America's Most RV-Friendly City Brims With Famous Attractions And Renowned Beauty

Travelers planning a stunning and storied RV road trip will want to consider the Black Hills of South Dakota for their next journey. The region is known for its craggy mountains, as well as for being a fall favorite with crowd-free trails and wildlife spotting. But its appeal for RVers lies in the regional hub of Rapid City. Located close to some of the Black Hills region's most iconic attractions, including Mount Rushmore and Canyon Lake, Rapid City was named RV City U.S.A. for 2025 by the RV marketplace RV Trader.

What makes Rapid City stand out for RVers is the perfect harmony of exciting road trip potential and RV-friendly practicality. On one hand, the city frames the road with abundant scenery, from the pine-blanketed peaks of the Black Hills National Forest to quirky roadside Americana like Dinosaur Park. Sealing its title as the top RV city is the fact that you can easily make Rapid City a basecamp for exploring surrounding wonders like Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore.

Finally, the city feels designed for RV convenience. It's got several RV parks equipped with hookups close to main attractions. You'll find multiple free dump stations and free spots to park temporarily for the day as you're passing through. Sealing its title as the top RV city is the fact that you can easily make Rapid City a basecamp for exploring surrounding wonders like Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore.

Road trippers have a few ways of reaching Rapid City. From Denver, it's about a six-hour drive heading northeast. If you're heading west, Rapid City is just over seven hours from Omaha and about 8.5 hours from Minneapolis. For overnight stays in the city, Rapid City RV Park and Campground is about five-minutes from downtown and has 4.2 stars on Google. "The campground was very well maintained, the location was central to everything, and set far enough from the roadway to be quiet," one reviewer wrote. If you're passing through for the day, there is a Walmart Supercenter and a Cabela's in the city, which both have ample parking space for RVs, so long as you don't stay overnight (due to a city ordinance). Free dump stations are available at Common Cents, a convenience store, and the Holiday Gas Station on U.S. 16, both located within the city limits.

Rapid City's Main Street Square, a walkable downtown plaza, is a great place to center yourself and get a taste of its vibrant downtown, with shops and restaurants lining the surrounding blocks. It's got a splash patio that sprays fountains for cooling off in the summer and becomes an ice-skating rink in the winter. Look for the statues of presidents that dot Main Street and St. Joseph Street near the square, a great way to add a touch of history to your city exploration. Afterward, stop by Dinosaur Park, a fun, family-friendly roadside attraction in downtown that has amused road trippers since the 1930s. Here, you'll find seven kitschy concrete dinosaurs — up to 80 feet long — spread out across a hill with views of the city. It's completely free to roam the park and meet these gentle giants.

Rapid City makes an excellent base for visiting other South Dakota treasures like wildlife parks, roadside oddities, and — most famously — Mount Rushmore. Steer your camper along Highway 16 from downtown Rapid City for about 30 minutes through the beautiful Black Hills National Forest, and you'll arrive at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. If you want to post up as close to the monument as possible, then you might consider parking at Rushmore View RV Park. It's a somewhat compact park but has views of Mount Rushmore from the parking lot. If you're just stopping by for the day, there's RV parking available at the memorial itself, requiring a one-time parking fee that's valid for a year.

A must-visit while you're in the area, just a 15-minute drive from Mount Rushmore, is the Cosmos Mystery Area. The retro, mind-boggling roadside attraction offers tours through a Mystery House where gravity seems to go haywire, making water flow upwards and allowing people to walk on walls. The spot has a free parking lot with enough space for RVs.

Those looking for trails and wildlife can head to Custer State Park, known as one of the Midwest's most underrated, just under an hour's drive from downtown Rapid City. The park has a couple of campgrounds for overnight RV stays, including Blue Bell and Center Lake. Otherwise, there's ample parking space all around the park for the day. You could also stay inside your camper and cruise through the open range — the 18-mile Wildlife Loop is a scenic circuit that traverses grasslands and creek crossings, with bison, pronghorn, and prairie dogs commonly seen along the way.