Looking for the best options for tent camping near Valley City? Finding a place to camp in North Dakota with your tent has never been easier. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
The Valley City National Fish Hatchery is one of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s oldest hatcheries providing fish to waters in the Midwest since 1940. The hatchery was established along a major railroad hub, which facilitated in the distribution of fish by rail cars in the early days. Today the hatchery is active in the restoration of lake sturgeon in the Red River of the North. The hatchery also plays a vital role in maintaining recreational fishing opportunities in North Dakota waters. A fishing pond and fishing access to the Sheyenne River is available to visitors. High quality game fish stocked by the hatchery provide quality sport fishing to thousands. In addition, Valley City welcomes visitors to the hatchery for a closeup view of the fish production process. Hiking, canoeing, fishing, birdwatching, picnicking, and photography continues to be a must of summer activities. The goose pond is a kids fishing pond and is an exclusive area attraction. The staff gives tours to various civic groups and has a traveling aquarium and video show that is taken to the larger fairs and shows within the state.
Guide
A long, very dusty gravel road got us to this spot. By the time we left, our car and camper looked like 2 dirt piles. That said, the spot was very peaceful with a ton of birds. There is a pit toilet there which was locked. It had a sign telling you how to break in, in the case of emergencies. Never have seen such a sign before. Well, I needed to use it, broke in using a screwdriver, and Ohmygod. It’s going to take awhile to get that out of my head. Do not open up the pit toilet, no matter the emergency.
Guide
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.
LegendStayed for a few days and thought it was nice. There are two sections and one offers full services and the other just electric service but better shade. The park is well used by the community as there were softball games nightly and the pool was full.
Scout
Good campsite, located in a huge field set pretty far off the river. It says there's room for 10 tents but really you could host a festival there. There's a couple picnic tables and fire pits and one trash can. There is no bathroom next to the tent sites. There is a pit toilet close by. When you reach the "Camp Rules" sign turn right for the camping and left for the pit toilet.
ScoutParked in a shaded spot. Very quiet and well kept. Used Roverpass.com to reserve the spot. Very pleased
LegendThe campground is pretty but exposed would be hot in the summer. Has hookups water and sewer and there's a dump station around the corner. There's a beach boat dock fishing dock and a boat launch right here in this campground. Pit toilets no showers no other amenities. Beautiful view of the lake though and protected by the trees so it's a wildly windy day but not too bad we were camped.
Legend
This is a well maintained well cared for well laid out county campground. A number of sites kind of exposed to the sun but hookups and bathrooms available. Tiny Lake for fishing and a beach for swimming. And good for North Dakota there's a large tree claim th at helps keep the wind off of you. I barely have Verizon service so if I was going to try to work I would probably have to use my satellite system but other than that it's adorable I wish it had more hiking.
Legend
This is an actual campground right next to the freeway right where the directions say that it is. Ignore the GPS or hopefully they'll correct the GPS. I did not stay here but I travel through often so I was curious to see if I could understand what and where it was. There seems to be hookups I have a feeling there is a building that has bathrooms in it and seems like they used to sell gas I'm not sure how much of that is still available.
LegendI'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.
Legend
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.
Guide
Stopped here on our way through North Dakota, perfect site with flushable bathrooms, good water and a beautiful sunrise.
LegendThe lake is very pretty. The swimming area is very nice. They have full bathrooms with showers. A number of different camp sites to be at. Campsites are a little close but I think they're trying to save nicer spots for tents.
Scout
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.
ScoutCampground 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.
TravelerThis is nice spot good price flat spots has a playground lots of grass they have sports equipment you can barrow the dirt road can be pretty dusty but not bad if you go slow
TravelerWe were the only campers, so there was plenty of space and the sound of the water was soothing.
Bugs were terrible and the train was loud once when we went to sleep and then once when we woke up.
Overall, the camp spot was a convenient and free stop on our road trip out west. Would stay again.
Guide
The sites aren’t very well indicating and so we parked next to a fire ring and picnic table. A van pulled up in front of us with plenty of room left for other neighbors. A sign indicates that camping for more than 10days is not permitted and rigs aren’t to be left unattended for more than 24hours. Two docks for the pups to jump off of and swim. Beautiful clear water was calling my name in the evening.
LegendThere is a small campground but I'm guessing it is for a girl scout group or something like that. It didn't seem very well used and was locked tight. There are signs stating no entry after dark. Maybe you can camp but there would be no services except a picnic table. It would be fun though to start at the dam in a canoe and use this as a place to stop for the night. I would say call before trying to stay.
LegendWe stopped by to visit but didn't camp. If you're a walker there's no trails and no place to walk. There is though a very nice canoe spot and it's clear people fish from here. The campsite is very small and only camping spaces for about three campers it was full the time we came through.
LegendSeveral spots to park but not at all very private. Nice view of the lake though and the trees block the wind and it was a very windy cool day so very appreciative of them. No shade though, just a wind break.
LegendI didn't spend the night but stopped on my drive past. 3 little cabins which were reasonably priced, a handful of spots with hookups and a bathroom but no shower. Cute and would be a fine stop on a weekend trip through.
Legend
It was very early in April and still very cold so I literally had the place to myself but we saw an incredible amount of wildlife in our one day stay. Also there are bunches of trails to hike and the town is close and worth exploring. I came back again in 2024 with a bit more time but still early so had the park to myself. There is so much to do here. They have expanded the trails, dinner in town at a great restaurant, mountain biking down the Kathryn road to historic sites and a national state forest with more trails and destinations. Come early, around the ticks and mosquitoes. Maybe I will bring the canoe next time.
Legend
Nice and relatively private spots with lots of hiking nearby. Definitely headed back again
GuideNice campground just off the highway. Although the tent sites looked nice, unless you have earplugs the highway noise will keep you awake. It's also pretty windy. Clean bathrooms and showers, really nice staff. We booked one of two rustic cabins for a steal at $35. Other than a very thin foam mattress, we had a great stay. There was a mini fridge in the cabin and the wonderful lady that checked us in loaned us a fan since it was a bit warm. Jamestown speedway dirt track has races every Saturday evening during the summer and we were able to catch the season opener in May. The world's largest buffalo is also nearby
RangerThis is the second time we’ve stopped at this park. Very well maintained- great bathroom facilities- dog park- playground and a tunnel of trees to meander through.
GuideWell, not the best place we stayed at. Arrived to trash bags beside the bin, half a rib cage (skeleton) of some animal (which we found the rest of the deer .5m down the road) and the 2 vault toilets need of a decent clean / toilet paper, but they didn't smell and were adequate for the night. We were the only people here, but locals dropped by for dog walks or rest stops. Area did have a grill, firepit, one picnic table in the open and 2 tables under a large cover. 2 gravel slopes go down to the river, but could imagine with the sediment at the river edge, car wheels may become stuck. Trains / rail crossing was 100yards away, as previously mentioned in other reviews, and our observations were as follows.....9 trains from mid afternoon to early morning next day, 4 of which at night. Apart from the 3‐4 long horn blasts each time one came by, the actual train passing was not disturbing...
Legend
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.
Valley City, North Dakota, offers some fantastic options for tent camping, perfect for those looking to immerse themselves in nature. Whether you're hiking, fishing, or just enjoying the outdoors, there are several well-reviewed spots to pitch your tent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Valley City, ND?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Valley City, ND is Valley City National Fish Hatchery with a 3-star rating from 1 review.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Valley City, ND?
TheDyrt.com has all 3 tent camping locations near Valley City, ND, with real photos and reviews from campers.
