Best Tent 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.

Stayed one night in one of the numerous walk-in primitive sites. I reserved the site online, and received great help and flexibility from the park rangers when I needed to change the reservation date due to poor weather. There are multiple drive-in tent sites along the road to the walk-in sites. There were a few people camped in the drive in sites, but we had the walk-in section all to ourselves. The camp hosts provided wagons in the parking area for easy transport of camping supplies. I highly recommend staying in a site along the river for a great water view right from your site. The tall cottonwood trees provide great seclusion, and we didn’t hear anyone all night. There is a pit toilet next to the parking area, but we opted to drive to the ranger station/help desk for running sinks and toilets. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. Highly recommend staying here!

This place was great! Only stayed here one night passing through on our way back to MN. Very well maintained and clean, huge campsites that are well spaced from others. There are campsites all around the lake/park, some in their own little private nook. Great sunset and the bugs were minimal too. Very surprised that a place as nice as this one is free. The freeway is somewhat close just across the lake and can be heard, but it didn't bother us at all. Campsites have a picnic table and fire ring. Vault toilets are scattered around the lake, and there are water spigots too. Happy we found this place!

This is an interesting tiny campground run by the city of Bismarck. In a a Friday in July, we are one of four campers here. There a few 50 amp sites and several posts with 20 amp. Some 20amp are next to a traditional back in site. Others are in a grassy field and can be shared. That is what we chose. The 20 amp runs what we need. None of the sores have water or sewer and there is no dump station. However, there is a spigot with water. We filled our fresh tank before arriving. There are picnic tables and fire rings scattered throughout. It seems you could park out pitch a tent any where. There are 2 well maintained portolets and a dumpster. The location is right on the Missouri River and close to a state historic site. We originally booked 2 nights then decided to stay longer. For $12 per night, what is not to love!!

Stayed 3 days, due to not wanting to drive in the storm the last day. First 2 days were lovely and just the right amount of shade from the trees. Only 2 vault toilets, 1 in each of the RV and Tent areas. Could have done with a regular clean, but there were only 2 sites taken when we stayed. An extra 2 toilets and shower block by the boat ramp. Also a playground. (Note: Drinking water and showers are seasonal, so check the website if you need these to be operational) Each of the RV sites had their own grill and picnic table. Looked like the tent sites may share these facilities. Lots of locals visit to fish, and seemed to be quite lucky as well with Catfish and Walleye. Lovely place to visit for a few days. Also note, if you have an annual parks pass, you may get up to a 50% discount when booking.