Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Grafton, ND

This campground has a lot of shady spots, a nice dog park and access to great hiking trails. The museum across the highway is also worth a visit. During the week everything was pretty quiet. They clean the bathrooms like three times a day.

I did not see a dog off leash unless at the dog park.

They don’t seem to have enough staff though. If you want to rent a kayak or if the rental bikes aren’t working, there isn’t anyone to help. The kayaks were all just sitting on the beach however, so you could help yourself.

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.

I needed to scout what Turtle River looked like before I pull my travel trailer there in Spring. Here is what I found.

Nice flat pull through campgrounds. Easy electrical outlets with breakers. Water outlets are off for winter. Plenty of bathrooms Septic is drive through may be tricky to get in with large trailer. Gas stations are about 5 miles east of park. With Subway and Dairy Queen. Lots of big trees, cleared enough for campers, but watch for widow makers. Nice and playful dog park. Cabins are basic and look warn. Park Manager going to fix up next year. As all state parks, under staffed. 2020 was record high for campers in park. Beautiful however the lake in entrance will not be seen in campgrounds. Nice flat spaces for tent camping. Very clean. Well groomed. Fire pits BBQs everywhere. Plenty of places to explore. Lots of trails. Friendly staff. Dogs aloud in park as long as on lease except in the dog park of course. Lots of wildlife during certain times of year. No dangerous wildlife or reptiles. Fishing aloud certain time of year. No hunting = good Firewood at main entrance. No snack machines seen?

Very nice place all in all to visit for a week or weekend.

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.

This would be an interesting park for birders, and as some other reviewers have said it is like an oasis in the prairie, a forested enclave. The interpretive staff at the visitors center are enthusiastic, the river is good for fishing, and there are a lot of trails. It is a good get-away for folks who live in the Grand Forks area. Unfortunately, we were there on an event weekend—“Halloween in July” which meant the campsites were jam packed for the weekend with people eager to be costumed ghouls and do various tricks and treats. RVs were jam packed in, as were the tent sites, and even the hike-in campsites seemed crowded. It was also very buggy which is probably to be expected in a lowland with wetlands. One great appeal was a really great dog park! One if the nicest I’ve seen, and surprising that there would be one in a state park. For fans of winter recreation, this is apparently a hotspot for skiing and snowshoeing, and I can see coming back for that. But probably not for camping in the summer, possibly in the fall when less buggy and less crowded

We followed the instructions on the confirmation email across the bridge from Grand Forks to East Grand Forks, MN to check into the campground (CG). After going through the Avenue of Flags and near the Blue Moose Bar& Grill there’s RV parking in front of the little check-in cabin. Check-in was easy and as disabled veterans, we got a free Minnesota State Park Vehicle Pass. We then proceeded to the Sherlock CG, which is the camping area and site 106E. Site 106E is a long pull through with FHUs. Pulling in was super easy and utilities are placed in the middle of the long pad. The utilities worked great with water pressure at about 50 psi. We got two bars on Verizon. There are trees in and around the sites, but we were able to get a clear north shot for Starlink. The sites in our area were well spaced apart, which we really liked. We were on the back row where the cement walking/bike trail is located far enough away that you still have privacy. There are a lot of sites in this CG mostly pull throughs but there are back-ins. They are serious about the vehicle permits and you cannot just lay the pass on your dashboard. It must be adhered to the windshield. We went to the office to clear our ticket, which didn’t cost us anything as we were prompt to respond. The office also has t-shirts, which we purchased. There was not a formal dog park, but plenty of areas to walk. Red River is one of the better CGs we have stayed at in our 5 years of“Most Timing.”

I stayed at the campground last fall and I found a really nice spot in the back where the trees also line the river.  Privacy was most important as I brought my 2 dogs with me.  I am now going to digress for a minute---how many pet owners know that when they cross the borders, they MUST have a dog passport with them with strict rules and regulations to follow?  I don't know about Canada but for sure if you cross the border into the States.

Anyways, the camp host was a little annoyed that I showed up without a reservation,but when he saw me pull out the exact amount of the fee --------  It turned, out he was a nice guy!

This year I spoke to a female camp host.  She said this was her first year, and I think some of the responsibilities  were overwhelming. We verbally made a reservations for 4 nights ..... the same spot as last year, with her and said I would email our discussion.  I emailed to the address that was shown on your web page and got a very curt reply telling me they didn't take care that.  I am disappointed as  I thought I did what I was supposed to do, so she probably won't even remember my call to her, or get my email.

looking to get away from the flat land of North Dakota? This park is where to be. Lots of great trails with some awesome views.

Campground was set up a little funny but not hard to locate site once driving around about 3 minutes. Pretty wooded area in hell hole North Dakota. Will never be back here but did enjoy my stay at the hidden gem in a very very boring state.

I can't imagine camping here. I'm here before the campground is open and there's a striking amount of annual campers here. Most of the campers sit in the sun which I think would be hot in the summer. The park is cute The arboretum is nice there's some nice walks but overall I can't imagine sitting in the sun during the summer in North Dakota with high humidity and finding that pleasant. I did stay in the campground at the state park that has lots of shade I would recommend somebody stay there but come here if they want to go to the beach which is quite nice.

Not going to say anything that everybody else hasn't said in the reviews but I thought it was charming there's space between the campers and well there's no privacy there tends not to be in city campgrounds. Also it's right on the River trails so if you're a biker it's fun to do the loop that goes from both the North Dakota and the Minnesota side. The bike trails also connect you to the larger city and there's several other very charming parks and downtown neighborhoods or downtown houses to see. The walk-in sites near the river are quite nice I wouldn't come here if you wanted to be in a quiet state park but that's not the intent of the park and it's a good use of the green space. I'm fully self-contained so I didn't use the bathrooms I've heard their little bit older but there's water there's sewer there's electric sites their sites with electric only and then their sites for just camping also group sites.

Picturesque area in northeastern ND. Nice and close camping within northeast ND for those that don't want to venture far from Fargo-Grand Forks-Grafton stretch or far off the northern 29 route. TRSP is located 22 miles west of Grand Forks on Highway 2. Easy to find! Reasonable and affordable nightly rates for both primitive RV and tent sites. Electrical hookups available. Free showers! You'll find the landscape partly wooded, prairie grasses, and the beautiful Turtle River. We utilized the river to cool off in the water & sightseeing. We also brought bikes to utilize on the trails. Kid friendly camping. For those looking for camping close to home in eastern ND and you're not wanting the lake scene, highly recommend TRSP.

I'm always looking for a campsite late in the afternoon. And this one turned out to be perfect. I pulled into East Grand forks. Got out my phone and started looking, and I said oh, there's a state campground right near here. Here. Right in town in fact. I'm traveling with the dog on this trip so I'm always looking for places that I can run the dog, if possible off leash in the morning. Well, technically you're not supposed to have docs off leash here, there's plenty of space down along the river and trails that go away from the campground where the dog can have a little bit of a free exercise. Because it's October, the place is almost empty. And I got one of the no hookup sites, so it was reasonably priced.

Very quaint old campground with clean facilities. Boating and hiking facilities, with a small snack bar/concession stand at the boat launch area. Lots and lots of groups of campers family camping with their travel trailers and large dogs. This is a hunting area with a labrador retriever breeding farm next door, so many labs off leash kept us on guard of our 2 small dogs on leash. We had a level pull thru half circle site, just stayed overnight on the way to cross into Canada. Would stay 1 night again. Paid 25.00 plus 5.80 online booking fee.

I saw this from the freeway and thought I would stop and look. It's a sizable campground for people who work on the sugar beet in the fall but available the rest of the year. They're all full hookups you need to call the phone number to get a spot but it's well shaded and very few permanent campers here right now.

A handful of camp spots in a row and what looked to be a reasonable bathroom. For campers it was full service water sewer and electric. Need to contact the staff or the campground host to rent a spot look like the place was pretty empty when I was here. Really nice beach really nice access and fishing down below there's a two and a half mile pave trail in to Park River that you could walk or bike which I thought looked quite nice. Otherwise though that's the extent of the activities if you're not a Fisher person.

This is a nice campground, I’m sure it would be more enjoyable in the warmer seasons. Has everything you need to have a pleasurable stay except for laundry facilities. Full hook ups for the RV’er, tent camping, boat ramp with docks, playgrounds, restrooms with showers, personal garbage can picked up weekly, friendly staff, fire rings and bbq grills. All this comes with beautiful views that over look the reservoir and best of all open year around. For the cold weather campers the shower floors are heated! Can’t believe I got all this for $500 month plus $35 vehicle fee.

Of everywhere I have been this is by far the cleanest, most comfortable campground my wife and I have been too. We will definitely be back.

Came here during the week and it was very nice. There is several things available from kayak rental to paddle boarding, there’s a nice area for families to swim at and also an area for those who want to fish. Many historical sites can be found on the area including the museum in the visitors center.

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.

We always enjoy our trips to Icelandic, even though we tend to attract thunderstorms. Nice hiking trails at the park and nearby at the Pembina Gorge. The bike trail into Cavalier has been repaved as well as over to the golf course. You can get a beverage at the clubhouse overlooking the lake if you need a break from sitting around the campfire.

Clean and quiet some sites are very uneven so check closely before reserving all in all nice.

Great campground with large, mostly shady sites. Very large (150+ sites) but doesn’t feel that big. Some sites are quite uneven so be sure to have lots leveling equipment if you aren’t familiar with your site. I did notice poison ivy in the wooded area surrounding our spot, so be aware for yourselves and any children. Bathrooms were recently remodeled and are super nice! The beach is large and very nice with soft sand and shady picnic areas. Rental kayaks and paddle boards for great prices and a concession stand as well. Lots of trees perfectly spaced for hammocks and to hang clotheslines!