Our stay at Devils Tower KOA was by far the most scenic KOA we have ever visited. It is literally at the base of Devils Tower, just feet from the national park entrance gate. Devils Tower National Monument was far more impressive than we had imagined, but it is definitely only a one or two day visit (unless, that is, you are planning to rock climb the tower).
Campground:
The Devils Tower KOA campground was well maintained, especially given the volume of traffic this campground receives. We stayed two nights and we had different neighbors each day.
Roads were well maintained and the sites were bigger than we have found at other KOA campgrounds. The row where our campsite was located did not have any shade, but there were other sections that did offer ample tree coverage. For a little bit extra money, you can reserve a back-in site with a direct view of the tower. The campground is adding new sites to the east of the current sites. These new sites have loose gravel that (during our visit) was not yet packed down, and there was lots of dirt/mud between the sites since grass was yet growing. Once these sites are established and finished they will be just as nice as the rest of the campground, but until then they are a bit of a mess.
Camp Office
Amenities:
The bathrooms, laundry, playground, and pool were all well maintained for the amount of traffic that this campground sees. The laundry is not large enough for this campground as we attempted to do laundry but there never seemed to be a time when the washers and dryers were not in use. (There were actually people waiting in line for a machine to open up.)
Campfires are not allowed on individual sites so the campground staff lights one fire for the whole campground each night at a central location. Additionally, there is a small dog run on the property.
We recommend that you stock up on groceries and gas before you arrive–when you get off I-90 would be the ideal time–because there were no grocery stores nearby and the only close gas station in Hulett was closed by 6 p.m.! For basic convenience items, you at least have the KOA’s camp store and the Trading Post across the street.
- Camp Office
Things to do:
If you are making the trek out to this campground, there’s really only one thing you are coming to see: the tower. We enjoyed touring the visitor’s center and then taking an easy (i.e., kiddo-friendly) hike around the base of Devils Tower. The kiddos completed their first national park Junior Ranger Program and they loved watching the prairie dogs that have burrows all along the park entrance road.
Date of visit: 6/29-30/2015
Cost of site: $54.79 per night
We are planning a group trip here next year for 9 people. Your photos are awesome and I appreciate your campground review. You have given me a lot of good thoughts. Did you visit the monument itself? I was thinking camping this close would be sufficient but I could be wrong.
Hi Pamela! Thanks for stopping by and reading! Yes, we did visit the monument, and we really enjoyed our visit to it. There is a (small) museum area, a junior ranger badge program for the kids, plus beautiful hiking around the tower itself. Additionally, there is a stretch of road in the park where you can observe the prairie dogs (they walk right by your car), which was probably our kiddos’ favorite part. If you are that close, I think it’s worth it to go in. As an aside, there is also camping in the national monument area, but it’s first come, first serve, and there are no hook ups. Additionally, there are not a lot of services (like gas stations, restaurants, etc.) in the immediate area around Devil’s Tower (and those that are there seemed to close early), so definitely come prepared.