Best Dog-Friendly Camping 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.

Good: green, lots of trees, big dog park, adjacent city park and trail, cute town. Bad: hook-ups are awful—they are behind your RV spot, shared with the RV behind you; shared power pedestals so only one gets 50amp, whoever gets there first; the 20amp breaker was useless; sewer connections are 90° angle and 1/2” off ground so almost impossible to use sewer elbow and they have sewer flies; water is a pex tube coming out of the ground, shared, and had a unremovable fitting that did not allow me to connect my pressure regulator. Some sites have utilities on the COMPLETE OPPOSITE side of standard RV connections requiring two additional sewer hoses and extra power cord. Ridiculous.

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.

This is a jewel of a city campground located along the Pembina River and adjacent to the Pembina Gorge State Recreation area. Although the Gorge is administered by the ND State Parks program, there is no camping within the Gorge itself as it is a nature preserve and protected paleontology site. So, the nearby Walhalla city campground is the only option for camping right in the vicinity, and it is a great option, and is a good place for a family vacation in and of itself. 

The campground is located within Walhalla’s beautiful city park, and the extensive campsite options include spacious riverside campsites with full hookups if desired, wooded standard campsites, and a spacious lush shady and grassy primitive tenting area that is wuiet and comfortable. All sites have easy access to a couple if canoe or kayak launch sites, as well as a beautiful sparkling swimming pool, brand new playground, outdoor amphitheater for summer programs, historic settler cabins, picnic areas, and easy walking distance to cafes and shops in town. The bathhouse and restrooms are very clean, the grounds are beautifully maintained with gardens and stately trees, and the community clearly takes tremendous pride in this beautiful park. 

A very short drive will take you to gorgeous scenic overlook areas nearby, with picnicking high above the river, and a few minutes further away you get to various canoe and kayak launch sites for the Pembina River whitewater paddle trail, or trailheads for myriad hiking trails in the Terault State Forest or the Pembina Gorge. The Gorge also offers regularly scheduled fossil dig expeditions that the public can sign up for. The gorge region also has miles of backroad OHV trails and horse trails. At the FrostFire section of the park, on the south side of the Gorge, is a state park headquarters that includes a winter center for both downhill and cross country skiing, and a summer center with hiking trails and extensive mountain biking trails, with the option of a chair lift ride up or down the gorge for trail access or just a view. There is an equipment rental shop here (skis, kayaks, mountain bikes etc) , a cafe and dining room, and an outdoor summerstock theater that presents musicals. There is a beautiful golf course located between the town and the gorge as well. 

A family would easily find a weeks worth of activities to do right in the vicinity of the campground, all while staying at a city campground that is of state park quality. Best of all, since it is a bit “off the beaten path” at the end of the Rendezvous River Regional History Trail, there are not hordes and crowds of people here and it is so peaceful and enjoyable.

Primitive tent sites are $15 a day. Standard sites for tents or RVs with hook up otions are $25 a day. The tenting area is quiet and lightly used, and set apart from the other campsites. If you want a standard campsite right on the river, we highly recommend sites G or F. If you want a quieter spacious standard site back towards the woods, site 7 would be good.

Useful links for local activities: 

Pembina River Water Trail (kayak access at campground): https://www.ndtourism.com/walhalla/attractions/pembina-river-trail

https://www.parkrec.nd.gov/pembina-gorge-state-recreation-area

Palenotology Digs: https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndfossil/digs/2020/2020_Pembina_Gorge.pdf

FrostFire Park of the Pembina Gorge: https://frostfirepark.org/

FrostFire Summer Theater: https://www.facebook.com/frostfiresummertheatre/

Pembina Gorge Horseback Riding: https://rendezvousregion.com/activityhorsebackriding.html

Rendezvous Region HisNatural Hisotry and Cultural History Trails https://rendezvousregion.com/

Tetrault Woods Hiking: https://www.ndtourism.com/walhalla/attractions/tetrault-woods-state-forest

Walhalla scenic overlook and picnicking: https://www.ndtourism.com/walhalla/attractions/masonic-scenic-overlook

Walhalla Country Club: https://www.facebook.com/Walhalla-Country-Club-905429276174089/

Other general Walhalla area info: http://www.walhalland.org/