Grace Coolidge Campground – États-Unis

We got a site on short notice. It was close to the road, but backed to a pond area which was lovely to enjoy. Road noise wasn’t bad, and would be fully deminished if staying further into the campground closer to the creek. Showers were clean and flush toilets were in the campground. Good cell service. Spots were wide and accessible.

il y a 4 ans

Grace Coolidge is small and intimate with only about 20 sites suitable for RVs (there's a small tent camping area across 16A), nestled in the heart of an amazing state park. The absolute best sites are the ones by the creek and of these 6, 10, and 12 are the best for larger rigs, though we barely fit. Sites in the middle are nicely shaded and still get good creek sound, while the sites facing 16A are the largest and are in the sun with stunning views of granite cliffs. Road noise is minimal to nonexistent at night. All sites are paved and reasonably level. While the interior sites don't have the same level of privacy as those on the outside of the loop, there is still decent site separation. Plus, the campground is tiny. The bathhouse was immaculately clean with plenty of toilets and showers, and offered nice long hot showers. The Grace Coolidge Walk-in Fishing Area and trail is directly across 16A from the campground, and the paved Creekside Trail travels from the campground past the park office and Coolidge General Store to the State Game Lodge. The central location is great. The only ding for us was a complete absence of cell service on AT&T, but in an emergency service can be reached by just going a few miles up 16A toward the Game Lodge.

il y a 4 ans

We had a nice shady spot. We camped in July and were grateful for the shade, it was hot! Over half the sites are shady, but a couple are in the direct sunlight. The reservation website has pictures of each campsite. FYI, you have to make the reservations early, the campground fills up fast. Because of the high demand, you can make reservations up to a year in advance. Nice to have electricity to have air conditioning during the hottest part of the day. We stayed 2 nights and checked out the sights. We no cell service at the campground, we hit the needles highway and wildlife trail at crack of dawn. It was great, early morning traffic very light. I took my dog for a morning walk and you could see and hear mountain goats running around on the top of a tall cliff. They must be really sure footed because a fall would have been life threatening for the goats. No water or sewer, but we brought our own water.

il y a 4 ans

We stayed 2 nights in early July 2020. We really enjoyed our time here!

il y a 4 ans

Arriving in Rapid City we had little idea of all the places we wanted to see and had planned to stay in a federal CG. We planned the first night in town at the Central States Fairgrounds and then thought we'd go from there. It became rapidly apparent that many of the places we wanted to see, Wildlife Loop Road, the Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Rd, were all in Custer State Park where there is a $20 entrance fee (that is for a day or a week.) But the hunt for a campsite was futile. I was finally able to find 1 (ONE!) site for one night at Grace Coolidge CG. We'd been advised that Blue Bell is the best but were then told that Grace Coolidge's size (20 sites) made it really nice. The site was an ADA one so we were advised that we might have to move though "a site would be provided" (I didn't question where it could come from but...) We then arrived at GCCG on a cold and rainy Friday and most of the CG was empty. The host assured us that most sites would be filled by that night but as soon as we arrived we decided to see about 2 nights. We were able to but in the process found out the "idiosyncrasies" of the SD State Park reservations system. It is handled by a large organization, not local,; when there is a no show there is no system for cancelling the reservation so if a site was booked for a week it will show as taken when it fact, as was the site we ended up getting, it has been empty for 5 days and is still available. Moral: if you want to stay at a particular CG stop by and ask the host which sites are empty and then call the reservation line and ask. Be aware as well that the $25/night fee does not include the $20 State Park permit and another $9 in fees (if you are a non-resident) for the reservation. Our stay, although officially $25/night really cost $41.50/night although our permit covered us for a week and we'd been able to visit twice before. The campground: The sites were almost level to level, the ones along the stream are very small and will not fit anything longer than a short trailer or van, all except 3 along the road side, have trees. The ADA site and the 2 others are in full sun and would be good for solar though all sites have 50 amp electric. Potable water is on the side of the washhouse, so if you need to fill you'll drive all the way around and then back to your site in a circle. The dump is 2 miles east just after you enter the Wildlife Loop and there is potable water there as well. The washrooms are immaculate with great showers (though set at one nice temp and operated by a push button giving 3 minutes each push), with only 20 spaces they are close to every site. While on 16A, the main road through the park, there is NO noise at night and very little during the day. There are reported to be animals, including buffalo, wandering through the campground however, and probably due to the Winter in Spring weather, we saw none. There is a nice 3 mile hike from the CG to Center Lake and you are 2 miles from the Visitor Center and the eastern entrance to the Wildlife Loop, about a mile from the Coolidge General Store, and a few miles from the entrance to Needles Highway. There is no cell reception though boosted we got intermittent data. There is a public phone on the washhouse.

il y a 4 ans