Palisades State Park

A wonderful place to rest and rejuvenate on a long road trip. Well-tended campgrounds and unique geological features by the river. Short little hikes. I lay down on a rock and relaxed in the 3” of water that overflowed from the river.

This state park had some great hikes, though short- can do all of them in one afternoon. The park is super small, not a huge area for exploring. Campground itself was good enough, sites were well spread out and facilities were good. Shower wasnt hot but fine. Staff were helpful, and sites were flat and close to either a creek or the river. Overpriced for an unpowered tent site, in my opinion.

A really well-maintained state park. Visited here in early October of 2015 with my two-year old. Lots of place to run around, and very pretty scenic views of the rocks. I'd recommend stopping here for a picnic when on the road. It's a nice detour.

A small SP just NE of Sioux Falls, SD. Heavily wooded, hilly and a river running through it's rocky foundation. Sites are well separated, wooded and a little tight for access, but doable.

Most have electric, water is difficult to get offsite unless tiy have at least 100' of hose just to fill.

Didn't find a dump station.

Nice place, great hiking and enjoyable people camping. Nine miles off I-90 east of Sioux Falls.

We visited this park in August of 2016 when looking for a campground close to Sioux Falls, SD. This unexpected gem of a state park is home to Split Rock Creek and truly unique pink quartzite rock formations. The creek offers a relaxing spot to swim and cool off on hot summer days, and the rocks are beautiful, especially at sunset.

The RV sites are well spaced, mostly shaded, and fairly private. Bathrooms & showers were clean, and the whole park is very well maintained. There is a free dump station available to campers, however it’s located 2 miles away in neighboring Garretson, SD next to the Devil’s Gulch park entrance.

We stopped in the town of Garretson for groceries and beer - the local grocer's selection is limited being a tiny town in the corner of South Dakota, but they have the basics.

Definitely stop and check it out if you’re in the area!

We have been to this campground twice in passing through. It is a beautiful wooded campground with lots of space between the sites. Busy on the weekend, but quiet after dark. There is on short but very steep hill on the loop. The dump is at 5th and Center in Garrison. 2 bars of ATT LTE.

We passed through Palisades earlier this year and spent some time in the day use are so we knew it was a good place to camp as we passed through South Dakota on another trip. One main (clean) bathhouse with two showers, two pit toilets for those camping farther away on the loop. Mix of cabins, tent, and electric sites. Lots of trees. LONG driveways and some sites (such as 34E) are very large. Website allows you to view sites so you know in advance what to expect. Nice walking trails and picnic areas. Fee paid includes non-resident fee plus tax.

We really enjoyed our stay here! To be honest, I was not expecting much because it is kind of in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota. We needed a pit stop to get to the Badlands and this came up as a well-liked park. We booked our reservation online and they had a lot of spots open but it does seem to fill up quickly. I would highly recommend booking ahead. The check-in process was easy and the rangers were very helpful. We liked our spot (19E) because it was private and easy to back in our 22ft Airstream. Most of the spots seemed big enough to fit most sized trailers/campers. We didn't really have any neighbors so it was quiet and an easy walk to the bathrooms. Did I mention that there are free showers?! The bathrooms are your typical state park cleanliness but you can tell they care about this park. Also, the cell service was pretty great. Our spot was only electrical and unfortunately they do not have a dump station in the park. We were able to fill up our water in one of the potable water stations around the park. There supposedly is a dump station about 5 minutes away but we could not find it so we had to find one down the ways, closer to the Badlands area.

The best part about this park is the walk along the bridge and the split rocks structures. We did a little hike and the area is beautiful. We saw people swimming in the river and if we had more time we would have loved to enjoy it more! I would say though that it's a smaller park so staying there more than a couple nights you might run out of things to do. Overall, this park was well-run and worth the money. We would definitely stay again!

A little expensive because each vehicle has to pay daily use of $6, electric $21, non-electric $17. 37E and 18E are both level and right next to the creek that winds through the campground. Playground across from 37e. Gorgeous hiking trails with stunning rock formations. Wooded and cool, asphalt pads, showers and flush toilets, very friendly, helpful staff. No firewood collection, do not transport due to emerald ash borer. Available for purchase at front gate. We would have stayed longer but all sites become reserved for Memorial Day weekend. Very popular but campers were all respectful and quiet.

10/09/19 thru 10/11/19 - 2 Nights - $66.18 (includes taxes) - 42' 5th Wheel

Palisades State Park - 25491 485th Ave - Garretson, SD 57030 - (605) 594-3824 - Space 14E

Hidden Gem. Very nice secluded State Park. Lots of trees. In the middle of farm fields. Picnic tables and Fire pits included. Leaves just changing. Raining and cold but no snow. Nice bath houses. Asphalt paved parking. Back in/Slant parking. Electric mid to back (30A). No sewer or water at site. Community Water is available. Creek with nice rock formations. Park is expanding from 157 acres to 424 acres for next year. Larger rigs over 30' may want to wait if experience driving is limited. Space 14E slightly unlevel but not extreme. Most in park are reasonably level.

Asphalt road in park. Road has tight turns, trees next to the road on the turns, and a hill challenge for longer rigs (bottoming out). Road has 2 load-limit bridges. Heavy rigs beware. No turnaround available to avoid bridges or tight turns. One would have to back out about 1000' or more backwards and up another hill and curve.

Nice bath houses. Very clean. Multi-stalls.

No attendants at Gate House. Host Camper on site but in area where tight turns and load limit bridges are.

Expansion of the park will begin in 2020 to add many new pads in a more likely accessible area.

About 2 miles to Garretson. Jesse James Cave nearby.

Reservations must be made on line ONLY. Surcharges apply.

Dump Station somewhere? We did not need. And we brought water with us from last location. Water was iffy as to whether it would be on or not due to the cold.