Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Hensler, ND has a lot to offer. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Hensler camping trip.
If you’ve ever wondered what North Dakota may have been like at the time of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition, look no further than this 590-acre park, just an hour’s drive north of Bismark. Cross Ranch State Park is a natural area featuring rolling prairies, cottonwood glens, and marshy river bottoms, situated along some of the last free-flowing, undeveloped shoreline of the Missouri River. Visitors to Cross Ranch have plenty of opportunities to lounge under shady trees and picnic along the river, wander some of the many paths and nature trails, both in the park and the adjacent Cross Ranch Nature Preserve, or take to the river for swimming, fishing, and paddling.
Cross Ranch State Park offers 65 tent and RV sites in two camp areas. RV sites are either back-in or pull-through, provide electrical hookups, and can accommodate large vehicles/trailers; tent sites are either drive-in or walk-in. The park also offers several group sites, yurts and fully-equipped cabins, as well as a Cheyenne-style tipi. Campground facilities include flush and vault toilets, showers, picnic shelters, playgrounds, and an amphitheater. A dump station is located in the upper camp area, and a boat launch in the lower camp area. Wifi service is available. Dogs are welcome in the park, but must remain leashed. Campsite rates are $17–$25/night; tipi, yurts and cabins are $35–$125/night.
Visitors to Cross Ranch are invited to explore the area by land and water. More than 16 miles of hiking and biking trails, both in the park and the adjacent preserve, are available for exploring the area’s woods, prairies, and riverbanks, as well as observing the local birds and wildlife. You can pick up a trail map at the park’s visitor center and head out on self-guided nature walks ranging from 2 to 5.5 miles. Some trails are also open for winter snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. For a different perspective, go for a float on the Missouri River. Rent a canoe or kayak (or bring your own) and paddle around the park area, or take a shuttle (fee required) to the town of Washburn, then float 9 miles down the river, back to the park.
Located on the grassy plains near the confluence of the Missouri and Heart rivers, Fort Abraham Lincoln is North Dakota’s oldest state park. Established in 1907 to commemorate a 1700s US Army outpost, the park offers a look at America’s early years, as well as even longer ago when the Mandan peoples called this area home. The park is located about 7 miles south of the town of Mandan, and about 200 miles east of Fargo. In addition to its historical significance, the park is also noted for its diverse, high prairie landscape and exceptional views. More than 16 miles of multiuse trails are available for summer and winter roaming among the park’s prairies, woods, and shrublands.
Abraham Lincoln State Park offers more than 100 tent and RV campsites, in addition to camping cabins and Cheyenne tipis. Most sites are open and grassy, and equipped with electrical and water hookups, picnic tables and fire pits; pull-through sites can accommodate large RVs and trailers. Amenities in the campground include both flush and vault toilets, showers, water faucets, playgrounds, picnic shelters, Wifi service, and a dump station. There are also corrals available for horse campers. Additional park features include a visitor center, coffee and gift shop, and an outdoor amphitheater. Dogs must remain leashed unless in designated areas. Camping is available year-round; sites are $17–$25/night; tipis are $35/night, and cabins $60/night; reservations accepted.
There are plenty of things to do at Fort Abraham Lincoln, including hiking, biking, horseback riding, and fishing, but the main attractions are the park’s historical area and Mandan village. The historical area has replicas of Lieutenant Colonel George Custer’s home, as well as a barracks building, stables and blockhouses. Tours are available during summer months. The Mandan On-a-Slant Village—named so for the sloping ground it rests on—features several “Earthlodges” constructed in similar fashion to those used by the native peoples for homes and meeting places. A trolley runs through the park with stops at both historic locations, in addition to going to the nearby town of Mandan.
$15 - $85 / night
Just 10 minutes south of the town of Garrison, ND, Fort Stevenson State Park is located at the tip of a peninsula on the north shore of Lake Sakakawea. The park takes its name from a military supply depot that operated near here in the late 1800s. Visitors can learn more about the area’s history, as well as the native flora and fauna, at the park’s Guardhouse Interpretive Center. Today, however, Fort Stevenson is more well-known as the “Walleye Capital” of North Dakota, and it the home of the annual Walleye Cup fishing derby. This is in addition to serving as a popular year-round recreation area for local and visiting campers, boaters, paddlers, and outdoor enthusiasts. The large campground at Fort Stevenson offers more than 180 sites for tent and RV campers. This includes 30 RV sites with full hookups, 39 primitive tent sites, and more than 20 group sites; some sites are ADA accessible. Pull-through RV sites can accommodate large vehicles/trailers. Campground amenities include drinking water, flush restrooms with showers, vault toilets, two playgrounds, an amphitheater and a dump station; all sites are equipped with picnic tables and fire rings. The park also has three cabins available for rent, as well as a concession stand, and boat, bike and winter gear rentals. Dogs are welcome, but must remain leashed. Some services may not be available during the off season. Campsite rates are $17–$35. With two marinas, several fishing piers, and a swim beach, visitors to Fort Stevenson have plenty of access to fishing and water play on Lake Sakakawea. The Garrison Bay Marina rents boats, canoes, kayaks, and SUPs. You can also purchase bait and tackle, camping gear, snacks and beverages from the park’s concession stand. The park also has 10 miles of hiking and biking trails for exploring the park’s woods, ravines, and native prairie, as well as bird and wildlife watching.
East Totten Trail Campground is located on the west banks of Lake Audubon. This is the only campground on the entire lake! This campground and day use area offers a wide variety of recreation activities, including boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, scuba diving, wildlife viewing, and bird watching. In the winter time the area offers excellent access for ice fishing and other outdoor recreational opportunites. For more information, please visit the Lake Sakakawea / Garrison Project website here.__
Lake Audubon offers excellent boating, swimming, and fishing opportunities. Anglers fish for walleye, sauger, northern pike, muskie, white bass, small and large mouth bass, bluegill, crappie. Chinook salmon can be found in the neighboring lake of Lake Sakakawea only a stone's throw away across the hwy from Lake Audubon. The area offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities. The campground is next to the Audubon Wildlife Management Area and offers hunting opportunities. Audubon Lake, a sister lake to Lake Sakakawea, was also formed with the construction of the Garrison Dam near Riverdale, N.D. The two lakes are separated by an embankment, which carries US Highway 83. Audubon Lake makes up most of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Audubon National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge and Audubon National Wildlife Complex are named in honor of John James Audubon, a naturalist and wildlife painter during the 19th century. Audubon spent the summer of 1843 collecting bird specimens and painting pictures of northern plains wildlife in the area.
Lake Audubon offers excellent boating, swimming, and fishing opportunities. Anglers fish for walleye, sauger, northern pike, muskie, white bass, small and large mouth bass, bluegill, crappie. Chinook salmon can be found in the neighboring lake of Lake Sakakawea only a stone's throw away across the hwy from Lake Audubon. The area offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities. The campground is next to the Audubon Wildlife Management Area and offers hunting opportunities. Audubon Lake, a sister lake to Lake Sakakawea, was also formed with the construction of the Garrison Dam near Riverdale, N.D. The two lakes are separated by an embankment, which carries US Highway 83. Audubon Lake makes up most of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Audubon National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge and Audubon National Wildlife Complex are named in honor of John James Audubon, a naturalist and wildlife painter during the 19th century. Audubon spent the summer of 1843 collecting bird specimens and painting pictures of northern plains wildlife in the area.
The campground is situated in a nice grassy area with some trees with the beautiful lake view from almost every campsite.__
For facility specific information, please call (701) 654-7411.
The Audubon National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is located just 3 miles away on the south shore of Lake Audubon off Hwy. 83 The visitor center offers a variety of guided tours and environmental education programs. The Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery is just a few minutes from the Campground near Riverdale, ND and is open to the public. It has a Visitor Center, complete with five 400-gallon aquariums, provides great opportunities to view the fish of North Dakota in their environment. The Garrison Dam Power Plant does offer walking tours during the months of June, July, and the first part of August on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 2pm.
Reservation changes and cancellations can be made on Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.____ For more information on rules and policies regarding reservation cancellations and changes, please visit: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies.______
$22 - $26 / night
This recreation area is part of Sakakawea Lake
$23 - $100 / night
The park offers an array of camping from primitive sites to full cabins.
Cross Ranch State Park is located along some of the last free-flowing and undeveloped stretches of the Missouri River. While exploring Cross Ranch State Park, visitors may find themselves traveling back in time, catching a glimpse of the landscape as it appeared to Native Americans inhabiting the area hundreds of years ago, or hearing the echoes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition making its way to the Pacific coast along the Missouri River.
Cross Ranch has nearly 17 miles of trails that cater to the adventurer all year long. This extensive trail system can be explored either on foot or cross-country skis during the winter months. The trail system allows access to a 5,000-acre nature preserve with mixed prairie grass, river bottom forests, woody draws, and roaming bison.
Cabins and yurts are all available for overnight lodging along with two different campgrounds. A boat ramp is available for those wishing to explore this scenic segment of the river. Anglers will find walleye, trout, catfish, salmon, pike and bass in its waters.
$17 - $125 / night
This is my second time staying here while on a road trip. The thing that has changed since the last time is the addition of the rumble strips on the road. It makes it a little noisy. I’d still stay here again. Cheap (tent=$6.00) easy to pay for via Apple Pay, the pit toilets are clean and the other campers are really quiet. It seems to be popular with seasonal workers in the area that stay in their RVs.
We were on site 35 and it was not fit for a camper. Very Hilly and goose droppings everywhere. Will not camp there again with our camper. We ended up leaving it unleveled while camping.
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!
Planning a hike to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in North Dakota motivated me to learn more about the diverse landscapes and natural wonders of the U.S. national parks. It is remarkable to see the diversity of environments protected in these parks, from rugged mountains to vast deserts and dense forests. As I prepare for my outdoor adventure at Fort Abraham Lincoln, I am inspired to consider future trips to explore the beauty and biodiversity preserved in the US National Park system, which I learned more about by reading https://www.agmglobalvision.com/u-s-national-parks. Each visit promises an unforgettable experience of immersing yourself in the splendor of nature.
This review is from an overnight versus destination point of view. However, this could easily be a destination park if you want to stay in the area and check out Bismarck. The campground (CG) is about a mile off I-94 and easy to find. Check-in was quick and easy, and we proceeded to pull through site 11 right past the check-in office, store, showers, and laundry facility. The gravel site was pretty level, with utilities placed mid-pad. As our next stop was dry camping, I asked for propane, which they gladly picked up our tanks, had them filled, and returned to our site. There’s no cable TV, but we did receive OTA channels, plus we had a good shot to the north sky for our Starlink. There are a lot of mature trees here, so that satellite could be iffy depending on the site. WiFi speed wasn’t very good, but we didn’t need to use it. We got 4 bars on Verizon. The water pressure was good. They have a nice fenced dog area. This is one of the nicer KOAs we’ve stayed in, with a very nice tent area. We enjoyed our overnight stay.
At arriving, there is plenty of shade. To be the only ones there, with the exception of an occasional visitor to the park. Dumpster close for getting rid of any trash! Water spigot works.... but this like the picnic tables and porta potty were covered in webs, bring something to dust! Bathroom is stocked appropriately and easy to find past the covered picnic tables. Had a nice secluded spot for ourselves. If you're looking for electric-they have it! Downside, it may not work.... it didn't for us. Woke up to a beautiful sunrise!
The campground isn't a resort, but it's well-kept and the FHU site worked for me. The sites are laid out so the poles are shared in the middle, which makes for a bit of a tight fit for big rigs. No one on either side during our stay (with no slide outs), so had plenty of room. It's about 15 minutes to Bismarck, so a good place for restocking. Nothing at the exit -- you have to go 10 minutes or so down the highway for gas and groceries. Laundry was small, but just $1.25/$1.00 for wash and dry. Self-checkin with cash or check, which was fine. I think the trailer at the end on one corner is the host, but I never needed him, so I didn't ask. My only complaint-- #21 was underwater after an overnight rain. A pond of about 2-3 inches of water completely surrounded my rig. I looked around and I seemed to be the only one with that much water. Luckily I had seen the forecast and had hitched up the night before. But that's something the owners need to address.
This park is beautiful. The restrooms are clean and the showers are very nice as well. Lush green grass and friendly rangers
We came in on a Saturday and it was packed...spots a little close together for my liking, but it was quiet overall. Lots of family enjoying family time with their kids. Once Sunday afternoon hit, everyone cleared out getting ready for the workweek.
The park staff was super friendly, bathrooms were the cleanest I have seen. I uploaded pictures. I had an awesome shower. Trail access from the campsites and of course the history!!
We walked the on a slant village, the forts overlooking the Missouri river and of course General Custer's house and the barracks. Such a neat parks with lots to do!
Mosquitos were bad when we were here surprisingly. I was getting bit every second, so I got a gazebo shelter so we could enjoy the outdoors without getting bit to death. Had a fire our final night which also helped.
Great little State park, any kind of camping you could want
Great state park that is well maintained. Had an electric and water site. Bathhouse was clean with nice showers. Fishing, biking/hiking, and visiting the historic sites are things to do here. I did have to change sites because the pedestal on site 1 was too close to the road.
We only stayed here 1 night. But it was a great stay! Nice looking amenities, including a small dog park and playground!
Simple to find and easy to get in & out Along the rivers. Beautiful drive down into river valley!
This state park and the corresponding campground(CG) were easy to find off I 94 and then through Mandan. You check in at the gate where along with your camping fees, you still have to purchase an ND state-park vehicle pass for$7 a day or$35 a year. We then proceeded to back-in site 71 with water and electric(50/30/20 AMP). The back-in was easy and the site was plenty long enough for our 39’ 5th wheel and F450. We received an electrical error from our Watch Dog surge protector and went back to the gate and reported the issue. A ranger showed up about 5 minutes later and swapped the 50 AMP breaker so all was good. We shared a water post with our neighbor and had great water pressure of 60+ so used a reducer. We got quite a few OTA channels and could have used our satellite. We also got 2 bars each on Verizon and T-Mobile. Site 71 had a nice-sized front yard. The rangers regularly patrol the CG and there’s firewood plus ice for sale near the camp host site. There are plenty of trails to explore either by walking or biking. In addition, the state park has a lot of Custer-era calvary history. Be sure to check out the park’s visitor center then visit the Slant Indian Village that’s adjacent to the visitor center. Be careful when selecting a pull-through site, as most, if not all of them, are actually set up as two sites. So, if you were to arrive after your neighbor, you will actually be backing into your site. We enjoyed our 3-day stay and would not hesitate to come back.
Site 101 has a great view of the river.
The Mandan village was interesting and the hike around the park had nice views.
Bathrooms and showers were fine.
Very clean, with water and facilities. Separate RV and tent areas. Very inexpensive. Tent area nice and flat and grassy- perfect.
Only downside is the proximity to a small airport with a 24hr rotating beacon, rail line across the street, and road intersection with rumble strips. All quieted down after 10 pm or so, so still has a good nights sleep. Position your tent carefully to place trees between you and the airport beacon, and you’ll be happier.
Still, very nice municipal campground.
Very reasonable price for our one nights stay. We arrived late and left early. Kids enjoyed the pool. Showers and bathrooms were fine. Very close together sites but served its purpose. The campground was packed since it was a Saturday and it was incredibly quiet at night. Staff was very helpful and friendly.
Good stop with full hookups. Some shady sites but well protected from the wind that occurs here.
This site feels like a big parking lot with hookups. Check yourself in, park yourself, and no camp host. People tend to avoid conversation here also. No attractions close by and not much of a view. I’d use it for a quick overnight stay
We are on a two month long cross country road trip this summer, towing a 30ft travel trailer. We needed a place with full hook-ups as we'd been boondocking for several days and this place was perfect. Reservations were taken care of with one call, but none are needed as they also offer 24 hour first-come, first-serve spots, too. There are tent camping, no-hookup and just electric/water hookup options also available and all sites are pull through. This is a simple place but right off I-94 and very easy to access.
This park is our favorite go-to campground. All sites have electrical and the two dump stations are easy to pull into and use. There are many hiking trails here and they are kept mowed and in great condition.
Nice campground. Bathhouse was nice and updated and clean. Site was mostly level. Near by restaurants ( not in close walking distance but on the same main road that the campground is on.
Good campground. We stayed overnight only. Lots of rumble strip noise from the nearby roads. If you are in a camper with the air running then you would be ok. Took a little walk and saw a blue heron in a tree, great horned owl in a tree and hear a coyote yipping.
We were pleased to find a nice, clean, quiet campground here.
We were last minute and got the last spot for the weekend in the South Loop. Looks like the North Loop may be more popular because it has views of the river.
Our site was a double pull through and because of the way it is set up our fire ring and table were opposite of our front door! The other half was the other way. Not all sites are like this though.
We caught sight of a bald eagle sitting in a tree over the river!
We were able to build a fire because fire restrictions were lifted.
There are teepees to rent and camp close to the river! Beautiful spots!
Bicycle trails were fun and lead to all the historic sites and one even leads out of the park and into the town of Mandan.
Great staff! Office is open late (they were there at 8:45 pm). Clean park. Quiet and off the highway. Clean water and power. T-mobile has good signal.
This place has it all! Beautiful, well-groomed, shaded hiking paths everywhere. Playgrounds. Big fields. Clean water access to the river for swimming, dogs, fishing. Good sized sights, well sheltered by trees. Outhouses near all sights. Well kept showers. Helpful park services. Our fave place so far!
Camping near Hensler, North Dakota, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful getaway or an adventure-filled trip, there are several campgrounds nearby that cater to different needs.
Camping near Hensler, North Dakota, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. Whether you're looking for a quiet spot or a place with activities, you'll find it in this beautiful area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Hensler, ND?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Hensler, ND is Cross Ranch State Park Campground with a 4.8-star rating from 11 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Hensler, ND?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 glamping camping locations near Hensler, ND, with real photos and reviews from campers.
