Palmer Gulch, South Dakota

Neither Brian or Tiffany went camping that much as kids and most vacations involved staying with family/friends or some sort of motel. We also never really spent time in an RV. So we were a bit unaware of the camping resorts that pepper the country offering a fun spot for family reunions or just a few days break from your everyday grind.

Behold the Fun Zone at the KOA Palmer Gulch campground. At first glance it looks a like just a normal pool, but if you zoom in behind the pool on the left, you’ll see in succession a giant chess set, a playground, an inflatable giant pillow for jumping and a splash pad. In the middle is a canteen store tucked behind the basketball court and on the right are bike rentals. Just out of the picture on the right are corn hole boards, an extra inflatable jumpy (since it’s Tuesday) and a bingo game taking place at the activity pavilion (started at 2pm). Behind the store is a mini-golf course, a water slide and a place to pan gold. So yeah – it’s a lot of options. I think the kids’ heads exploded just a little bit.

Not surprisingly, there are hundreds of RVs/Tents/Lodgers enjoying all the fun. Apparently there is a whole set of people who know about places like this but keep it to themselves.

We started the day with camp stove bacon and eggs and then took advantage of all (and I mean all) of the Fun Zone festivities. The end of the day has us enjoying fire roasted broccoli (veggies for the first time in days!) and brats/hotdogs with s’mores on the way. Our kids are fast friends with the neighbors so they are off having fun. And after a quick walk to the lodge to get a wi-fi signal for this post, the parents will relax by a crackling fire with some beverages and tunes. An excellent end to an adventurous day.