Best Cabin Camping near Mandan, ND

What a great park for families! That was my first thought. It just looks like a great place for kids to play. There's a playground, wide open spaces, easy trails, a river, and remnants of the fort and an Indian village. There's a paved bike path that you can take from the campground all the way to Bismarck (10+ miles). Or you can ride over to the cavalry and infantry areas of the fort and to the Indian village.

There is a separate $7/day entrance fee in addition to the camping fee. We chose a primitive site (no water, no electric) because those sites are along the river, and the fee was $17. Sites with electricity and water are $25. There are also a couple tipis for $35 and two cabins for $60. There is a clean shower facility plus other restrooms. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, and there's a dump station. We have camped at so many Forest Service sites that all these amenities make it feel like glamping!

My only complaint is that there is no path from the primitive sites to a restroom other than the road. It would have been nice if there were a few paths between sites. No one wants to take a long route to a restroom in the middle of the night. And cutting through an occupied site is poor camping etiquette.

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.

This is a nice park that is worth an overnight to learn about expedition history, native Mandan culture, and more. The park is a stop of. the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail , which was the draw for us. The park has a nice campground, with RV sites set back jn the trees and large tent sites right in the Missouri River! There are also camper cabins to rent. The park has a nice visitor center with terrific displays, moany aboutLewis and Clark, also a reconstructed Mandan encampment, plus the home and barracks of Custer and his cavalry. Running through the park is a cool trolley that takes you to historic points within the park, then on into the town of Mandan 6 miles away. The campgrounds have nice bath houses, plus a playground for kids and naturalist programs with an enthusiastic staff. Nice experience!

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.

We stayed at the less traveled downstream campground. The downstream is a great thing place away from the noise. Stay during week and there is chance you have the place to yourself. Most spots are shaded but a few are out in the open. There is playground and it’s a great place to bike for kids. Fishing is very popular at the stream with locals visiting all day. Noise is minimal even though next to the highway due the dam. Nice cabins are available to rent besides campsites.

Staff is friendly. We had lightbulbs out at the bathrooms and they changed them right away. Spigot is currently locked due to the water quality not testing at potable. Potable water is found at the main site but I would advise not to drink it as it well water

The main lake has a beach, playground and FREE showers. There is a bait shop down the road on Tschida too.