Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA Journey

We stayed at Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA Journey in Devils Tower, Wyoming. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A partial view of Devils Tower, from just outside the monument.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-08-16
Check out: 2023-08-19
3 nights

Weather:

Sunny
High temps ranging between 87-95°F, lows around 56-73°F
Wind gusts up to 33 MPH gusts

Noise:

Negligible road noise
No train noise
Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

#38, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
Level front-to-back, a little unlevel side-to-side
Gravel driveway about 75 feet long by about 10 feet wide
Grass between sites about 20 feet wide
No tree on this site, big trees elsewhere
Picnic table on grass
Next to the group fire pit
Partial front view of Devils Tower

Utilities:

50 amp power, very conveniently located
80 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 16 Mbps down,16 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
Verizon: 13-25 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
AT&T: 82 Mbps down, 2-6 Mbps up, 120 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Starlink: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Closed swimming pool
Mini-golf (free due to closed pool)
Package delivery to office
Onsite cafe
Right outside Devils Tower entrance

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Not all “premium” sites have a good view

The only way to get closer to Devils Tower National Monument would be to stay inside the monument at the rustic first-come-first-serve campground. We booked a premium site online, assuming it would have a view of the tower from our site. Not so much. There were big trees in the way, so we only got a slight peep of the lower edge of the tower. For $100/night (with our KOA discount), I was expecting a front-row seat. From our scouting, the best sites for a good view are 100, 86-89. We were in site 38. Site 37 probably had a better view. The other downside of site 38 was that so many people walked through our site, thinking it was the pathway to the bathhouse. Hint: It’s not. The picnic table and the lack of a pathway are clues, people. The onsite diner was a nice perk, but I’m wary of any place with that many flies in the eating area. We camped at Devils Tower / Black Hills KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: You could get up early to get to the tower to beat the crowds, but going in the late afternoon/evening is just as good. Definitely go up the dirt road to Joiner Ridge trailhead and get a fantastic view of the tower at sunset lit up with alpenglow.

The campground map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site, with a partial view of the tower:

Our site

A group fire pit was next to our site, which they lit each night, though nobody used it:

Group fire pit next to our site

Sun setting behind Devils Tower:

Sun setting behind Devils Tower

Gift store:

Gift store

Onsite cafe, always a nice option, though it was rather inundated with flies:

Cafe

They offered “hayrides”, hay not included:

Hayride

Across the road is the Devils Tower Trading Post:

Trading Post

We went there for dinner another night, and grabbed some questionable hot dogs (that we think gave us some mild food poisoning):

Trading Post

Post office:

Post office

Mini golf:

Mini golf

The mini golf was free, as the boot-shaped swimming pool was unavailable:

Swimming pool

Carts:

Carts

Other sites:

Other sites

Site 100 would be an excellent choice for a side view of the tower:

Other sites

Sites 86-89 would have a decent front view, too:

Other sites

Dog park:

Other sites

Playground:

Playground

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Cabins:

Cabins

Lots of tent sites:

Lots of tent sites

Teepees:

Teepees

A badly angled peek inside a teepee:

Teepee

Interesting rocks and stream:

Interesting rocks and stream

Meadow and tower:

Meadow and tower

Video

Video: Buffalo to Devils Tower motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 130 miles from Buffalo, Wyoming to Devils Tower, Wyoming.

Travel from Buffalo to Devils Tower, Wyoming

We drove our coach 130 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Buffalo to Devils Tower, Wyoming.

Here’s the map route, heading east:

Route

An interactive map, with planned and actual stops marked:

A GIF of retracting the big front driver-side slide-out:

GIF of slide-out retracting

Leaving the RV park:

Leaving the RV park

I-90 off into the distance:

I-90

A rest stop (not initially planned, but needed due to battling wind while driving):

Rest stop

Onward on I-90:

I-90

One of several narrow bridges due to roadworks:

Narrow bridge roadworks

Coal power plant:

Coal power plant

Paladin asleep in his safe space next to the passenger chair:

Paladin asleep

A stop for diesel at the Sinclair Coffee Cup Fuel Stop:

Fuel stop

Our coach parked with trucks; we ran the generator so the ACs could be on, it being rather hot:

Coach parked with trucks

We went inside to grab some lunch:

Sinclair station food options

Food

We got some sandwiches, chips, and icees, which we took back to our coach to eat:

Food

Apparently Wyoming gets bids from farmers to mow the verges of highways; a great resource for them, and great for the state:

Hay

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Approaching Devils Tower:

Approaching Devils Tower

Our destination the KOA right outside the entrance of the monument:

KOA

Our coach parked while checking in:

Our coach

Check-in kiosk:

Check-in kiosk

Devils Tower:

Devils Tower

Buffalo KOA Journey

We stayed at Buffalo KOA Journey in Buffalo, Wyoming. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second visit to this very nice KOA, again staying in the new Clear Creek Loop section.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-08-13
Check out: 2023-08-16
3 nights

Weather:

Sunny
High temps ranging between 72-90°F, lows around 49-59°F
Some wind on arrival day, up to 20 MPH gusts, otherwise negligible

Noise:

Some faint road noise
No train noise
Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

#82, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
A little unlevel, not too bad
Gravel driveway about 60 feet long by about 12 feet wide
Grass and rocks between sites about 15 feet wide
Young trees
Concrete patio with table and chairs
Fire pit

Utilities:

50 amp power, very inconveniently located
60 PSI water, very inconveniently located
Good sewer connection, somewhat conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe plus 1 3-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 30 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: 6 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 15 ms ping
Verizon: 22 Mbps down, 22 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
AT&T: 105 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
Starlink: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Swimming pool
Package delivery to office
Path by creek

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Newer section is lovely

This was our second stay here, and we enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Once again, our site was in the newer creekside portion, and it’s still very nice. There is minor road noise, but pretty faint. The sites are level, and hookups are all good. We’ll definitely stay here again on our next trip through the area and try one of the back-in sites along the creek itself. We camped at Buffalo KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Crazy Woman Canyon is a fantastic drive. Tie Hack picnic area was a great spot to enjoy a bite to eat afterward.

The campground map:

Campground map

Interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Decoration:

Decoration

Bridge:

Bridge

Dog run:

Dog run

Creek:

Creek

Video of the creek:

Creek

Other sites

Group fire pit:

Group fire pit

A path from the creek area, and other sites:

Path and other sites

Other sites

Four different Tiffin motorhome models; our Allegro Bus, a Phaeton, an Allegro Open Road, and an Allegro Red:

Other sites

A nice KOA; our second stay here, and we’ll definitely stay here again in the future. If we were to stay here more than a few nights, one of the back-in sites in the Clear Creek loop would be delightful.

Video

Video: Cody to Buffalo, Wyoming motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 179 miles from Cody, Wyoming to Buffalo, Wyoming.

Travel from Cody to Buffalo, Wyoming

We drove our coach 179 miles, about 3 hours of scenic driving, from Cody, Wyoming to Buffalo, Wyoming.

Here’s the map route, heading east:

Route

An interactive map, with potential stops:

But before we could leave, I had to ask the driver of this truck to move, as they where blocking the exit (sure, just park across the road and no-parking markings; your convenience is more important than anyone else):

Truck blocking exit

Underway, with a flat and curvy highway:

Flat and curvy

Pump jack:

Pump jack

We stopped for lunch in the Washakie County Visitor’s Council parking lot, since it has some RV spots just barely big enough for us (and was pretty much empty, being closed). They have a mammoth sculpture out front:

Mammoth

Fun hills:

Hills

The cute town of Ten Sleep:

Ten Sleep

Heading through the Bighorn mountains:

Hills

Bighorn mountains

Paladin chilling on the floor between us:

Paladin

Bighorn mountains

Snow fences:

Snow fences

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Rain:

Rain

One of several 8% downgrades:

One of several 8% downgrades

Mandatory brake check turnout for trucks, RVs, and vehicles with trailers; Jenn hardly touched the brakes, though; she’s great at using gears and engine braking on downhills:

Brake check turnout

More curves and slopes:

More curves and slopes

Bighorn mountains

The runaway truck ramp was closed for repairs or updates:

Runaway truck ramp closed

Our destination:

Our destination

Our coach just before pulling into our site:

Our coach

Replacing wiper blades

An easy and necessary maintenance item for our coach is to replace the windshield wiper blades on occasion.

Our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome takes a pair of 40-inch frame- or saddle-style blades. I previously ordered some from etrailer.com, but most recently got some from Amazon.

New and old blades:

New and old blades

They are each attached to their arm via a bolt; I have the bolt inserted from the top, so even if the nut comes off, the bolt won’t fall out:

Mounting bolt

Mounting nut:

Mounting nut

The new blades installed (with one obscured by a Magne-Shade cover):

Installed

Easy!

Cody KOA Holiday

We stayed at Cody KOA Holiday in Cody, Wyoming. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A busy KOA, especially with lots of motorcycles from people heading to or from the big Sturgis rally.

Dates:

Check in: 2023-08-05
Check out: 2023-08-13
8 nights

Weather:

One day with hail, a couple of days with thunderstorms, mostly clear after that
High temps ranging between 70-85°F, lows around 51-59°F
Some wind, up to 20 MPH gusts

Noise:

Some road noise
No train noise
Lots of neighbor noise (kids and motorcycles)

Site:

#59, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
Unlevel, side-to-side slope, but jacks coped
Gravel driveway about 102 feet long by about 12 feet wide
Grass between sites about 12 feet wide
No trees
Concrete patio with table and chairs
Fire pit

Utilities:

50 amp power, inconveniently located
45 PSI water, inconveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 29 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 250 ms ping
Verizon: 25 Mbps down, 18-21 Mbps up, 60-120 ms ping
AT&T: 33-38 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 130 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: 3-7 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 110 ms ping
Starlink: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Swimming pool
Free pancakes for breakfast
Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient to Pancakes

The campground was convenient for exploring Cody and the area. Our site was right next to the office and pancake area, which was nice. The angle to get our big rig out when we left was a little hairy, however. The trailers and smaller rigs in the site next to us usually backed out of their site to avoid the hard left turn around the dump station and propane fill area. Some of the turns in the park were also a bit difficult in a big rig, especially when folks at the ends parked their big trucks into the road. The site itself was level, and all the hookups worked. We camped at Cody KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a must-do. Head over to the Bighorn Canyon and Chief Joseph Scenic Highway for some amazing scenery. The Buffalo Bill Dam is also pretty cool.

The campground map:

Map

Our site:

Our site

We went out for a scenic drive one day (see forthcoming post), but as we arrived back in town it started to rain heavily, with lightning in the area. When we arrived back at our site, we waited in our truck for several minutes while it rained and hailed heavily, before making a run for it when it eased up briefly:

Hail

The campground experienced some ground flooding:

Flooding

Video of heavy rain, campground flooding, and lightning:

A screenshot of several nearby lightning strikes via the handy LightningMaps.org website:

Lightning

Flooding:

Flooding

All that water washed away the landscaping gravel:

Washed away landscaping gravel

Hail residue:

Hail residue

The campground entrance:

Entrance

Gazebo by the entrance:

Gazebo by entrance

Office:

Office

Office store

Pools:

Pools

Playground:

Playground

Jump pad:

Jump pad

Family room:

Family room

A nice feature of this KOA is free pancakes for breakfast every day, with sausages and other food available for purchase:

Pancakes etc

Pancakes and sausages

Speaking of food, some samples of other places we patronized in Cody; first up, More Burgers and Shakes:

More Burgers and Shakes

A close-up of that bear decoration:

Bear

There are bears on the back of the bear:

Bears on bear

More Burgers and Shakes

Not overly impressive:

More Burgers and Shakes

We had a lot of BBQ in Texas, so it was interesting to try Wyoming’s edition at Bubba’s Bar-B-Que; a bit different, but not bad:

Bubba's Bar-B-Que

Finally, some pizza at Tossers Pizza and Beer; decent pan-style pizza, but not the best:

Tossers Pizza and Beer

We were planning to attend the famous Cody Nite Rodeo, but after reading the reviews on Yelp and elsewhere, we decided it wasn’t for us — overly religious, political jokes, sexist jokes, etc. It would have been painful. And apparently not good rodeo anyway.

But they kept trying to drum up customers, driving though the campground every day offering discount coupons:

Cody Nite Rodeo

And a bus to pick up people:

Cody Nite Rodeo

One of several occupants of our driver-side neighboring site, a small toy hauler trailer:

Toy hauler trailer

One section of the park has tight buddy sites:

Tight buddy sites

Other sites:

Other sites

A newer section, where it looked like a couple was shoveling the gravel to make it somewhat level for parking after the flooding:

Other sites

Tent sites:

Tent sites

Teepees:

Teepees

Cabins:

Cabins

Our site again, preparing to leave:

Our site

Video

Video: Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 80 miles from Yellowstone, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming.

Travel from Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming

We drove our coach 80 miles, about 2.5 hours of very scenic driving, from Yellowstone, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming.

Here’s the map route, heading east:

Route

An interactive map, with potential stops; we had lunch at Newton Spring Picnic Site, and got some fuel at the Sinclair station:

We paused bringing in the slide to let the pooled rain drain off:

Rain coming off slide

A GIF of checking the brake controller; the air brakes of the coach triggers this piston that pushes the brake pedal in our truck for proportional braking assistance:

Brake controller

Checking the truck lights:

Light check

Another check, moving the coach forward a couple of feet to engage the tow bar and make sure the truck wheels turn freely (reversing GIF):

Pull test

Leaving the campground; starting the Bluefire app for coach info:

Leaving campground; starting Bluefire app

The coach GPS mistakenly said “No Recreational Vehicles Allowed” again inside the park:

No Recreational Vehicles Allowed

Yellowstone Lake:

Yellowstone Lake

One of the last glimpses of a geyser:

Geyser

And a bison:

Bison

And deer:

Deer

A very scenic drive on the way out of the park:

Scenic

Leaving from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park:

Leaving from the east entrance

Leaving Yellowstone National Park

The scenic drive continues outside the park; rather Utah-like:

Scenic

We stopped at Newton Spring Picnic Area for lunch:

Newton Spring Picnic Area

Lunch:

Lunch

Paladin sitting on upturned dining chairs:

Paladin on upturned dining chairs

Onward:

Scenic

Smith Mansion:

Smith Mansion

Scenic

Three tunnels by Buffalo Bill Reservoir:

Tunnel

Scenic

Cody:

Cody

A fuel stop at a Sinclair station; not needed, since only down a third of a tank, but gives us peace of mind, since there are no truck stops along this route, other than stations like this:

Fuel stop