Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Watford City, ND

First time we ever boondocked in our 5th wheel. This place is nice & peaceful, well except for the 2 steer that went through our site lol.

Trey have one modern restroom, no showers. Excellent basecamp for the north unit. Plenty of wildlife & scenery to find.

When this place was built, they never envisioned large rigs. So if you have one over 30 feet, just be aware you might have to wiggle your way into a site. Camphost was great. Watford City about 20 minutes away for groceries & gas.

The National Park North Unit and Campground(CG) is easy to find off US-85. We showed our Access Passes to get into the park and then proceeded to mile marker 5, where the CG is located. We pulled up to the information and sign-in board for this first come, first serve CG at about 11:30 AM Mountain Time(interesting that when we got to the north unit area, our phones went back to central time, and after a quick Google search, we found out that the north unit runs on central time). A gentleman let us know that he had just pulled in and grabbed a campsite near the entrance/exit and that we’d probably only fit in site 8(this CG is all dry camping) as the perimeter campsites, both back-ins and pull-throughs, were too short for us. The other longer sites were already taken. We proceeded to pull through site 8, which is a long, quarter moon-shaped asphalt site. We maneuvered around to stay away from tree branches and stay on the pad. The picnic table and stand-up barbecue were on the driver’s side, but since the sites are nicely spaced out, this was not a problem. We then filled out our registration envelope, placed $14 cash(Access Pass discount) in the folder, put the tab on our post, and deposited the envelope in the registration area. We could have also written a check or used a credit card to pay. We got on and off 1 bar on Verizon. We did have a good shot north for Starlink. They have a vaulted toilet and flush toilet building along with potable water at the dump station. There are about a half dozen sites for longer rigs, such as 32, 42, and 43, 49, with 5 being the best site. We had our two dogs with us, and there was plenty of room to walk them around the CG. There was plenty of bison poop in the CG, but we didn't see any during our two-night stay. Watford City is 17 miles north and has your major amenities. We enjoyed using this CG as a base to explore the North Unit.

A cheaper alternative to TRNP’s Juniper Campground. This campground offers beautiful panoramic views of the North Dakota Badlands. Additionally, you can access the Maah Daah Hey Trail and explore the Badlands from here. The campground is well kept and is typically pretty quiet. There are no showers, but there is toilets and accessible drinking water.

Lewis and Clark didn’t seem like much, but as soon as we got settled in the Park rangers checked on us. They did patrols all the time around and were super friendly! We had one storm while we were there and they gave us the emergency plan as fast as they could. Most campgrounds could care less, they assume you know the deal. I commend the staff at this place, it’s what true North Dakota’s do for each other.

We also had plenty of space in our campsites and the area is super clean. The trails and the beach were quite exciting as the nights that were clear had the Aurora borealis in the background. So beautiful.

We stayed at this park because the Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park North Unit campgrounds were closed for renovations. I mistakenly thought this park was close to the park, but it is actually a 90 minute drive. We had a reservation for 2 nights but only stayed one and moved to the CCC Campground to be closer to the park. The only real sites with a view are those that back-up to the Little Missouri River. All others are just looking at a prairie. This is also primarily a campground for horse people, which we are not. You do need to pay the additional North Dakota State Park fee if camping here.

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.

My wife and I come here a couple of times every summer. It’s a great place to brings the dogs. There are plenty of trails and the dogs love swimming in the lake.

The bathrooms are thoroughly cleaned every night and the park staff are very friendly and helpful. There is a theater area with educational presentations for the kids. Also, there is an ice cream truck that comes through the campground at night.

Plenty of trees provide privacy in this nice National Park campsite that's just a short walk to the banks of the Little Missouri River. Has the standard National Park features, but our kids especially enjoyed the ranger presentation on prairie dogs.

This place is very well kept. Vault toilets and hand pump for water. The views are just awesome. 360 deg. Large sites spaced far apart. 40 plus sites. Host said never full. $10 a night. No road noise. Lots of wildlife. Deer and prairie dogs.

This is a beautiful little park that features trail riding. Great hiking through the Badlands and views that can't be beat. Although this park is in the middle of the oil fields it does not interfere with the horseback riding, hiking, or other experiences. A little over an hour away is Medora and the Medora musical. There is also another amazing park near Medora where we saw wild horses, bison, deer, prairie dogs, and countless birds. All in all, Little Missouri State Park was a great experience for us.

Great little campground. Friendly hosts, clean, plenty of spots and didn’t even fill up for the holiday weekend. Bison will definitely stroll through your sites if you’re over by the field like we were. Peaceful and beautiful.

Really beautiful site here with lots of easy and moderate trails to explore with lovely sunrise/sunset and wildlife! Similar feel to Badlands with some fewer crowds. You can’t choose a bad place to camp but be sure to drive through both the north and south areas. Pretty simple campground. Plan to stay at least two nights.

Yay: some of the sites are first come/first serve so if you don’t have a reservation you might get a spot (yay spontaneous adventures). Lots of different campsite configurations so you don’t have to be next to an RV in your tent.

Nay: pretty much guaranteed to fill up on summer/holiday weekends, trails were muddy when we were there in July.

Surprise: BISON EVERYWHERE!! If you have kids don’t let them wander around, the bison are close and plentiful!!

This campground sits on the riverbank of the Little Missouri River. There is a resident bison herd that is very comfortable in the area. We woke up one morning to see one grazing 20 feet from our tent. No showers but makes up for it by having space available for a drop in on the 4 th of July weekend! Warning: mature cottonwood trees can drop a branch without warning. The unit next to us had a large limb come down on a windless night. Luckily it was a pull through and dropped on the opposite side of the tree from the tent trailer. Try for a unit with small cottonwood trees!

This is a delightful place surrounded by wildlife. I was able to get really close to buffalo (safely from the truck). This campground is on the north side of the Little Missouri River across from the CCC Campground which I actually preferred even though it was more primitive. The sites here are denser, and it is more populated, but there were still a lot of sites available when I was there on 7/5. . There are no hookups. There are bathrooms and running water available and a sanitary dump….an advantage over the CCC. It looks like the recently built new bathrooms which are grade A. It is convenient to auto touring and hiking trails.  I am on a walk about to visit all the national parks and TRNP is one of my favorites so far.

We felt so fortunate to procure a site at this first come, first serve campground. Well-situated sites with gorgeous views. Clean restrooms with flush toilets and running water!

First come first serve camping. We had a pull thru. Some of the back ins look a little short. Generators have to be off by 8. Very quiet. Lots of stars. There is a water faucet but you have to carry water. No hook ups. Gorgeous views.

I really enjoyed this campground. The roads and parking pads are paved! The bathroom was recently built and it is clean and well maintained with running water and flush toilets. Also, the camp hosts were very friendly and helpful with tips on what to see and to do in and around the park.

North

We weren't even here and parked... 15 minutes later and three bison come right past my camper. I knew we would see them but wow!!! I was in awe..it came right by me and I backed off and knew to respect it. It was on a mission and heading to the woods. Up to 2000 lbs and can travel 30mph!

North side was quiet. We were worried about a campsite and got moving early to get here, but we stayed on a Monday and had no issues. We had our pick of quite a few spots. It got busier by the end of the day, but still spots open for campers. Also cant beat $14 to stay. No electric but it does have a place for water and to dump. Bathrooms are actually really nice and clean, no showers. We did not have cell reception but so travel with Starlink.

Convenient to drive the scenic route and to hike.

This is a good solid campground that was almost full when we arrived, but we were able to choose a nice spot. There was water available but it had a funny taste, they had recently had some problems and were treating the water. The park rangers here were awesome and so helpful. No shower facilities, but flushing toilets with running water was fine. Lots of great trails and. Is on roam freely. Funny tidbit, the campground is on the border of the time zone border, so my devices would change times and I thought there was a problem, took me a while to figure it out.

I spent three nights at the juniper campground and explored the north unit of the park. The scenic drive is amazing and saw lots of bison. The campground is quiet and well maintained. There is water available and a free rv dump. The bathrooms were super clean and the camp host was friendly.

The campground was very nice, tent and rv sites available. The campground host, Bill, was very nice and informative. The bathrooms had clean toilets, and drinking water was also available.

We had a nice campsite and enjoyed our visit. Boathouse was well maintained. Enjoyed the views and the visit of a Buffalo one evening (he was close, but not too close).

Very minimal shade and very hot in June but it’s definitely a good spot to stay. The spots aren’t that close to one another I’ve definitely had worse. It’s right at the beginning of the north side of Theodore Roosevelt and a good stop to stay at while visiting the park. We even saw a couple Buffalo in the campground! Big horn cows also come and visit often.

Spread our shaded spots close to the river front and away from regular traffic. First come first serve camping Things to know: No showers Seasonal host No hooks ups