Best Tent Camping near Hillsboro, ND

Stayed here one night while on a work trip, trying to maximize summer fun. For a free campground, it was fantastic. Sites had picnic tables and a place for a fire, although it wasn’t an actual fire ring. Trees by the sites are not well spaced for hammocks unless you have extra long straps. There is a boat launch to put into the Red Lake River, and the water was calm enough you could have had a leisurely paddle in a kayak either direction. Perhaps it is not normally that low/slow since I visited during a particularly dry spell. There was a drinking water pump, but I did not use it. Two vault toilets with a good stock of toilet paper, bring your own hand sanitizer. No electricity and cell service (AT&T) was available but very slow. The sunset was beautiful coming through the large trees in the park, and it was very quiet overnight.

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.

I would agree with the previous poster, as a campsite this is no great shake. We we where there during the mudweek in July there was only one orher person there so it was quiet, but there was evidence of weekend campers who didn’t practice “Leave no Trace” camping. We bisited this park for historic reasons, due to the important regional treaty signed here and as it was a crossing point on the historic trade route to old Fort Pembina. There is a nice memorial to the treaty event, and it is a nice stopping point if you are following the route of the Pembina Trail. I wouldnt suggest it as a camping destination it snd of itself, but it is ok for camping as as stopover, or it would be good if you planned a couple day trips paddling on the river. It wiuld also be good as a spot for a group canping event, like a family reunion of scouting event, however I dont think you can reserve ahead of time and summertime likely has a lot of day use picnicers on weekends.

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.

Good state park campground with everything you need. You can make your reservations online once you get there, and it’s nice because there’s no online transaction fee. But watch out that you pay the $7 daily state park entry fee as well as the camping fee, because otherwise you'll get a friendly visit from a ranger! 

 There are two loops, one slightly larger one with 50 and 30 amp power (no water or sewer) for $34, and one smaller one with no power for $24. We stayed in a power site because we couldn’t handle the heat anymore, otherwise the smaller one looked a little nicer and quieter and we would have stayed there. 

Showers were nice and clean and free. Bathrooms were nice. 

Very nice walking trails all around the campground and throughout the park as a whole. Trash dumpsters here as well as an assortment of segregated recycle bins. Good cell reception with Verizon and ATT. Firewood available at office for $8 and ice for $3. 

Group camp is off from the main campground a ways, but connected via a little walking trail. There is a dump station and potable water fill at the campground exit. 

No drinking allowed at any Minnesota State Park campground!

Love all of the large, mature trees and amount of wooded areas throughout. The campsites are all relatively private with a secluded feeling, some more than others of course. There is a good amount of brush and trees separating sites. We enjoy that you have access to sites that are right along the lake side, and the trail system that weaves throughout and around the campground is great. The swimming area is nice for kids or adults to enjoy, also a nice area to get some sun if you want, the campsites are fairly shaded (in an optimal way!)

I will agree with everyone who mentions the clean restrooms/showers, everything has been in good condition during all of my stays.

Until this weekend I had never had to seek out Campground hosts for anything, and when we did they were very accessible for assistance or answering questions. Our site which was right on the water (#37)  had a nice little access clearing for kayaking, we brought a few insect repellants to keep mosquitos at bay, but they really weren't bad. 

Quite a large, walk-in site with parking nearby, and this campground's setup seems to prevent other campers from shortcutting through your site. Clean campsites (leave it better than you found it) and clean restrooms. A lot of sites are quite dark, later in the evening which we personally don't mind and just keep light sources handy. 

When we've stayed at sites with hookups, they've been spacious and easy enough to set up your camper within, no issues so far. We still have plenty of outdoor living area and room for two vehicles as well.

A pretty peaceful campground, even when most of the sites are filled.

This is another typical small town campground located within a city park. The park has large shade trees, playground and picnic shelter, and shares ball fields with the adjacent school. It is clearly a nice outdoor community gathering space that also has an area where camping is allowed. The “campground” includes a horseshoe drive along which a few RV’s could park, but there are no hookups. There is an adjacent grassy tenting area that is very nice for tents, but be advised that the only “facilities” are a portapotty, albeit a clean and new one! This is of course would be a good place for a scout group overnight or a family reunion campout, but is not a vacation destination campground. If you are on a roadtrip travelling somewhere on Hwy 2 this would be a safe, clean, quiet spot to stop overnight, being convenient to highway access but far enough away not to hear road noise all night. The leafy setting is peaceful too, and you can get gas and supplies in town