Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Larimore, 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.

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.

Stayed here on our family vacation to various state parks in ND. Although, this was a nice place, it was the bottom in our list of places we visited. No swim beach - we ended up going over to Larimore Dam rec area, which was awesome!! Had some geocaches, but TONS of poison ivy!!!! Even had sprouts if it in our mowed campsite! We were careful & nobody got it. Had a scavenger hunt while we were there, which was a nice way to explore a bit. Nice trails.

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.

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 did not stay here camping, but drove over from Turtle River state park (no swim beach there). The beach was great - nice sand, grass area, & nice water!

This campground is gorgeous, and they have plenty of hiking trails all around the park. It is reasonably priced to camp here, and it is never crowded!

First time camping for the wife and I. We were very impressed with how clean the bathrooms were. Just wish there was more to do during the visit.

Turtle River State park has beautiful mature ash trees for a nice shady camp spot. There are numerous sites with water and electricity with central location shower houses. The camp sites are large, level and secluded.There are lovely wide trails for biking and hiking and a river runs through the park. There are also walk-in sites, cabins and open tenting sites.

Nice lil campground in a pretty, wooded forest but holy cow there's poison ivy everywhere! We have it popping up in the mowed area of our camp site even. Not a great area for little kids because of that, though they do have a nice little playground area and plenty of short walking trails. It'd be a good overnight rest stop on the way to or from Grand Forks, but not a destination in itself. A great note is that the camp hosts and rangers are plentiful, friendly, and helpful!

Lots of poison ivy. Campground should have a caution note on it for individuals with severe reaction. Overall it is a nice campground with a lot of trails and playground. Bathroom and shower facility is new and clean. A lot of drive through lots that are level with easy hook ups WiFi is only available at entrance station.

We had fun there was something for everyone in the family tip do. Hiking, fishing and sight seeing.

TRSP is a great location for families. Tons of hiking and biking trails. Cross country skiing and sledding in the winter. Beautiful scenery along the Turtle River.

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.

Such a well maintained park! There are so many trails to explore. Great shelters all over the park as well as rental cabins.

My girls and I had a great day and night at TRSP. Tons of trails for biking and hiking. Some of the biking was too hilly for my 7 year old though. Our campsite was #88 which was a great spot. Nice and secluded along the river. I didn’t bring a cart though so we had to wall back and forth from the parking lot since it isn’t a full drive in site. There weren’t any carts available to bring your stuff to your site. I will know better next time. Very quiet overall but you could hear traffic at night on Hwy 2. There is also perfect trees for hanging your hammock. Will love to come back this winter for snowshoeing for sure and again for camping!

Modern camping which is for RV’s only have power and water at sites. But the tent sites are very big and restrooms are never far. Showers were spotless smelled great and HOT water. Well staffed and polite and take pride in their work. They have wood and Ice available at the center.

Great state campground. friendly staff and super programs for the family by the naturalist. our family loves the place!

Lovely hiking, somewhat close campsites but good amount of tree/brush coverage separating them. Fantastic services (bath house, visitor center, etc).