RV Park Rating – American RV Park (Murdo, SD)

A quick review of our 2-night stay in Murdo, South Dakota

No dedicated website, but you can link to phone info here: American RV Park

1. Site quality = 4/5
   This park has an upper and lower level. The upper levels are very nice pull-through concrete pads with full hook-ups (50 Amp/water/sewer), bench and slice of green but not a lot of shade. The lower level has dirt sites on a grassy area with some trees, but only partial hook-ups.
2. Facilities = 3/5
   The bathrooms here are decent, but a bit dated. The interior is basic concrete with smaller showers. The grasshoppers and humidity do tend to find their way in here.
3. Amenities = 2.5/5
   The main amenity here, if you would call it that, is a huge grassy area on the lower level where kids & dogs can play. The pool is empty and there’s nothing else in the way of “frills”. The park does have laundry and free WiFi which works perfectly so that’s a bonus. There’s also an attached bar/restaurant although the food is very average.
4. Location = 3/5
   The main attraction in Murdo is the Auto museum so as far as location goes you’re within a block of walking distance from that which is great. Other than that there’s not much going on in Murdo. The town is only ~6 blocks all around and surrounding area is farmland.
5. Pet friendliness = 4/5
   These guys are very pet friendly and the grassy area on the lower area is a great place for doggie to run around. There’s no hiking of any type close-by so that’s the only negative.

 Overall rating = 3.3
BONUS ALERT: Within walking distance of awesome Pioneer Auto Museum

Summary: Murdo is a small transit town on Interstate 90 that gets mostly through-traffic and people staying a single night. The park caters to that and is very simple. Sites are nice, there’s full hook-ups and the park grounds are well maintained but there’s not much in the way of extra’s. Apparently they used to have a Good Sam’s rating but lost it because the pool is unusable. The main bonus is a large grassy field on the lower level of the park where doggie, kids & adults can run wild. Also there is good WiFi. This is an attached bar/restaurant but I wouldn’t recommend the food. The stop is worth it mainly for the Auto museum next-door, but otherwise this is not a destination vacation. Fine for a one-nighter, but not much more.

View of full hookup site in upper level...concrete and level, but not much shade

Side-view of upper sites

View of lower-level sites

Another view of lower-level sites. These are not full hook-up

View of green field in lower level. Lots of space for doggie to play.

RV Park Rating – Dakota Ridge RV Park (Golden, CO)

A quick review of the RV Park we stayed at in Golden, CO before we get back to travel tales and frivolities.

The park doesn’t have a dedicated website, but you can see general info in this link: Dakota Ridge RV Park

1. Site Quality = 3.5/5
   Overall decent site quality here. Long, paved, flat surfaces with 30/50-amp hookups (although you pay extra for the 50-amp), decent water pressure and sewer. Sites near the entrance are shaded whereas the ones in the East-side are not. There’s a slice of green between each campground with the one negative that you share it with your neighbor which is why we gave them a ding. No cable.
2. Facilities = 4/5
   Good facilities here. Large showers (with separate bench) and clean toilets in a modern environment. The only negative is that water-pressure (in the shower) gets affected every time someone flushes the loo, but otherwise no issues.
3. Amenities = 3.5/5
   Good selection of amenities here. Pool, hot-tub, fitness room, playground, lounge-room (with billiards, book-swap and movies), and a good-sized laundry-room. Only two dings were no cable and the WiFi, albeit free, was very, very inconsistent (in fact it didn’t work half the time we were there). Thus the ding in ratings…
4. Location = 4/5
   This is a fairly convenient location in Golden. It’s close to hiking trails, but only a few miles from town, and there’s a mere ~10 miles into Denver. You’re on the outskirts of town, but still within town. I’d give ‘em a higher score if there were more hiking trails right off the site and it was a tad quieter, but otherwise this is a good base to explore the area.
5. Pet Friendliness = 4/5
   They’re open to pets (no breed restrictions) and offer poo-bags and a dog-run on-site.

Overall rating = 3.8

 Summary: Overall this is one of the better campgrounds in the area. They keep it pretty, offer good service and work on greenery and amenities. I would have liked to see a little more space between sites with a private area for each RV, but when I compared to the park across the street (where RV”s were literally packed like sardines) this is a much nicer set-up. Being one of the fancier parks also means it’s jam packed. In our 10 days there we never saw a site sit empty for more than ½ a day, so if you’re coming in the summer, book ahead. Being busy also means it a bit on the noisy side and you do hear traffic on Hwy 6 which runs right in front. Location is decent as far as exploring the area. You’re close to town, Denver and the parks. There’s only one hike on-site which requires bush-whacking across the field behind the storage facility (gets you to Hogsback), but otherwise you’re close to many hikes in nearby William F Hayden Park and other areas in Golden. Overall a very decent “city” RV park, but if we come back we’ll probably try to find something quieter and closer to nature.

Typical site view...paved area with slice of green shared w/ your neighbour

View of sites near entrance

View along the right side of the park where there are more shade-trees

Pet Walk area. You can bush-whack up the hill trail in the back.

Pool area

Playground and main lounge/lobby in background