Best Cabin Camping near Bismarck, ND

What a great park for families! That was my first thought. It just looks like a great place for kids to play. There's a playground, wide open spaces, easy trails, a river, and remnants of the fort and an Indian village. There's a paved bike path that you can take from the campground all the way to Bismarck (10+ miles). Or you can ride over to the cavalry and infantry areas of the fort and to the Indian village.

There is a separate $7/day entrance fee in addition to the camping fee. We chose a primitive site (no water, no electric) because those sites are along the river, and the fee was $17. Sites with electricity and water are $25. There are also a couple tipis for $35 and two cabins for $60. There is a clean shower facility plus other restrooms. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, and there's a dump station. We have camped at so many Forest Service sites that all these amenities make it feel like glamping!

My only complaint is that there is no path from the primitive sites to a restroom other than the road. It would have been nice if there were a few paths between sites. No one wants to take a long route to a restroom in the middle of the night. And cutting through an occupied site is poor camping etiquette.

This review is from an overnight versus destination point of view. However, this could easily be a destination park if you want to stay in the area and check out Bismarck. The campground (CG) is about a mile off I-94 and easy to find. Check-in was quick and easy, and we proceeded to pull through site 11 right past the check-in office, store, showers, and laundry facility. The gravel site was pretty level, with utilities placed mid-pad. As our next stop was dry camping, I asked for propane, which they gladly picked up our tanks, had them filled, and returned to our site. There’s no cable TV, but we did receive OTA channels, plus we had a good shot to the north sky for our Starlink. There are a lot of mature trees here, so that satellite could be iffy depending on the site. WiFi speed wasn’t very good, but we didn’t need to use it. We got 4 bars on Verizon. The water pressure was good. They have a nice fenced dog area. This is one of the nicer KOAs we’ve stayed in, with a very nice tent area. We enjoyed our overnight stay.

This state park and the corresponding campground(CG) were easy to find off I 94 and then through Mandan. You check in at the gate where along with your camping fees, you still have to purchase an ND state-park vehicle pass for$7 a day or$35 a year. We then proceeded to back-in site 71 with water and electric(50/30/20 AMP). The back-in was easy and the site was plenty long enough for our 39’ 5th wheel and F450. We received an electrical error from our Watch Dog surge protector and went back to the gate and reported the issue. A ranger showed up about 5 minutes later and swapped the 50 AMP breaker so all was good. We shared a water post with our neighbor and had great water pressure of 60+ so used a reducer. We got quite a few OTA channels and could have used our satellite. We also got 2 bars each on Verizon and T-Mobile. Site 71 had a nice-sized front yard. The rangers regularly patrol the CG and there’s firewood plus ice for sale near the camp host site. There are plenty of trails to explore either by walking or biking. In addition, the state park has a lot of Custer-era calvary history. Be sure to check out the park’s visitor center then visit the Slant Indian Village that’s adjacent to the visitor center. Be careful when selecting a pull-through site, as most, if not all of them, are actually set up as two sites. So, if you were to arrive after your neighbor, you will actually be backing into your site. We enjoyed our 3-day stay and would not hesitate to come back.

Planning a hike to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in North Dakota motivated me to learn more about the diverse landscapes and natural wonders of the U.S. national parks. It is remarkable to see the diversity of environments protected in these parks, from rugged mountains to vast deserts and dense forests. As I prepare for my outdoor adventure at Fort Abraham Lincoln, I am inspired to consider future trips to explore the beauty and biodiversity preserved in the US National Park system, which I learned more about by reading https://www.agmglobalvision.com/u-s-national-parks. Each visit promises an unforgettable experience of immersing yourself in the splendor of nature.

We were last minute and got the last spot for the weekend in the South Loop. Looks like the North Loop may be more popular because it has views of the river.

Our site was a double pull through and because of the way it is set up our fire ring and table were opposite of our front door! The other half was the other way. Not all sites are like this though.

We caught sight of a bald eagle sitting in a tree over the river!

We were able to build a fire because fire restrictions were lifted.

There are teepees to rent and camp close to the river! Beautiful spots!

Bicycle trails were fun and lead to all the historic sites and one even leads out of the park and into the town of Mandan.