The name of the game for RVing in South Dakota is city park campgrounds. South Dakota is an extremely RV–friendly state. In our travels across the state from the Iowa border in the southeastern side of the state to the Black Hills in the southwest, we took advantage of three city campgrounds that provided electricity for little or no money at all.
First stop, Vermillion City Park. Vermillion, about 80 miles south of Sioux Falls and eight miles west of I–29, is a college town, home to the main campus of the University of South Dakota. Even though it is a small town, there are plenty of restaurants, movie theatres and other cultural events available. The city campground is free for three nights. If you want to stay longer, you can inquire with the parks department via the guys in trucks that come by a couple of times a day regarding paying $5 a night for a longer stay. However, the answer isn't always affirmative, and there will be limits on that stay as well. The philosophy of the parks department is to ensure that lots are available for a lot of people rather than encouraging squatters or semi–permanent residents. A total of seven days is usually their limit. They also might say "no" if other campers got there first and are staying longer, so have a back–up plan past the three–day limit. Electric hook–ups were available on six large sites. Water was available from a shared source. A free dump station was nearby.
There were no showers, but there was a restroom. It had concrete floors that were wheelchair accessible, but the stalls would probably require assistance for many people. The pads were gravel, dirt and grass. The park grounds were flat, but they did get a bit muddy on rainy days. However the lots were large enough that RV–to–vehicle and vice versa transfers might not be that difficult.
Vermillion is very close to the Nebraska border (about 5 miles south of the Missouri River).
There is a nice park and trail close to the river that has some accessibility. The view of the river and the town are worth the drive even if you can't use the trail.
While in Vermillion, be sure to visit the National Music Museum on the USD campus, "America's Shrine to Music." The museum is accessible to persons using assistive devices for mobility, as well as those who are hearing or sight impaired. The museum's wonderful interactive displays include one of B.B. King's "Lucille's" and a Stradivarius guitar. CD players with a special tour CD are available for visitors to listen to how the instruments sound.
Wessington Springs is about halfway between Sioux Falls and Pierre, about 30 miles north of 1–90 and about 100 miles east of Pierre. The road between Wessington Springs and Pierre (State Hwy 34) is well–maintained and was an easy two–hour drive even on a particularly windy day.
The Wessington Springs City Park campground has around ten sites with water and electric hook–ups on gravel pads. In the summertime, a large swimming pool facility is available at the other end of the park. A donation box is provided, but staying for nothing is an acceptable practice if you are only staying for a night or two. The park is large and has plenty of trees and recreational facilities.
The park has a large shower house with wheelchair accessibility. The campgrounds were flat, but they were made of dirt, gravel and grass, so some assistance might be necessary.
The unexpected joy we discovered in this small town was a place called Shakespeare's Garden. On a hillside, a few blocks off the main drag of the town is a Tudor house with an English Garden. Visiting the garden is encouraged.
There is reserved parking for handicapped stickered cars, but a paved sidewalk can take you into a part of the garden. Going deeper into the garden requires traversing grassy dirt paths. The main entrance is about eight fairly steep steps.
Once one is in the garden, there are plenty of places to sit and just smell the flowers or watch the bees. The house was not opened when we visited, so we are not sure of the indoor facilities.
Shakespeare's Garden proved to The Ample Traveler© that you never know what you might find when you go exploring.
Pierre City Park was reputed on the Internet to be a free or by–donation campground. When we arrived, we found that as of July 31, 2004, the city requires a $10 per night fee and limits stays to 3 nights. We decided to stay anyway. About 20 sites have electric hook–ups. No shower house was available, but a nice sidewalk led to very accessible restrooms that were kept clean.
The campground sits along a waterfront and next to a paved trail that runs along the length of the park. It is flat, wide and easily used by wheelchairs, walkers, and scooters. Benches allow those with stamina issues to take breaks along the pathway. Nearby facilities include tennis courts and a swimming pool in summer time.
Pierre (pronounced "peer" by the locals) is the capital of South Dakota. It is, however, a small city, almost better called a town. The Missouri River runs through it and connects to the Bad River and Lake Oahe. The waterways and lush farmlands of the area offer a nice chance to do driving tours. If The Ample Traveler© had had more time, we believe we would have enjoyed the history of the area as well. The place still had the feel of an old trading post. We took an afternoon out to drive up to the cliffs overlooking the river and to explore the roads around the Oahe Dam. It made for a great afternoon of driving.
One last place in Pierre we'd like to mention is Pier 347 Cafe. Located in the center of downtown, at 347 Pierre Street, this little cafe was busy all day long with regulars meeting and doing business over good coffee and great food. The place is accessible from street level, near reserved parking and a ramp. A back door entrance was a little harder to access but was still plenty large enough for a scooter or wheelchair. Seating was variable. The restrooms were large enough and laid out well. Free wireless Internet connection, prices that were lower than most coffee shops and a smokeless environment made this a great place to camp out for the day, especially when the weather was inclement. The staff were friendly and pleased to have day patrons.
The city campgrounds become sparser with less services the further west we went in South Dakota. We considered staying at White River City Park, but it was just a little too far from the Badlands and it didn't have hook–ups. We chose instead to spend a week at the Badlands Ranch and Resort campground, about four miles outside the national park, south of Interior. September was a little late in the season for the park, so we did not spend much time there. The showers were hot, but the accessibility was a little limited, as the shower stalls were small and getting to them would have been difficult in a wheelchair or scooter. Since we were more interested in exploring the surrounding area, however, the weekly rate worked out just fine for us.
We have no doubt that South Dakota is as RV–friendly as it is reputed to be. The east is less expensive than the west, but that is true of all goods and services. We found city parks to be a nice little treasure not mentioned often in the big tour books. In the land of gold and silver, it is always good to find a little treasure.