Cottonwood Campground (ND)

Stay here if you’re into cool things. Great experience! Close up glimpse into nature and wildlife. Bison and feral horses in camp. Saw Bison, prairie dogs, coyote, feral horses and happened upon a male pronghorn antelope all while out on a hike. It was amazing. We’ve been here before and will return to this wonderland in the future. Fun stuff!!

A nice campground in a beautiful area.

Cottonwoods Campground in Theodore National Park was wonderful. Potable water, restroom facilities, and a ranger all within walking distance, plus the facilities were always clean. The campground allows you to experience the natural beauty of the park without being too remote. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to travel to North Dakota to experience this beautiful national park.

I tent camped (site 59) September 7-10. Though a little walk (which was mentioned) from the truck I liked I was basically by myself. The campsite was level, had a nice picnic table and grill. The site was next to the Little Missouri Rivers, and I had seen some other postings about bison walking through their campsite (the pic showed hard shelled camper).
Well Wednesday morning, while relaxing before heading out, I saw a bull bison across the river and noted the trail he was on would lead him to my campsite. I walked to the adjoining campsite and let the young couple there know about what was coming.
My first pictures were of him drinking in the river. I ended up with numerous photos and videos as he came across the river to my side. First, he took a couple of good rolls in a dusty flat spot. I had noted old bison tracks in the dirt so I figured they might use it again. Then he strolled through my campsite. I keep my tent between him and me. Awesome!
Then Thursday evening, again as I was relaxing, I saw another bull bison coming my way. I let two other campers near by know he was coming. Again, I got great photos/videos, but from an empty campsite next to me so I wasn't taking pics/vids looking into the sun.
Some turkeys also came through the campground.
Overall, it was an exceptional experience coupled with nice restrooms.

This is a beautiful, quiet campground! Despite not having electricity or water at the sites, the campground was tucked into a cottonwood grove that protected us from the strong winds we had during our stay. The restroom was updated and steps away at this site, and our site #29 was flat and private, off the road.

Cottonwood Campground was a nice relaxing stay. It was fun to watch the wild horses down by the river. We had wild turkeys visit our campsite each day. We would definitely stay here again.

This is the real west. An absolutely beautiful park. Attendent helped me find my campsite and informing me of facilities and the upcoming evening program. As always my sincere Thanks to the National Park Service

This camp site is a short walk from the parking spot. You will walk past two other sites. This site gets direct sunlight all afternoon and evening. I was concerned that it would be so hot during the night as it was 90°+ during the day but the site cooled off by 9:00 due to a slight breeze. The bathrooms are about 750’ away. There are plenty of better shaded sites in this campground but I would stay here again.

Check-in was a breeze. Staff were very helpful. Campsite was roomy and amongst the trees. Campground pretty quiet though a bit of freeway noise. Bathroom and water nearby and bath was clean. No shower but we knew that going in. Well located to get to various parts of park and to Medora. Non-cooking Fires were prohibited but that’s due to the drought. Happy with the accommodations. Don’t miss the Roosevelt Library !!

We enjoyed our stay in the National Park and can't wait to return.