Home to stunning scenery, iconic monuments, and hours of outdoor fun, the Black Hills of South Dakota are truly one of the most family-friendly regions of America. From national parks to Wild West towns, to the largest reptile zoo in the world, there are many fun things to do in the Black Hills!

A vacation in the Black Hills is road trip Americana at its finest. Our Rushmore Shadows Resort is located on the road between Rapid City (Western South Dakota’s largest city) and Mt. Rushmore. We’re right past Reptile Gardens and located next to Old MacDonald’s Petting Farm.

Planning a summer roadtrip? Looking to fit your family in a small space for a weekend, week, or longer? Our experiences in RV living for the past several decades have granted some perspective about how to make the most of your storage, your living space, and your sanity when you downsize.

As childhood pastimes go, camping has to be near the top of the list. There’s no better place for forging memories than the great outdoors, and children can learn lifelong skills while staying active and having a ton of fun. This week we’re going to give you some awesome kid-friendly camping activities that the whole family can enjoy. Read on!

If you’ve never travelled to beautiful Branson, Missouri you’re missing out! This Ozark town is a perfect destination for all kinds of family fun, and there are a ton of summer activities in the area. This week, we’re going to show you some of the big attractions Branson has to offer, and you just might fall in love with this gorgeous little town. Read on!

New Years Resolution: Book Your Vacation Early

Have you been procrastinating on your dream travel plans for years now? Have you always wanted to take an awesome vacation but kept putting it off, telling yourself you’ll go when the kids are older, when you a get a promotion, etc.? Well, it’s New Years, and that means it’s time to resolve to see those gorgeous destinations you’ve always dreamed of once and for all.

It’s unfortunate ladies and gentlemen, but the season is winding down and we’re on the fast track towards winter. Luckily, we still offer plenty of fun at Midwest Outdoor Resorts! Whether it’s winter camping or taking a much-needed vacation through our affiliates, MOR is ready to make this winter season your best one yet. Let’s look at some of the ways you can use your MOR membership after the summer camping season is over.

Now that we’re officially in the fall season, we thought we’d give you a few tips on how to enjoy yourself at Midwest Outdoor Resortsthis autumn! Although camping slows down this time of year, there are plenty of fun activities and festivals to relish while you’re in the outdoors. Let’s take a look at 5 ways to relax at MOR this fall!

Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or anything in between, you may be surprised at just how much awesome food you can cook over a campfire. This week, we’re going to give you the 8 best campfire recipes of all time (according to us). We only have a few weeks left of summer folks (where did it go?), so be sure to get out and try these delicious treats! We’ll break the meals down into four categories, and you can click the links above the photos to get full recipes. Read on!

At Midwest Outdoor Resorts, we love good food almost as much as we love our Members. That’s why we’re giving you the opportunity to Win a Brand New Deluxe Camping Kitchen set from Rowdy!

Going on vacation this summer? If so, you might want to partake in some mini-golf, or possibly even real golf! This week, we’re going to give you some tips on how to improve your putting, so you can have a great time on the astroturf (or regular turf). Two of our Midwest Outdoor Resorts destinations (Rushmore Shadows and Hidden Bluffs) have mini-golf courses, and we offer discounted rates for MOR members at Hart Ranch Golf Course in Rapid City, SD. After you read this post, stop out and see us to try your hand at some putting!

The Black Hills of South Dakota are not only known for their pristine beauty, but also their history. In the late 1800s, pioneers and prospectors from the eastern U.S. settled in the Black Hills, with high hopes of striking it rich in the gold rush of 1876-77. This lead to clashes with the native Sioux tribes, who consider the land sacred to this day. Towns like Deadwood, Hill City and Custer are chock-full of all sorts of Old West history and landmarks.

Although times have obviously changed, you can still experience the same trails they did in the old west…on horseback! This week, we’re going to give you some of the best horseback trail ride barns in the Black Hills, so you can experience this unique adventure with the whole family. Most all the Forest Service roads and trails in the Black Hills are open to horses, but some require a user fee. For the purpose of this post, we’re recommending guided tours. Read on to find some great rides!

If you’ve ever gone on a long road trip with the family, or have been stuck inside when the weather isn’t cooperating, you know you need something to do. Bringing along games is a great way to add fun to any vacation. Of course, old staples like a deck of cards give you a lot of different options, but we’re going to focus on some fun newer games you can play with the whole fam. Read on to find some of our favorites!

Happy New Year MOR patrons! We’re glad to be back and are looking forward to an awesome 2018! This week, we’re going to recap some of the new events and exciting happenings that took place throughout our resorts last year, and give you our #1 resolution for 2018. We had a lot of fun in 2017, so let’s recap:

There’s a reason the quickly-approaching season is considered the most stressful time of year. You’ve got gifts to buy, planes to catch, in-laws to deal with, etc. While you appreciate and enjoy the holiday itself, planning your vacation (hopefully you can call it that) can give you undue anxiety and ruin your trip before it’s even begun. This week, we’re going to give you some tips on how to survive holiday travel. Read on to find some useful ways to prioritize so you don’t lose your holiday cheer!

What’s the number one deterrent to you and your family taking a vacation? Time? Work? School? While those may play a role, chances are the greatest stressor and burden towards vacation time is money. As always, we’re here to help! This week, we’re going to offer some useful solutions to saving money on your vacation, so you can sit back, relax and actually enjoy your trip. Read on!

If you think the only time to camp is in the summer, you’re missing out. Autumn offers some of the best camping of any time of year, and this week, we’ll tell you why. Between the scenery, warm camping food, foggy mornings and cool nights, there are plenty of reasons to take a fall camping vacation. Read below, and let us know in the comments if you have any fall camping stories.

Unfortunately for many of us, summer is almost over. School is ramping back up, football season is right around the corner and the brisk autumn air will hit us soon. Fortunately, this is also one of the best times of year to take a vacation. Most of the summer crowds have left and temperatures have dropped to reasonable levels. If you can find a way to make it work with school and/or your job, a fall family trip may be just what you need before winter hits.

Today, we’re going to give you our 5 favorite fall destinations. These are all places with gorgeous autumn colors, mild temperatures and beautiful scenery. Read on to see if one of these places fits your fall itinerary:

 If you had no obligations and all the time in the world, what would you do? Sit at home and watch TV? Doubtful. Shuffle through emails and social media all day? Nope. How about travel? Us too.

This week, we’re going to take another look at that great symbol of Americana, the summer road trip. We’ve designed it to hit major National Parks from the West Coast to the East, but you can obviously take any variation you’d like. Ours would take about 3-4 months to complete, but you could certainly shorten the time frame and keep it more regional. Read on travellers!

It’s finally May! The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer and camping season is right around the corner. As humans, we have an innate desire to connect with nature (there’s even a word for it: biophilia).  There’s no better way to get close to nature than camping, and it has been shown to be beneficial to your health and happiness (levels of serotonin naturally rise when you’re outdoors). If you’re as excited about getting outdoors as we are, take a look at the 8 tips below to make this the best camping season you’ve ever had!

Welcome to our second installment of our five-part series on the best vacations to take in the U.S. Today, we’ll be going over another Midwest Outdoor Resorts (MOR) destination, the St. Croix River Resort in Hinckley, Minnesota. Located just an hour and a half northeast of Minneapolis/St. Paul, the St. Croix River resort is the perfect spot for a one-of-a-kind river vacation.