Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Hillsboro, ND

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.

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.”

Nice and clean campground with the best bathrooms we have been too...

good trail system with a walk through the prairie and/or by the river..the weather was perfect when we came, 75 and a breeze...

We had an incident with our cat. Cat got loose and everyone worked as a team to get him found. People were walking and looking for him. Posters went up around the grounds. We left our # with two campgrounds and as soon as they saw him 8 hours after he went missing, they called us and kept him contained. We appreciate everyone and their kind acts...

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.

Lindenwood is a pretty park but you are right off of 94 and the bridge that crosses the Red River from Minnesota to North Dakota. All we heard were cars and trucks all night long. Hardly slept. But it is a nice park to visit during the day.

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.

The website instructions say to take exit 292 off I 94 but our RV GPS and Google Maps showed exit 294, which is probably a new exit. Coming from the east, exit 294 was the better option, but either exit would work as they both will lead to the turn to take you down to Eggerts Landing plus other COE areas as identified on the signs. The campground(CG) area was easy to find and we got potable water at the dump station conveniently located as we entered the CG area. The RV sites here are all 30 AMP electric and we proceeded to back-in spot 20, which was easy to back into off the turn. Site 20 is plenty long and we really liked the privacy between sites due to the vegetation and trees. This CG has a lot of mature trees so satellite would not be an option for most sites. We got 2 bars on Verizon and 2 on T-Mobile. The sites in the front of the CG are more open where you could get a satellite signal. The sites at the far end of the CG are more private with little trails weaving around. There are no sites that are truly on the lake, but several have paths to the water. There are trash cans smartly placed around the CG plus water spigots and vault toilets. Towards the front of the back loop, there’s a shower house. There is also a fishing pier near the CG area entrance. There’s a camp host, but they were only working weekends when we were there in September. However, park rangers patrolled the CG. This COE is about 15 minutes north of Valley City where amenities can be found. Check out Babb's Coffee House in Jamestown. Great place to have lunch after visiting the tourist spots in Jamestown and the coffee is very good too. If you are looking for gifts made in North Dakota, check out the Dakota Store, also in Jamestown, which is a great place to shop. We enjoyed our 3-night stay during the midweek.

$24 for non-electric site + $7 for car permit.

Spacious site (#39)

Very few other campers on May 15, 2023 and we enjoyed the quiet.

Enjoyed hiking the easy trails with our dog.

Black flies just starting. 

Tics found us and dog.

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.

We often take our dog here on the weekends for longer, out of city limits walks. The trails are the perfect amount for that purpose and he enjoys the wildlife that hides in the natural prairie fauna. The trails hug the river so there's easy enough access if you wanted to play in the water. You do have to walk through some brush however, so be aware.

The swimming area is wonderful! Less chlorine than you'd ever get exposed to in a public pool and picnic table access with lots of area to picnic.

We have not camped in this park yet.

Loved the full hookup sites. No firepot or staff on-site

Nobody here. Anvelops only. $ 40 per night. Truck stop in vicinity, and the smell from diesel fuel ⛽️ is horrible !

This is a very nice municipal campground run by the city of Mayville. It is located adjacent to the Rainbow Rose garden and sculpture park, and opposite the large beautiful Island Park which has myriad recreational opportunities (see link here: https://www.mayvilleportland.com/things-to-do/parks-recreation/)

The campsites themselves are fairly small and open and close together , but the grounds are well kept and the proximity to the beautiful city park is a real plus. Note that you need to call Jeremy, the parks officer, to make a reservation, and you usually need to leave a voice message and he will call back to help you make arrangments. The number to call is 701-430-7177.  This is a convenient and pleasant location to camp if visiting Mayville.

This is a small but well kept and woodsy community park near the small town of Hendrum, MN. Though established primarily as a town park and gathering place, there is an area for camping, and it can accomodate RV's as well as tents. If you are visiting the area, especially if interested in recreation on the nearby Red River, this is a quiet, relaxing, and pleasant place to be. The public boat access for the river is just a short way to the west of the park. Great place if you want to be off the beaten path!

This park has been closed on and off during the time of the pandemic. When open, it is a hidden gem for rustic camping in terms of setting and location, deep in the woods and right on a bend on the river. The campsites  are well spaced and shaded, and the tenting area is particularly spacious. There is an official boat access to the river for fishing, but it seems to have sustained some flood damage during recent storms, and it is pretty steep, so it might not be the easiest for boats and trailers until repaired.  I am giving this campground a 3 because though the wooded setting is so appealing, warranted a 4 or even 5,  I will say that campground overall was a bit run down, the outhouse facilities left a bit to be desired, better maintanence is needed, and one the the main group picnic shelters seemed a bit rickety.  Another reviewer mentioned bugs, this is not a problem in fall when we were there, and the campground is well above the river so maybe not a problem in drier times in summer, but I can imagine that after times of rain there would be alot of muddy puddle areas along shore that might be mosquito heaven

This is a small town park in a very small town, and it happens to have a few campsites. Basic but adequate, nothing special, a place to stay if in the area, such as attending a 4H event or ball tournament or other local event