Best Tent Camping near Kensal, ND

We stayed at one of the tent campsites and stayed in the recommended spot by the staff. There was a fire ring for us, but we couldn’t use our own wood to prevent the spread of bugs or mold. They gave us free firewood and even brought it right up to our camp site for us. Amenities included clean bathrooms/showers, walking trails, playground. Staff/owners super friendly and helpful. Only downfall is the location is right next to the highway and a little noisy, but nothing we couldn’t sleep through. We would stay here again.

Stopped here on our way through North Dakota, perfect site with flushable bathrooms, good water and a beautiful sunrise.

I'm not exactly sure I'm in the right place nor am I sure that this is actually a campground of some kind. It's definitely a fishing access it's a big open spot next to Island Lake which is a legit lake in North Dakota. It's very flat but there's equipment parked here and a sign that says this is fishing access so I think if you tried to camp here you'd end up with somebody knocking on your door. Last the GPS spot is not correct that takes you to a corner of a road and this spot does not match the directions so I'm going to go one more mile up and see if the directions actually take me to a campground and I'll post that as well.

This park is maintained and managed by the Barnes County Wildlife Club and North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Camping is free and allowed for a maximum of 10 consecutive days. There is plenty of open lawn within this park area which can definitely fit multiple tents and the parking lot/gravel driveway can accommodate travel trailers/RVs/Vans.

It is a well-maintained, simple, camping area offering a picnic table, fire ring/pit, built-in charcoal grill, waste receptacles and a vault toilet. (As of early October the county was able to erect a picnic shelter) There is also some informative signage covering the local history, and that of the the river and land. (Not as far back in time as it should though.)

The Sheyenne River runs along one side of this camp area - There is a kayak/canoe in/out access area here and access points for fishing along with a bridge. If you are filtering H20 yourself, you have access to flowing river water for drinking!

Quite isolated and quiet here, people may periodically stop by to fish, drop in a kayak, run their dogs or stretch their legs. Overall it’s a secluded and peaceful area. There are train tracks that run along the river in close proximity; they usually don't "toot" more than a time or two as they pass the crossing. I can't say how many in a night. 

There are plenty of areas to enjoy the sun, but also large, mature trees for plenty of shade as well. Pretty decent area to have access to camp at for FREE that feels like you're "beyond getting what you paid for!"

- Faust Park is also about 4 miles SW from the Mel Rieman Rec Area/Campgrounds (COE) which has a swimming area, playground, showers & bathroom facilities, drinking water, garbages, grills, and a bar/small grill/ice cream shop & water sports rentals on site. This is all very seasonal of course.

-Faust Park is located along a maintained gravel road, less than a ½ mile off of the River Road and about 6 miles outside of Valley City. There is a farmstead on the other side of the river/wooded area, otherwise no other nearby neighbors. It is also 6 or so miles up off of I-94 if folks approach it from that direction.

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.

A good spot on the river sort of way out in farm country, a good amount of campers on Fri labor day weekend. Im sure any other day it would be empty. Quiet at night, light on bugs, great grass for tents. No water and didnt see a toilet. Prob not good for bigger RVs. Grab a sweet fresh yummy apple from the tree. Only gave it two stars because some of the hillbillies may be a bit creepy.

The first thing I think of when I think of Parkhurst Campground/Pipestem Lake rec area are the trails. This area encompasses about 140 acres and contains the 5.5 mile North Ridge Trail, 8 mile Pipestem Creek Trail, and equine trails. The first two are geared towards mountain biking, and hiking. Very pretty prairie hiking as well as lush, wooded tracts. There's easy access to these trails from the campgrounds and they are also very well maintained by the county. There are families who have ATVs with also, as there is some separate land they can have access too.

Parkhurst's campgrounds are tidy and well-kept. There are also typically plenty of regulars camping there who are pretty happy to help if you have questions. This is an Army Corps of Engineers/ County ran campground within a rec area; it's located alongside the Pipestem Creek/Lake. There is a $10/night fee on an honor system, where upon arrival you select your campsite and then fill out a slip and submit your payment at the campground entrance. There are no reservations and it is first some first serve. (Every time we have stayed here there have been plenty of sites available, but I cannot speak for traditionally busy, holiday weekends)

This is a primitive campground that has access to picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilets, waste receptacles, non-potable water, a dump station, shelters, boat docks and ramps, lake/reservoir beaches for swimming, as well as mountain biking, hiking and equine trails. If you needed water on the spot, there is is non-potable water access as well as river/lake water if you filter it yourself.  A neighboring farm which you'll drive by sells firewood, as well as several places within Jamestown. Since there is an equine trail there is of course an equine area with corrals, tether lines, and space for trailers.

The sites here aren't labeled specifically, so you have to gauge your equipment, vehicles, and how much space you'd typically be taking up. It allows for some flexibility and I haven't seen groups overflowing. Parkhurst is quite expansive in that the northern most end starts at a bit higher elevation, and the southern-most end is a bit lower, and along the lakeside. This is a pretty open campground, across a large large area with dividing roads and trees throughout. Even though spots aren’t secluded typically, and there isn’t site division by trees, we still haven’t been forced to come into contact or interact with neighbors and the rest of the campground.(I mention this knowing that it is something some folks really take into consideration.) Though not a wooded campground, there is still a lot of shade, and the breezes really help with some bug control.

Parkhurst is off of HWY 281 and about 5 miles from the outskirts of Jamestown, a quick and easy drive. When you are navigating to Parkhurst/Pipestem Reservoir area there is south end rec area entrance and then also the campground entrance on the north end, where you would come across the registration area as you head south. Pipestem creek/lake connects from the south to the James River/Jamestown Reservoir which is on the outside of Jamestown. (Plenty of options for groceries, gas, dining, hardware stores etc.)

We really like staying here, whether in a tent or camper. The trails are addicting, personally! If you are camping with a couple groups, it's pretty easy to find neighboring/close campsites as well.

Campground was nice and there is a nice trail. Warning this trail is used for cross country meets. Besides some porta potties being set up on the side of the campground there was no indication of this event happening until the buses started rolling in. There was no where for the buses or spectators to park besides the camping lots and participants and spectators used the campground bathrooms and walked onto sites being used by campers.

Nice place. Nobody here in the winter. $10 feet a night on the honor system. Facilities for RV’s. Outhouses for bathrooms. RV sites too

This is a nice enough campground with pretty views of the lake. It really is dry though with no water and pit toilets. You just pick a spot of grass and that's it. There are miles and miles of trails which is very cool and nice views of the water and overall, well maintained and for me, in April, it was quiet.

Stayed a night here on a Wednesday and there were only 5 other people. Host said it was going to be full over the weekend. It was very quiet for us. Lots of shade trees. It is not technically “lakeside” but about a half mile walk across the highway to get to the lake. It is well kept. Playground was nice and our kiddos loved it. Would stay here again!

We spent 43 days here last summer. Well kept campground. Hosts are the nicest people you will meet and extremely helpful. You will have to change sites every 14 days if you are going to be staying a long time. Book early as it is a popular area. Full bathroom with showers. Hosts keep it clean but unfortunately some people are pigs.

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