Juniper Campground, near Watford City, North Dakota, is a fantastic base for exploring [Theodore Roosevelt National Park](https://thedyrt.com/camping/north-dakota/near/theodore-roosevelt-national-park). This campground offers a peaceful atmosphere with spacious, paved sites that are perfect for both tents and RVs, though be mindful that larger rigs may need to navigate a bit to find a suitable spot.

Visitors rave about the clean facilities, including restrooms with running water and flush toilets. The campground is known for its stunning night skies, where you can catch a glimpse of the Milky Way and even spot shooting stars. One camper shared, “Be sure to look up at night…the stars are amazing!”

Wildlife is a big draw here, with bison often roaming through the area, adding to the unique experience of camping in the park. The campground is conveniently located near scenic drives and hiking trails, making it easy to immerse yourself in the breathtaking landscapes of the North Unit. Just remember, it’s first come, first served, so arriving early can help you snag a prime spot.

## Overview

 For groups visiting the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Juniper Campground Group Site is a great place to stay. Located four miles (6.4 km) from the entrance to the North Unit of the park, the Group Site is open from May through October. 
## Recreation

 Hikers can access the Achenbach Trail and Little Mo Trail directly from the facility. The Achenbach Trail (17.7 miles/28.5 km), climbs from river bottomland up through the Achenbach Hills, drops to the river again, climbs to Oxbow Overlook along the way of a spur trail, and returns north of the river to the campground. Ask about the conditions of the river crossing before hiking. The Little Mo Trail (1.1 miles/1.8 km) is a self-guiding nature trail that begins at Juniper Campground and goes through river woodlands and badlands. Visit the [Hiking and Trail Information][1] page on the park website. 
## Facilities

 Toilets, drinking water and picnic tables are provided at this facility. The site can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs. The group site can accommodate between seven and 60 people with a maximum of 20 passenger vehicles. There are no hookups; a dump station is available for campers. All wheeled vehicles and trailers must remain on roadways or pads. 
## Natural Features

 The Little Missouri River is the central, unifying feature of this wild and broken land where, as a young man, Theodore Roosevelt ranched and hunted in the 1880s. The park is part of both the Northern Great Plains and the West, blending a rich natural beauty with diverse human history. The rugged topography, with its flora and fauna, also provides an opportunity to discover the badlands environment as Roosevelt once did. It is a place to experience a land and way of life that helped shape Theodore Roosevelt\'s attitudes and philosophy regarding conservation. Cottonwood trees surrounding the campsite turn golden in the fall. Although the campground is moderately forested, most of the campsites are in partial to full sun but visitors can cool off in the cold river when temperatures peak during summer. 
## Nearby Attractions

 The town of Watford City has shopping, restaurants, amenities and a theater is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) to the north. The [Little Missouri National Grassland][2] is the largest National Grassland in the nation at 1.03 million acres (416,826 ha). It is located in western North Dakota and is managed by the Medora Ranger District in Dickinson, ND and the McKenzie Ranger District in Watford City, ND. The National Grassland provides additional recreation opportunities in the area. 

[1]: https://www.nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/hiking-and-trail-information.htm
[2]: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/dpg/recarea/?recid=79469

Juniper Campground — Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Join the fun near Grassy Butte. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Grassy Butte is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Find the best campgrounds near Grassy Butte, ND. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.

Grassy Butte

The Best Camping Near Grassy Butte, North Dakota

The scenery is breath taking.  The abundance of wildlife is amazing.
The campground is well kept and the park Rangers are friendly and knowledgeable. 
The Buffalo come right in the campground. 
Amazing experience 

A must see

Amazing! We took our two boys August of 2015. The weather was amazing. we spent the day in the town of Medora which has so much to do and so filled with history .back at the campground, which we located a spot right next to the river ,the boys went fishing. Then we drove around and saw 3 herds of  wild horses.  we saw Buffalo also. Though not as many as in the north unit.  the bathrooms have running water and are immaculately clean.  the campgrounds are clean and well kept and the oark rangers were friendly. 

Nature at its best

Buffalo walking through the campground- how awesome :)  We were just passing through on our way to Glacier NP and spend a night here, but have decided we must return. This park is not overly popular or busy, which was a bit of the appeal. The sites and bathrooms were average, but an enjoyable place to spend the night.  A couple good-sounding hikes that we want to try. 

buffalo

While this may be in the middle of nowhere, it is worth the trip off the beaten path. From what I understand, the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is even leas visited and less crowded. We were there in the middle of the summer and only saw a handful of others. The scenery is breathtaking and unique, not exactly like anything else I have ever seen. There are abundant buffalo wandering the fields roads. The campground was quiet and clean, kind of in a prairie with abundant trees. While we didn't go hiking, there are a few trails, both long (18 mile backpacking loop) and short. If you are making the trip to Glacier from the east, don't miss this park/campground!

A North Dakota Gem

The site was really small. It was slightly crowded being only me and my husband. The site could fit two tents but we would occasionally bump into each other. The site is really clean and is surrounded by grass. During the drive you can see buffalo on the side eating.

Small

I have already posted my review for the Theodore Roosevelt South campground - Cottonwood.  I won't repeat myself too much. Believe it or not, but I would put the North unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park even ahead of Yosemite.

The trees and the canopy in the Juniper campground is really cool.  Especially against the terrain that surrounds it.  The campground is low on amenities but high on scenery, and it is very clean.

The hiking in the North unit is amazing.  There is so much wildlife.  Never have I been so close to so many animals in the wild.  I saw a lot of wildlife in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, but not as much as I did here. 

I never thought I would ever want to visit North Dakota.  Honestly, I cant wait to go back.  This place will blow your expectations, especially if you take an adventure on a hike or two.  In the North unit, I highly suggest stopping at the River Bend Overlook and hiking down to the CCC shelter for some amazing views.  Then drive to the end of the road and take a quick hike to Sperati Point.

Now I know why Teddy Roosevelt loved North Dakota! Check out Juniper to camp!

I decided to go camping for the weekend. Went to TRNP.north unit. Even though the trees were bare..it was still breathtaking. The Buttes and Vistas, the buffalo, the river.i couldn't get enough. 
I was the only one in the park
..so I had a nice quiet weekend 
 The park ranger  ( P.Thomas) Stopped by for a chat. He explained  the buffalo Roundup  to me. He was so nice and very informative.  The campground as usual was spotlessly clean.
 I will continue to to return again and again. 


Fall camping 

Really beautiful site here with lots of easy and moderate trails to explore with lovely sunrise/sunset and wildlife! Similar feel to Badlands with some fewer crowds. You can’t choose a bad place to camp but be sure to drive through both the north and south areas. Pretty simple campground. Plan to stay at least two nights.

Yay: some of the sites are first come/first serve so if you don’t have a reservation you might get a spot (yay spontaneous adventures). Lots of different campsite configurations so you don’t have to be next to an RV in your tent.

Nay: pretty much guaranteed to fill up on summer/holiday weekends, trails were muddy when we were there in July.

Surprise: BISON EVERYWHERE!! If you have kids don’t let them wander around, the bison are close and plentiful!!

Teddy Roosevelt National Park camping 

This campground sits on the riverbank of the Little Missouri River. There is a resident bison herd that is very comfortable in the area. We woke up one morning to see one grazing 20 feet from our tent. No showers but makes up for it by having space available for a drop in on the 4 th of July weekend! Warning: mature cottonwood trees can drop a branch without warning. The unit next to us had a large limb come down on a windless night. Luckily it was a pull through and dropped on the opposite side of the tree from the tent trailer. Try for a unit with small cottonwood trees!

Buffalo!

We spent two nights here and were pleased that we were able to have our pick of quite a few spots despite the campground being first come first serve. We arrived on a Wednesday evening. The campground is as advertised, no showers or electric. I was happy that they had quiet hours at 8 pm for generators. There were a great variety of spots, large grassy, secluded and shady, drive through and back in. 3 sites have a spectacular view of the bluff if you are able to snag those. 
pro: camp host was great, bathrooms were clean, a great selection of spots 
con: we found a few ticks crawling around

Beautiful, clean and quiet 

This is a good solid campground that was almost full when we arrived, but we were able to choose a nice spot. There was water available but it had a funny taste, they had recently had some problems and were treating the water. The park rangers here were awesome and so helpful. No shower facilities,  but flushing toilets with running water was fine. Lots of great trails and. Is on roam freely. Funny tidbit, the campground is on the border of the time zone border, so my devices would change times and I thought there was a problem, took me a while to figure it out.

Juniper campground at Theodore Roosevelt National Park August 2018

Great little campground. Friendly hosts, clean, plenty of spots and didn’t even fill up for the holiday weekend. Bison will definitely stroll through your sites if you’re over by the field like we were. Peaceful and beautiful. 

Memorial Day 

Plenty of trees provide privacy in this nice National Park campsite that's just a short walk to the banks of the Little Missouri River. Has the standard National Park features, but our kids especially enjoyed the ranger presentation on prairie dogs.

Large, tree-filled site within walking distance to the river.

The campground was very nice, tent and rv sites available. The campground host, Bill, was very nice and informative. The bathrooms had clean toilets, and drinking water was also available. 

Clean campground, nice host, drinking water and clean toilets

I spent three nights at the juniper campground and explored the north unit of the park. The scenic drive is amazing and saw lots of bison. The campground is quiet and well maintained. There is water available and a free rv dump. The bathrooms were super clean and the camp host was friendly. 

Great spot 

Very minimal shade and very hot in June but it’s definitely a good spot to stay. The spots aren’t that close to one another I’ve definitely had worse. It’s right at the beginning of the north side of Theodore Roosevelt and a good stop to stay at while visiting the park. We even saw a couple Buffalo in the campground! Big horn cows also come and visit often. 

Super hot but good stop to stay

Spread our shaded spots close to the river front and away from regular traffic. First come first serve camping
Things to know: 
No showers 
Seasonal host
No hooks ups 

Great location in the park and close to scenic drive and Little Missouri River

Spread our shaded spots close to the river front and away from regular traffic. First come first serve camping. Fully functional flush toilet bathrooms. 

Things to know: No showers Seasonal host No hooks ups

50 total spots

  

https://www.nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/juniper-campground.htm

This campground is called Juniper Campground not Squaw Creek

We had a nice campsite and enjoyed our visit. Boathouse was well maintained. Enjoyed the views and the visit of a Buffalo one evening (he was close, but not too close).

Beautiful Campground

This is a delightful place surrounded by wildlife. I was able to get really close to buffalo (safely from the truck). This campground is on the north side of the Little Missouri River across from the CCC Campground which I actually preferred even though it was more primitive. The sites here are denser, and it is more populated, but there were still a lot of sites available when I was there on 7/5. . There are no hookups. There are bathrooms and running water available and a sanitary dump….an advantage over the CCC. It looks like the recently built new bathrooms which are grade A. It is convenient to auto touring and hiking trails.  I am on a walk about to visit all the national parks and TRNP is one of my favorites so far.

Upscale Primitive Camping

We felt so fortunate to procure a site at this first come, first serve campground. Well-situated sites with gorgeous views. Clean restrooms with flush toilets and running water! 

Scenic!

First come first serve camping. We had a pull thru. Some of the back ins look a little short. Generators have to be off by 8. Very quiet. Lots of stars. There is a water faucet but you have to carry water. No hook ups. Gorgeous views.

Great place 

I really enjoyed this campground. The roads and parking pads are paved! The bathroom was recently built and it is clean and well maintained with running water and flush toilets. Also, the camp hosts were very friendly and helpful with tips on what to see and to do in and around the park.


North 


This is a wonderful campground for shorter stays! 

Beautiful, well maintained campground. Lots of different site to include pull thru, back in, walk in tent sites and a group site. New bathroom on site. Walking distance to the cannonball creations. There is also a dump station here unlike Cottonwood Camp in the South unit. 

Well kept

We weren't even here and parked... 15 minutes later and three bison come right past my camper. I knew we would see them but wow!!! I was in awe..it came right by me and I backed off and knew to respect it. It was on a mission and heading to the woods. Up to 2000 lbs and can travel 30mph!

North side was quiet. We were worried about a campsite and got moving early to get here, but we stayed on a Monday and had no issues. We had our pick of quite a few spots. It got busier by the end of the day, but still spots open for campers. Also cant beat $14 to stay. No electric but it does have a place for water and to dump. Bathrooms are actually really nice and clean, no showers. We did not have cell reception but so travel with Starlink.

Convenient to drive the scenic route and to hike.





My favorite to date!!!

First time we ever boondocked in our 5th wheel. This place is nice &amp; peaceful, well except for the 2 steer that went through our site lol.

Trey have one modern restroom, no showers. Excellent basecamp for the north unit. Plenty of wildlife &amp; scenery to find.

When this place was built, they never envisioned large rigs. So if you have one over 30 feet, just be aware you might have to wiggle your way into a site. Camphost was great. Watford City about 20 minutes away for groceries &amp; gas.



Great for TRNP North Unit

The National Park North Unit and Campground(CG) is easy to find off US-85. We showed our Access Passes to get into the park and then proceeded to mile marker 5, where the CG is located. We pulled up to the information and sign-in board for this first come, first serve CG at about 11:30 AM Mountain Time(interesting that when we got to the north unit area, our phones went back to central time, and after a quick Google search, we found out that the north unit runs on central time). A gentleman let us know that he had just pulled in and grabbed a campsite near the entrance/exit and that we’d probably only fit in site 8(this CG is all dry camping) as the perimeter campsites, both back-ins and pull-throughs, were too short for us. The other longer sites were already taken. We proceeded to pull through site 8, which is a long, quarter moon-shaped asphalt site. We maneuvered around to stay away from tree branches and stay on the pad. The picnic table and stand-up barbecue were on the driver’s side, but since the sites are nicely spaced out, this was not a problem. We then filled out our registration envelope, placed $14 cash(Access Pass discount) in the folder, put the tab on our post, and deposited the envelope in the registration area. We could have also written a check or used a credit card to pay. We got on and off 1 bar on Verizon. We did have a good shot north for Starlink. They have a vaulted toilet and flush toilet building along with potable water at the dump station. There are about a half dozen sites for longer rigs, such as 32, 42, and 43, 49, with 5 being the best site. We had our two dogs with us, and there was plenty of room to walk them around the CG. There was plenty of bison poop in the CG, but we didn't see any during our two-night stay. Watford City is 17 miles north and has your major amenities. We enjoyed using this CG as a base to explore the North Unit.

Great Experience

I arrived very late in the night, but I’m so happy I stayed here! There were plenty of first come first serve sites. 49 was where I stayed and it was tucked away enough that I had privacy. The campground was very quiet until a herd of bison came through haha. Some of the campers ventured a bit too close to them in my opinion and got very loud/excited about it. The bathroom was clean, but for some reason like a sauna at night! Be sure to look up at night…the stars are amazing! I saw three shooting stars and you could clearly see the Milky Way and everything!

Wonderful little campground

We had a great spot in the juniper camp ground. There are no hookups here. Generators are allowed 60 decibels at 50 feet. Lots of wildlife came through the camp. Sites are spread apart. Bathrooms are clean. 

Great spot within the park

The absolute anxiety of getting here and not knowing whether we'd be able to get a spot or not is off the charts. We got here at about 1pm on a Sunday thinking there shouldn't be a problem, yet there were probably only about 4 spots left and only 1 we could fit in. A lot of spots already had tags on them but not one bit of equipment set in place. Assuming it was someone that came in much earlier just to tag a spot...that needs to be addressed. There's quite a few "drinking water" spigots marked on the map but when you get to them there is a sign with a drinking glass and a red slash through it. The only drinking water is at the bathroom and not meant to fill your rv with so dont come here expecting to be able to fill your rv with safe water. The other spigots marked as unsafe have really high fluoride content and feels like slime. But we were told its safe to shower in. Im sorry but I dont trust that at all. If you shouldn't drink it bc of the high fluoride then you shouldn't shower in it. You'll just absorb it through your skin. We're in spot 30 and its pretty spacious but not private at all. Most spots really have no privacy at all. So if that's what you're looking for then look else where. We got barked at by the neighbors' dogs every time we walked out. Very pretty setting but in my opinion its way too crowded. Also not sure if its just the area or time of year but there's just billions of flies all over all the time. Makes being outside miserable. Also my husband got stung by a yellow jacket. I think there's a nest in the picnic table. The grill was full of charcoals and a chunk of burnt wood. It just seems like the sites are not ever checked or taken care of. The only work I've seen done is trash collection. There's an rv dump at least but not sure what much you'll need to dump since there's only one spigot at the bathroom you can fill a jug at.

If it was reservable, it would be 3 stars

This campground is in the north unit of the park. It has 50 primitive sites available on first come first serve basis. We were here on Labor Day weekend and campground was full for the first time in 2 years.
Pads are asphalt and smallish. There are public washrooms, but no showers. There is a dump station, but no potable water for RV tanks. Drinking water is available at the wash house . The drinking of the water at the fill station is discouraged due to high levels of fluoride. 
While we were camped here, 2 small herds of bison grazed through the camp. 

Small Campground but Simple

Great experience at this campground. 
Toilets, water, trash/recycling.
Park Rangers provide educational classes from Thursday-Sunday evenings.
Stunning views and wildlife experiences.
Not a good park for walking dogs.


Photos of Juniper Campground — Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Real photos from real campers