This is coming from first time Sturgis attendees, so we really had no direction where to start, so we decided on Shade Valley. First, let me start with the pros. We REALLY like this campground. The location was great, the shower houses were really clean and roomy. The food was actually reasonably priced and really good, and the entertainment was really great. It's a quiet campground with quite a bit of shade. The bartender, Kelly was awesome and you could tell that the 'waitresses' were new and she was really patient with them. All in all, yes, I would return to this campground, but with some definite changes. Now for the cons:
We rented an 'RV' and RV is in quotes because it was basically a s***hole. We paid 2k to stay in a 1980's camper that had it's fair share of mice and dead bugs. The linoleum on the floor had been stapled down several times that I almost wanted to buy stock in the staple company. NO hot water. We even told them twice and they said they came out and 'fixed' it, but after 3 days of no hot water, we gave up and hoofed it to the shower house. Oh, and the A/C in the trailer...was a POS, so when the trailer became a sauna in the afternoon, we'd take the truck into Rapid City just to have some A/C. Then we'd come back to the campground and relax in the shade and enjoy the evening. Thank Goodness for the South Dakota weather because at least it would get down to 60 degree weather so we got decent nights sleep (you know, thinking about where the mice were at). You also had to pay extra for the wristband to get you in and out of the campground and had to wear it the whole time you were staying there and they'd check it every time you wanted to come back in. For the price we paid for the trailer, the wristband should have been included, so yes, you pretty much had to pay for each individual item you wanted. At least the shower houses were free, but they did have a tip bucket for the folks who cleaned them.
With all of that being said overall, I'd stay there again because the only major complaint we had were the accommodations and the price for said accommodations. The location was great and easy to get to. Generally, the staff were really nice (you know, there's always that one guy). I wouldn't bother to pay for another RV and would, instead rent one and haul it there. It was quiet and all of the fellow campers were really nice. We met a lot of awesome people there and really enjoyed our time there.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2022
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We rented a tent camping site with no hookups for 3 days at Shade Valley during Sturgis. The employees are fantastic! Everyone is very helpful and friendly!
Campsite: Plenty of shady places on flat grassy spots. Neighboring campers were happy and having a great time, campground quiets down to complete silence around midnight. All I could hear was the crickets chirping. Slept without interruption til the heat woke me up each day.
Bathroom facilities: There are port-a-potties sprinkled throughout. I used them twice during our stay. Never had to wait in line. On the third morning of camping I sleepily wandered off to a port-a-potty at 5 am and was amazed that it was completely spotless! There are two showerhouses at the campground that have seperate curtained showers and flush toilet areas. There are also flush bathrooms inside the camp store and eye candy saloon. They are well lit and also super clean, constantly maintained! They showers always have hot water. I used the showers 4 times on different days at: 5 am, 9 am, 5 pm, and 10 pm. I never had to wait for an empty shower. There is a seperate area with wall lined mirrors and sinks, complete with tons of electrical outlets. I left my blackberry plugged in the the outlet to charge each time I showered, as did many people. There are also full length mirrors and benches.
Drop off laundry service: We did not use this service.
Da-bus: Free for all shade valley guests to ride into town. The bus was very nice and we noticed many people using it to ride into Sturgis. We didn't use the service ourselves.
Vendors on site: Mechanic shop, tattoos, Pinstriping, airbrushing, lettering and hand painted art, blinking pasties and bikinis, general store, eye candy saloon, beer and food building, bike wash.
General store: possibly every single item you could ever need for camping as well as great souvenirs. The sturgis and shade valley tshirts were between $15-20. We brought a flannel blanket, but decided we needed more for the second night so we purchased a very warm sleeping bag from the store for $21.
Eye Candy Saloon: Free bands play nightly. The music was a variety of well known songs. There is also a dj during times the band is not playing. The bar itself is very cool with saddles for bar stools. The interior is a wood/cowboy type of theme. Large dance floor. Two story with outside patio with table and stools so you can enjoy a drink while watching other bikes pull in. There is a mechanical bull at the saloon as well.
Food: On the menu daily were indian tacos, burgers and fries, hot dogs, grilled chicken salad, grilled chicken sandwich, chicken gumbo, red beans and sausage over rice, ice cream. there are also different daily specials with a LOT of food. The food is great! There is also a vendor that serves chicken on a stick, nachos, bbq sandwiches, fried oreos, fried twinkies, cajun fried pickles, and french fries. the fried oreas were my favorite!
I have camped at other rallys and have to say this is a great place to stay if you want to have fun without listening to harleys revving all night long or putting up with loud drunken campers screaming and puking everywhere. If you are looking for an insane party with naked drunk girls falling all over then this is not the place for you. I thought about glenco or buffalo chip.. but I didn't want to spend my vacation unable to sleep for half a week and bathrooms that are revolting at best. We spent less than half of what we would have for 3 nights if we had stayed at buffalo chip. With the extra money we partied in town, rode all over the state going to all the tourist attractions, and gambled in deadwood.
I will definitely be going back to shade valley next year!
Read more
Date of stay: August 2012
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShadeValley, General Manager at Shade Valley Camp Resort
Responded Apr 19, 2013
Thank you for the review and thank you for choosing to stay at SHADE VALLEY CAMP RESORT! We hope to see you again in the future!
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This site is open just for the Rally. It has loads of clean showers and well constructed buildings. Shade Valley is staffed by friendly, happy people who want you to enjoy your stay. Offering a bar and a saloon with nightly bands, as well as having it's own store you could live on site for the week. The meals are well priced and filling, but Sturgis is not the ideal place for veggies. The camping sites are flat and shaded, and the soil is easy to hammer pegs into. We had one storm during our stay. Da Bus runs hourly from here, driven by Adrian. This is an absolute boon, as you get to party into town. It'll take you about half an hour to get to town, but it is fun all the way. Remember it is bike week, so go with an open mind and a tolerance for loud bikes and people, as well as some nudity and spontaneous behaviour. In the whole time we were in Sturgis we never had a scary or intimidating moment. These are good people.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2008
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Check in / front desk
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShadeValley, General Manager at Shade Valley Camp Resort
Responded Oct 26, 2011
Thank you very much for your post! Come see us again! Thanks, Shade Valley
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This resort is garbage. Rented a personal port a potty over a month in advance and it was just excuse after excuse as to why they didn't have one at our sites. The mud was ridiculous. They did NOTHING to help with the mud. The excuses used for not delivering the port a potty was that it was too muddy, not enough employees, too late in the day, didn't want to get the truck stuck, and that they wait to put them out after the people check in. Which is stupid because the bathing picnic tables were already rented. Then they added i.sukt to injury telling everyone that NONE of the headliner bands would be performing the entire week. No inside dining either. Just some overpriced food that wasn't wosre than a food truck. Plus the showers/ bathroom area was NEVER cleaned. I know cause I used the same shower stall all week long. Don't waste your money at this shlthole.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Â Avoid! It's nothing but a rip off. Full of excuses as to why they can't do their jobs. They also...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have stayed at other campgrounds and Shade Valley is by far the cleanest and best run campground in the Sturgis area. The bathrooms are clean and plenty of hot water, thanks to the cat diesels keeping up the heat. The crowd is a more quiet middle aged crowd so no burnouts at 3 in the morning after the bar closes. The noise level at night is low and very acceptable, not like other campgrounds I have stayed at in the past. It is only 10 years old and it shows the place is well kept and still looks new.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2014Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShadeValley, General Manager at Shade Valley Camp Resort
Responded Dec 10, 2014
We are glad you enjoyed your stay at Shade Valley. The staff works hard at providing the best service and upkeep to help make every guest's a memorable one. We are really looking to next year's rally which should prove to be a great one to attend!
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This place was awsome!! we arrived about 10pm all the way from Buffalo NY.. and had to set up in the dark but was chapparoned to our site bye a nice kid on an ATV who was very helpful. Once we got settled in it was off to the Eye Candy Saloon for some much needed beverages. Following morning we had the breakfast buffet..(very good) then off to full day of riding,sightseeing...repeatx4 with a great band in the evening to sit and relax, party to b4 shut-eye. Unfortunately the 4th day my brother in-law went down in front of me at Custer State Park and I followed as well (had no choice) aside from some road rash and bruises we were okay. He wound up totaling his bike and I had mine completely re-done.....Long Story long SRY... George and the staff were so accomadating and helpful.. Had bikes towed to Shade Valley and George put both of them in safe storage for us and dealt with Insurance Co because we had left by then...They certainly are true proffesionals by reasuring everything would be handled without any worries on our part...I will never stray from this great stay and can only recommend SHADE VALLEY certainly a cut above!!!!!
Read more
Date of stay: August 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShadeValley, General Manager at Shade Valley Camp Resort
Responded Aug 25, 2014
Thank you for your review! We hope you come back again!
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No shade. Price gougers. Cancelled concerts. Gravel muddy roads. Really far from town. The store doesn’t have any toiletries or food. The restaurant ran out of food. We ordered something else because its the only place to eat and they got the order wrong. Took it back to have it fixed (because of a food allergy), they got it wrong again. Its not that hard to leave a tomato off of a hamburger. The bar bouncers were the only friendly people here. Waved at you every morning, answered questions we had and had good conversations with them. Website says free concerts for guests. Its a lie. You have to pay to camp and you have to pay for a wrist band ($165 per person) to see the concerts. All concerts were cancelled for the first week of august. So we got no entertainment. Rude guy in the store (the one who gets inconvienienced because your pulling his attention away from his computer games) refused to give us our money back for the wrist bands, nor did he make any attempt to make it right. All of our neighbors hated the place too but they were refused when they asked for a redund too, so we were all stuck at this place. Tried to leave a review on their FB page. They deleted it and blocked us from the page. Guess they dont want anyone to know the truth. Do yourselves a favor and don’t stay here. It will ruin your vacation.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2018Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed at the Shade Valley Camp resort for bike week and loved it!! Clean showers, clean restrooms, great cafe on the grounds, camp store, great bar on the grounds!! The food was good and surprisingly cheap for bike week. They cleaned the showers and restroom multiple times a day and even on muddy rainy days they were doing better than expected. They have cabins, RV full hook ups, RV partial hook ups and rough RV sites. They also have tent sites with electricity and rough tent sites. The crowd is slightly more subdued so you can sleep at night. I tent camped and barely noticed people coming in late because they idled their bike into camp as quiet as they could. Much better than other camps where they party till dawn neighbors be damned.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2014
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShadeValley, General Manager at Shade Valley Camp Resort
Responded Aug 25, 2014
Thank you for staying with us and thank you for your review! We hope to see you again!
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I have stayed at Shade Valley very year since it opened. It was great the first year and it has improved every year after. Cleanest and friendliest campground in Sturgis. Staff are the best and really try to make everyone happy. I will never consider staying anywhere else.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShadeValley, General Manager at Shade Valley Camp Resort
Responded Aug 25, 2014
Thank you for staying with us and thank you for your review! We hope to see you again!
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This campground is about 10 minutes west of the main cluster of large Sturgis campsites, and even farther than that from Sturgis proper... making it a great option for those who want to take in the Rally but not be immersed in the "experience" 24/7. Several people I talked to (having stayed previously at other big-name campgrounds) said they had chosen Shade Valley for this exact reason.
We had a camping cabin with two double-bed berths in a bunk-bed configuation. Air mattresses are the only thing provided so you need your own sleeping bags or bedding. It was about 95 degrees inside our cabin when we checked in, and it took the AC a long time to bring it down to a comfortable level but eventually got the job done. The cabins have ample electrical outlets, shelving and lighting but no mini-fridge.
Meals are served from a snack-bar set-up with picnic tables outside but under cover. We only ate there twice (once for dinner and once for breakfast), but both meals were hot and tasty with adequate portions. The menu is typical bar/festival fare (burgers, tacos, fries, etc.), although the chicken garden wrap I had was a welcomed "healthy" option. Menu prices run $8-13 and are mostly a la carte with the exception of daily specials and the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.
The Eye Candy Saloon dominates the grounds and hosts free live bands every night during Rally Week. This is a large, very nice facility and the bands this year were some of the best I saw all week. Ice cold beer and friendly staff make this a great place to unwind after a long day's ride.
The Shade Valley staff deserves special mention. Every employee I encountered was very friendly, seemed truly happy to have us there and was working hard to deliver the best experience possible. All of the facilities (saloon, eating area, showerhouse, front office, etc.) were clean and well maintained. People clearly take pride in this place.
There are really only two negatives and they both have to do with obvious rapid expansion. First, despite the campground's name, many cabins and campsites have no shade whatsoever. More trees have recently been planted but until they reach maturity there will be a serious lack of shelter from the Sturgis summer heat. Second, there is only one shower house, located at the extreme northern edge of the grounds... a second shower facility on the southern perimeter would be a welcome addition and would help eliminate the long trips (and long lines) to get a shower during the morning rush.
It's a stretch to say that any Sturgis area campground is "family friendly" during Rally Week, but Shade Valley is as close as it gets. We were there Monday-Wednesday and while the site was busy with a definite "good time" feel in the air, the noise and nudity prevalent in the area's larger, better known campsites was noticeably absent. So if you're looking for a campground with all the Rally Week camaraderie but a "PG" atmosphere... this is the place for you.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Â Try to get something under shade.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ShadeValley, General Manager at Shade Valley Camp Resort
Responded Apr 19, 2013
That you for the review and thank you for choosing to stay at SHADE VALLEY CAMP RESORT! Hope to see you again in the future!
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Great question! We have a laundry service. YOu drop off your laundry in the morning and we do it for you while you are out touring around. It is a per pound price - we weigh your laundry when you drop it off and wash it and dry it and fold it and have it ready for you to pick up.
We do have a mechanical bull. We have nightly contests and entertainment and music. We have 3 headline acts during the rally: The Charlie Daniels Band, Confederate Railroad and Black Hawk - all playing at Shade Valley. All registered guests with a wristband get in free!
There are more places to choose from in the Sturgis area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
shade valley camp hotel sturgis
LOCATION
United StatesSouth DakotaSturgis
NUMBER OF ROOMS
550
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
