off. Tammy replied that she didn’t think we needed to leave early; then asked me to pull over so she could talk to someone about the impending parade.
I could see a fairly animated conversation going on between Tammy and the parade official. He was apparently telling her where we could park for good viewing of the parade. It took a while but he finally understood Tammy’s concern; would we still be able to get out-of-town with our trailer despite the parade? He then told Tammy “You better get out now…I live down the road and this messes up traffic for hours”.
Tammy hopped back in the truck and turned to me and said “Yeah, we need to get out of here now”. We made it back to camp in five minutes and within twenty minutes we had the trailer hooked to the truck, the girls onboard, and we were on the way out-of-town – what a relief.
Goodbye Custer South Dakota, on now to the Badlands!
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