Best Glamping near Dakota Prairie National Grasslands

Cottonwood Campground was a very welcome oasis in the prairies of North Dakota. Along our year-long trip, we slept in a lot of campgrounds, but Cottonwood stands out as just what we needed at the time: quiet, spacious, and beautiful sites, nestled right up along the Missouri river, perfect for taking a dip at the end of a long day of hiking.

We spent four days at Theodore Roosevelt National Park: two in the south unit and two in the north unit. (We also loved Juniper Campground in the north!)

Cottonwood Campground was a great place to crash for two nights. It was cheap, comfortable, and quiet. It allowed great access to the heart of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We even ran into a Teddy impersonator at the Visitor Center!

In the south, near Cottonwood Campground, we loved the beautiful scenic drive, the views from Buck Hill, Wind Canyon Overlook, and the Petrified Forest (a bit of a drive around the park).

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Theodore Roosevelt)

Camped late April for 5 days, so it was offseason one pit toilet open one water spigot open in the campground.  There are two loops, the south look which is tenting and smaller sized trailer sites but it was not yet open while we were there,  The North Loop is mainly pull through sites and can handle larger sized RV's.  This is dry camping, there are no hookups.  You can experience some nice hiking and opportunities for wildlife viewing.  Buffalo were common visitors while having coffee in the morning.   Elk, deer, wild horses were common as well as hawks and prairie dogs.  Currently Western North Dakota is experiencing a drought, and being early in the season for the campground, it was dry and dusty but did not prevent us from hiking and exploring the park.  There is a convenience store in Medora ND right outside the park entrance that you can purchase basics but there was no grocery store.  Part of the scenic loop drive is closed due to road erosion but you can still travel most of it though its an out and back with turnarounds for larger vehicles. We would defiantly camp there again, but if you need the luxuries of an RV "park", you will not find that here.  The campground is well maintained and clean.

I visited this campground for 1 night while driving across North Dakota. It's super easy to access from I-94, but you feel like you're a million miles away from the interstate. Arriving at the Teddy Roosevelt NP main entrance late in the day, the booth was closed and the "Campground Full" sign was up. I decided to check for myself and I'm glad I did. They sometimes put the campground full site up when the ranger leaves for the night- always check for yourself.

The campsites were basic- picnic table, fire ring, and close proximity to some basic bathrooms. My site was grassy and easy for a tent. The campground didn't allow hammocks or anything attached to trees. The rangers were very friendly and actively patroling the campground. There were NP events at the campground each night.

The cost for a site was $16 (and 20$ to enter the park if you don't have a pass). You cannot get change from the ranger and you cannot use a credit card to register. The closest place to get change, firewood, gas, etc. is Medora which is about 7 miles away. The convenience store there has anything you might want.

There are lots of great hikes accessible in the park, but the park is not crowded like other National Parks, so be sure to get a trail map and directions for hiking as all trails are not well marked.

What can I say, I went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park just to hangout with my brother and do some camping. I had very low expectations considering it is located in North Dakota. Let's just say that of the dozen National Parks and Monuments that I have visited and camped in, Theodore Roosevelt is my second favorite.

I saw more wildlife than I have in any other park. There were very few people so it felt like we had the park to ourselves. The scenery was fantastic with so many different things to see. There is a South and North unit and they are both amazing, although the North unit is my favorite.

The Cottonwood campground is in the South Unit. It was great. The toilet near are campsite was a pit toilet, but it was clean. I must admit, I prefer a flushing toilet, especially when I am paying money to camp. Having said that the rest of the campground was quiet with some great scenery. Aside from not having flushing toilets, the reason it gets 4 stars instead of 5 is the campground needed more shade trees. It did get hot during the day.

Wildlife walks through the campsite regularly. I woke up one morning with a buffalo walking 10 yards from my tent. I was sitting down and eating lunch at the picnic table and a beautiful snake with lots of colors just slithered through. If you want an experience with nature and have the opportunity to see bluffs, trees, badlands and a petrified forest, you need to stay at Cottonwood.

We stayed in site 12, which was rated as an RV campsite, it was pull through, but the hosts said mainly they use that area of the campground for tents with the RVs across the street (RV sites 1 - 9).  If you are tent camping, the upper sites are really nice and secluded (20s - 30s).  RVs cannot make it to sites 20s - 30s because it is a narrow dirt road to the top.

It's dry camping - no RV hookups, but at the visitor's center they have a water fill station that is free.  You can pull in and fill up your RV water tank.  There is no dump station at the park, nor in Glendive, so you have to drive to Miles City or Wibaux to dump.  We found a Cenex in Miles City that had a good dump station and it was free.

The sites were spacious, clean and affordable.  Sites 11 & 13 had a nice view.  The bathrooms were pit toilets.  Very clean.  No running water.  Camp fires are permitted.

The camp hosts were really helpful and friendly.

We spent one day in Makoshika hiking the trails with our dog.  We felt that 1 day was sufficient, but you could easily spend more time to enjoy the park, take some longer hikes, or play disc golf.  The other day we took a drive to North Dakota to check out Theodore Roosevelt National Park, about an hour drive away.  Well worth the drive.  We stopped at Beaver Creek Brewery on the way back to the campsite and brought back a growler for around the campfire.

They said next year they plan on expanding the campsites and adding in some full hook-up RV sites and a dump station.  Even without that, we plan on coming back.

I'd book in advance if you are planning on going over a weekend.  The campsites were all booked when we arrived.  We reserved our spot about 3 weeks prior.

This campground in Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora ND has 76 sites. Half of the sites, the even-numbered ones, are not reservable. Sites 55-66 are walk in tent sites; parking spots and grills for these sites are numbered so you have a specific site.

We arrived before 10:30 am on a Sunday and sites were being claimed quickly. There were 7 of us choosing sites at that time. The hosts had a whiteboard that listed available sites; we took a photo of the list and chose quickly as we drove around because sites that were listed as available were already being claimed. We ended up on a reservable site that was open for the next several nights. The host couple was really on the ball and their attention helped keep the site selection process orderly.  After you put your tag up, they fold it over later in the day and mark your departure date. This is a practice that is used in many campgrounds.

Cottonwood has been full every day since Memorial Day so you can't show up in the evening or possibly even mid-afternoon and expect to find an open site.

This campground has no hookups but has flush toilets, sinks, potable water spigots, a sink for washing dishes/disposing of grey water, a place for filling water tanks, trash disposal and firewood for sale. There are charcoal grates for cooking that can also be use for campfires, but there are no fire rings; your campfire will be a few feet off the ground in something that I think of as a grill!

Showers? No, but there area couple campgrounds in Medora that have showers for $5.

If you stay here, you're obviously here to see Theodore Roosevelt NP. Both the campground and park are worth a visit. The scenery is incredible and gave us a new view of North Dakota. There is a hike near Pleasant Valley Ranch where you can use a few trails to make a 5+ mile loop that will show you everything the park has to offer - Little Missouri River (and you have to cross it at the beginning and end), prairie dog towns, bison herds and beautiful scenery. I highly recommend this as a way to see the park from a better vantage point than the highway.

One complaint - the position of our site (#19) had some people think it was acceptable to cut through our site on their way to the bathroom. Do you walk through someone's home to shorten your walk? Didn't think so but 3 people did within 30 minutes.

Gorgeous park. Very small with limited camping spots. The Little Missouri River is right here and the trailheads for the Maah Daah Hey Trail and Maah Daah Hey II (The Deuce) are in this tiny park as well. Great views of the surrounding badlands, exceptional horse and hiking trails. A variety of amenities are offered incuding some electrical, water, pay showers and vaulted toilets and horse corrals. No paved roads. Very close to Medora.

I didn’t have a spot in the National Park so this was next. The park is right on the horse and hiking trail so I thought we could take advantage. 

The sign in was confusing. Be sure to stop at the ranger station before entering the campground. The ranger set me up with a site that was out in the open. There are some shaded sites but they fill up. Another camper told me that many didn’t show up because of the rain storms. 

There is plenty of space between sites even if it’s in the open. Water is available throughout the campground. Vault toilets are in three spots but it’s quite a long walk to get to them. There is a shower house near the front. I didn’t expect to pay for showers but the site is only $12 so another $1 is fine. 

This was an ok spot for us. I would try some of the other primitive campgrounds next time. We loved being close the the NP and the town of Medora.

Nice little spot only ten minutes from Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Lots of RV traffic which comes with lots of generator noise.

Pit toilets, and a shower house that gives you eight minutes for $1. Sites are reservable and cost $12 a night but there is a day use fee of $7 that is not included in the site fee. $19 a night unless you have a ND state parks pass. Tent sites have lots of shade and the RV and equestrian areas are pretty exposed.

I think I have found my favorite campground. Has 3 section one I think is for larger campers though there are only about 10 sites. Another is for horses and has corrals with the sites. The one I stayed in is for smaller campers. Quiet and primative with others that wanted to get back to nature. Not one single generator!! Sites are shaded and private.

This is a more affordable campsite that many people forget about when they go to Medora. This site is cost effective and beautiful!

Very open area not much shade making the site not very private. Staff is nice and accommodating. Showers are 1$ for 8 minutes. Close to trails and close to Medora which is the closest city to Theodore Roosevelt national park. A good alternative for tent camping if you can get into cottonwood because it’s too full.

We stayed at this campground. We tented and found a great place in the Horse stable area. Normally this is not allowed but they were full and we arrived very late. they were nice and let us stay there. bathrooms were nice and clean. Water was good.

Perfect for the horse enthusiast, with corrals available for every site. It was full the day I got there, but stayed for breakfast before the check ins started (I asked first). Right on the MDH Trail, for us MTB peeps.

Great campsites.  Stayed in the non-electric sites (Cedar Campground) that are among the trees.  Secluded, well spaced apart from other sites.  Perfect view of the mountains.    Note-Electric sites (Whitetail Flats) are all out in a large open field.   Also, the back group of sites were all reserved for horse camping.  Easy 10 minute drive to TRNP for great hiking.  Also had local trails right at the campground.  In between Sully Creek and Little Missouri River, so kayaking/canoeing/fishing all right there.   Showers and toilets were always clean.  Rangers and on-site host were friendly and helpful.  I will go again.

Primitive campsites were secluded and surrounded by the trees. The trees were needed as there was a ton of wind that day. We were close to some of the horse corrals which was an added bonus as we don’t typically see that sort of things. Clean toilet/shower facilities.

Campgrounds in Teddy were closed due to Covid so had to find an alternative. This did the trick nicely. Much of the campground seems geared toward the horse crowd, but the small non horse tent loop was nicely set in a wooded area by a creek. Neat views of the bluffs all around.

Really great campground! Easy to find and navigate. Sites with fire pit, picnic tables, and bathrooms.

Making a reservation was really easy too! We made the reservation through parkrec.nd.gov Campground fee was $17 + $6 processing fee online made our stay around $23 for a night.

Thanks for the great stay, Cheers!

Place had everything I needed, including a shower. Website states they are coin showers but mine was free so unsure if they just updated to free showers. Primitive sites are $17/night but you also have to pay the $7 state park fee. All sites had a fire ring and picnic table and had distance between neighbors. Trash available, nice vault toilets and a dump station. No ATT service but would definitely stay again on a weekend. About 80% full on a Saturday night mid may. Only 5 minutes to get to medora and the national park.

A perfect campground for equestrian campers or those visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Just 3-4 miles from Medora ND and park entrance. Open views, good trails, great birding. The sites have electric, accessible water and dump site. Showers snd vault toilets kept very clean.

I was so disappointed with our site. We came to kayak and camp because the reviews were so high and we are going to be exploring the national park and town of Medora. We had to pay an addition 21$ upon arrival for a vehicle fee. That, combined with our 56$ space fee equaled about 25$ a night for 3 nights. Which is a great deal for the area. Warning... the river is about 2 inches deep in the summer. Apparently that is the norm and I did not do my homework as well as I thought I had. It does say on the website that the river is high in early spring. Getting to our site, 22, it was too small for our large tent and carpeted in cottonwood which is not the fault of the camp rangers but allowing so much poison ivy in a space is. Everyone says this is great for horse camping, but if you are tent camping in summer with young kiddos, I would highly reconsider. Also be aware that there are not many hotels below 180$ a night for a single available in the town of Medora, and if you are looking for an alternative to camping the best options are 40 minutes away in Dickinson. Another little tidbit is that even though we are pretty high in the continental US, it is still in the 90s during summer. So, not too much at fault of the camp but definitely not the best summer camping experience I have had.

Just did an overnight here while going to TRNP. Site is clean and free HOT showers.

Sites clean, camp host was great.

Came in as the sun began to set and it had great views driving into Medora. Half of the sites are equestrian half standard rv with power only, remaining few are tent style that are off a little from the rest. Great space between sites. Showers require quarters :) Bathrooms are a little more rustic and only a male and female. No flushing here, just a compost vault. Water is between sites to fill up and take back to your site. I'd come here again for sure. Very quiet.

The road coming in has some pretty steep hills. Our site was good for hammocks. Nice that the horse area was separated from the non-horse area. The showers appear to be coin-op but were free when we were there.

This site was massive and would've had room for 5 or 6 tents (not sure on limits though).

It was right next to an equestrian area, so some horses being trained and whinnying just next door.

No cell service (AT&T at least) but quick proximity to Medora and Teddy Roosevely National Park!

Nice bathrooms with showers! Amazing views and trails run right through the campgrounds. Sites are ver open so it’s a bit windy and the coyotes are out at night but they didn’t bother. We enjoyed listening to them and the stars are amazing.