Best Tent Camping near Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND

Nice little spot only ten minutes from Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Lots of RV traffic which comes with lots of generator noise.

Pit toilets, and a shower house that gives you eight minutes for $1. Sites are reservable and cost $12 a night but there is a day use fee of $7 that is not included in the site fee. $19 a night unless you have a ND state parks pass. Tent sites have lots of shade and the RV and equestrian areas are pretty exposed.

Very open area not much shade making the site not very private. Staff is nice and accommodating. Showers are 1$ for 8 minutes. Close to trails and close to Medora which is the closest city to Theodore Roosevelt national park. A good alternative for tent camping if you can get into cottonwood because it’s too full.

My brother and I decided to take a trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I had never been there before and didn't know what to expect when I entered the Cottonwood campground in the South Unit.

When I pulled in there were several campsites for tents on the left and pull-through campsites for campers on the right. I opted to for one of the tent sites right in the middle of the camp near the water. The campsite I was at had trees in between it and the adjacent campsites. It had a flat space with mowed grass, a picnic table, and an outdoor grill.

As far as bathrooms are concerned, there was a pit toilet where you enter for the pull-through sites and a flush toilet in the middle of the tent sites. I always prefer camping somewhere with a flush toilet and running water. You might be more adventurous than I am, but this definitely made me happy.

There were a lot of bugs in my campsite, which was probably because I was close to the water. It may have had fewer bugs if I chose a campsite further away from the river. I saw a snake while cooking dinner one night, and I also saw a buffalo hanging out next to the toilets when I woke up one morning (I wasn't groggy for long). So there is a good chance you see some wildlife you can enjoy in the campsite.

The location of the campground is near the entrance of the South Unit, so it's a good place to stay if you plan to explore the park. I woke up and did a loop around the entire South Unit and then ended back at the campground.

As far as the national park is concerned, I highly recommend checking out the Wind Canyon Trail, Buck Hill, Scoria Point Overlook, the Petrified Forest and the Painted Canyon. All of these locations are really different. There are also several prairie dog towns that are pretty cool.

We stayed at Red Trail campground in Medora, ND in September 2021. This is a great little park right outside Theodore Roosevelt National park. We stayed on an end site that was large and spacious with FHU. This park is dusty when the wind starts to blow but other than that, we enjoyed our stay here. Very well managed by a cheerful staff that go to great lengths to help you get your rig in safely before they leave you to set up camp. This was by far one of the easiest parks to negotiate in and out of with a big rig and is a great stop when visiting the Theodore Roosevelt National park. I would definatly recommend this park for a carefree visit to North Dakota. To see videos on this park and others, please visit our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

Cottonwood Campground was a very welcome oasis in the prairies of North Dakota. Along our year-long trip, we slept in a lot of campgrounds, but Cottonwood stands out as just what we needed at the time: quiet, spacious, and beautiful sites, nestled right up along the Missouri river, perfect for taking a dip at the end of a long day of hiking.

We spent four days at Theodore Roosevelt National Park: two in the south unit and two in the north unit. (We also loved Juniper Campground in the north!)

Cottonwood Campground was a great place to crash for two nights. It was cheap, comfortable, and quiet. It allowed great access to the heart of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We even ran into a Teddy impersonator at the Visitor Center!

In the south, near Cottonwood Campground, we loved the beautiful scenic drive, the views from Buck Hill, Wind Canyon Overlook, and the Petrified Forest (a bit of a drive around the park).

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Theodore Roosevelt)

This campground in Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora ND has 76 sites. Half of the sites, the even-numbered ones, are not reservable. Sites 55-66 are walk in tent sites; parking spots and grills for these sites are numbered so you have a specific site.

We arrived before 10:30 am on a Sunday and sites were being claimed quickly. There were 7 of us choosing sites at that time. The hosts had a whiteboard that listed available sites; we took a photo of the list and chose quickly as we drove around because sites that were listed as available were already being claimed. We ended up on a reservable site that was open for the next several nights. The host couple was really on the ball and their attention helped keep the site selection process orderly.  After you put your tag up, they fold it over later in the day and mark your departure date. This is a practice that is used in many campgrounds.

Cottonwood has been full every day since Memorial Day so you can't show up in the evening or possibly even mid-afternoon and expect to find an open site.

This campground has no hookups but has flush toilets, sinks, potable water spigots, a sink for washing dishes/disposing of grey water, a place for filling water tanks, trash disposal and firewood for sale. There are charcoal grates for cooking that can also be use for campfires, but there are no fire rings; your campfire will be a few feet off the ground in something that I think of as a grill!

Showers? No, but there area couple campgrounds in Medora that have showers for $5.

If you stay here, you're obviously here to see Theodore Roosevelt NP. Both the campground and park are worth a visit. The scenery is incredible and gave us a new view of North Dakota. There is a hike near Pleasant Valley Ranch where you can use a few trails to make a 5+ mile loop that will show you everything the park has to offer - Little Missouri River (and you have to cross it at the beginning and end), prairie dog towns, bison herds and beautiful scenery. I highly recommend this as a way to see the park from a better vantage point than the highway.

One complaint - the position of our site (#19) had some people think it was acceptable to cut through our site on their way to the bathroom. Do you walk through someone's home to shorten your walk? Didn't think so but 3 people did within 30 minutes.

We stayed here while visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Amazing views and very quite.

Tight fit but close to the National Park and downtown Medora. 

The town of Medora truly supports the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

A perfect campground for equestrian campers or those visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Just 3-4 miles from Medora ND and park entrance. Open views, good trails, great birding. The sites have electric, accessible water and dump site. Showers snd vault toilets kept very clean.

I have already posted my review for the Theodore Roosevelt South campground - Cottonwood. I won't repeat myself too much. Believe it or not, but I would put the North unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park even ahead of Yosemite.

The trees and the canopy in the Juniper campground is really cool. Especially against the terrain that surrounds it. The campground is low on amenities but high on scenery, and it is very clean.

The hiking in the North unit is amazing. There is so much wildlife. Never have I been so close to so many animals in the wild. I saw a lot of wildlife in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, but not as much as I did here.

I never thought I would ever want to visit North Dakota. Honestly, I cant wait to go back. This place will blow your expectations, especially if you take an adventure on a hike or two. In the North unit, I highly suggest stopping at the River Bend Overlook and hiking down to the CCC shelter for some amazing views. Then drive to the end of the road and take a quick hike to Sperati Point.

The best thing about this campground was its location... close to town, close to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and close to the Mefora Musical. The campground was clean but the sites werevery close together. The campground had lots of cottonwood trees so the cotton was blowing all over when we were the in June. It did have full hook-ups, so that was a plus.

Found this site close to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Road in is pretty good, any right should be able to make it. There are several sites in the camping area, some could fit big rigs. Smaller rigs can get into any of the other sites. Despite being near the Interstate, it was really quiet at night. Great Verizon signal on this location. Starlink had some of the fastest connections we have seen.

The campground is just off the interstate, but far enough that the noise isn't bad. The scenery is beautiful, and we heard coyotes after we went to bed. No AT&T coverage at our campsite, but a short walk up a dirt road got us high enough for a few bars.

We didn't have time to explore the area, but what we could see of Theodore Roosevelt National Park from the highway was stunning.

We really enjoyed this campground. We had a back-in site that had a little bit of shade. There are 30/50 amp electricity, but no water/sewer. There is a dump station with potable water when you first pull in. The sites are really spread out and it was very quiet at night. There is a river adjacent to the campground and the Maah Daah Hey trail runs through the campground. The town of Medora is a 5 minute drive, but there isn't too much there. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a 5 minute drive as well and the main reason to come to this area.

What can I say, I went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park just to hangout with my brother and do some camping. I had very low expectations considering it is located in North Dakota. Let's just say that of the dozen National Parks and Monuments that I have visited and camped in, Theodore Roosevelt is my second favorite.

I saw more wildlife than I have in any other park. There were very few people so it felt like we had the park to ourselves. The scenery was fantastic with so many different things to see. There is a South and North unit and they are both amazing, although the North unit is my favorite.

The Cottonwood campground is in the South Unit. It was great. The toilet near are campsite was a pit toilet, but it was clean. I must admit, I prefer a flushing toilet, especially when I am paying money to camp. Having said that the rest of the campground was quiet with some great scenery. Aside from not having flushing toilets, the reason it gets 4 stars instead of 5 is the campground needed more shade trees. It did get hot during the day.

Wildlife walks through the campsite regularly. I woke up one morning with a buffalo walking 10 yards from my tent. I was sitting down and eating lunch at the picnic table and a beautiful snake with lots of colors just slithered through. If you want an experience with nature and have the opportunity to see bluffs, trees, badlands and a petrified forest, you need to stay at Cottonwood.

Site was clean and well maintained. Campground offered pull through, pull off and back in Sites.

Bathrooms were very clean and well maintained.

Wildlife is everywhere. We were fortune to witness Bison walking through our site in the very early hours of the morning. Wild horses also visited the campground at some point.

Rangers we not only friendly but very knowledgeable. They were great with kids in ever setting taking time to educate them with facts about the park and wildlife.

We arrived before 3pm and were able to secure a first come first serve campsite.

Not only being in the heart of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the town of Medora is a very family friendly place to explore.

While this may be in the middle of nowhere, it is worth the trip off the beaten path. From what I understand, the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is even leas visited and less crowded. We were there in the middle of the summer and only saw a handful of others. The scenery is breathtaking and unique, not exactly like anything else I have ever seen. There are abundant buffalo wandering the fields roads. The campground was quiet and clean, kind of in a prairie with abundant trees. While we didn't go hiking, there are a few trails, both long (18 mile backpacking loop) and short. If you are making the trip to Glacier from the east, don't miss this park/campground!