Best Glamping near Cavalier, ND

This is a small quiet state park in northeast North Dakota that offers a nature preserve with rare plants and birds in a cool bur oak-basswood  stand with spring fed fens around it. A nature trail with little footbridges carries you through. There is also a native prairie restoration, and historic exhibits about the different cultural groups who made their homes here from prehistoric times to today.  A nice little oasis! The campground is set on a pleasant little reservoir, as we are tent campers we loved that the tent area was in the so called "primitive" area  with only tents, with sites all along the shore and close to the nature preserve. It was a weeknight, and no one else was there so it was very peaceful! Fo folks who have campers or rvs, there are three well set up loops with hookups and all the amenities. We also appreciated that they have a dog park on site! I havent seen that in a state park before. The staff was really friendly and helpful. Due to covid restrictions there are more rules to follow and limited programming etc, but you can still swimm and fish and boat on your own. The only drawback is that you can hear road noise from trucks on the highway nearby which is noticeable at night.

We originally planned this as a stopover for one night and ended up liking it so much that we stayed a second night and considered a third! We were in the west loop campground. The sites were shady and mostly level. Each site had electrical as well as its own water pump, which was luxurious! Lots of trees for shade and hammocks, and hands down the nicest bathrooms I've seen in a campground. (I know I said that about a different park recently, but this was even better!) There were even family restrooms with ADA accessible showers that were separate from the smaller ones in the men's and women's rooms.

If you're like me and hate camping 10 feet from a million campers in a crowded campground, then this island site is for YOU! The campsite itself is a double occupancy. We had 4 adults and 5 kids and had plenty of space for two big tents and all our stuff. The canoeing is a quick 15 minute paddle from the lakeside campground on the far east side of the lake. (I wanna respect everyone's ability to paddle a canoe, but this is a level 1/easy peazy/if my 9 year old can do it then so can you kind of paddle.)

The island is filled with tons of old oak trees and has plenty of space to string up a hammock or two in the shade. The tent pads aren't the most level, but they aren't the worst I've pitched on either. The dock is nice and low so getting in and out with your gear is a breeze. We camped over the 4th of July and even with the busy holiday boat traffic still felt pretty secluded, especially at night. The vaulted toilet was nice to have on the island too. We had to canoe in our water in portable jugs, but that's how we usually camp.

It would have been nice to have a food locker of some sort in the campsite as both nights we stayed we had a big old fat raccoon in the campsite trying to get into our food. We ended up putting our totes with all the food/garbage wedged under the bench of the picnic tables in order to keep them out. Still didn't stop them from dragging a cooler of ours into the woods one night. (Darn trash pandas.)

The only reason this didn't get 5 stars is because the area around the island is all weeds and muck. You'll have to paddle west into the big part of the lake (10 minutes) and dock your canoe next to the swimming beach if you want a muck and weed-free swimming experience.

I spent a week here working and exploring the area. There's just so much to see and do both within the park and in the surrounding area. There's the museum across the street The hikes in the park the beach the boating the lake. If you play golf that's right around the corner and has a paved trail that takes you there and down into cavalier. And if you can drive a little bit there's the Pembina River gorge, the state forest and those hikes and those lookouts, Walhalla with its historical sites. There really is a little bit for anyone who might be interested and close to the area. By the way I was here the week before Memorial Day week and for most nights I was the only person in the park it was quite nice.

Camped at Lake Bronson the first weekend of June at site 47 beside the lake.  Our site had nice shade (beware - quite a few lake side sites are full sun), a necessity on the unusually warm June weekend. All amenities were very well maintained and close to our campsite. Unsure of how close sites were at the Two Rivers campground but Lake side were very close and multiple people were up until late into the evening. Not an issue for us, but if you're looking to get away in a more secluded location this would not be for you.

With temps in the mid 90s we enjoyed plenty of time in the lake, hiked to the top of the WPA observation tower, listened to trumpeter swans & watched the sun set over the lake .

One thing of note - our campsite was CRAWLING with ticks. Upon waking we had over a dozen hanging onto the outside of our tent, and picked more than we could count off of ourselves during our 24 hour stay. Unsure if it was a banner year for the buggers or if the location of the camping sites in grass next to a tree line was a perfect breeding ground but it was truly remarkable.