- Camping & Cabins

Camping & Cabins

Each Grassland offers organized and developed campground camping opportunities with easy access to trails or water areas and may be reached by gravel or dirt roads. Note: Cabin rentals are not available anywhere in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.

What's Popular? Two of our most popular campgrounds are the CCC Campground in the McKenzie Ranger District and the Buffalo Gap Campground in the Medora Ranger District. Both sites offer first-come, first-served campsites or reservations through Recreation.gov. All other campsites and campgrounds are fully first-come, first-served.

Campsite fees typically range from $10 to $20 per night. Please refer to each campground page for details. Upon selecting a site, payments can be made in the fee deposit tube at the campground entrance.

Discounts provided by the Interagency Senior/Access Recreation Passes include a 50% discount to Single Campsites only. The discount applies only to the fee for the campsite physically occupied by the pass holder, not to any additional fee or campsite(s) occupied by the pass holder's party members. Passes are available at all five DPG offices. More information is available on the Passes page.

Campsite Occupancy rules: Camping or otherwise occupying a single site for over 14 consecutive days and/or camping or otherwise occupying any number of sites for 28 cumulative days in a calendar year is prohibited within all Northern Region (Region 1) National Forest System (NFS) lands within the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in North Dakota and South Dakota.

Dispersed Camping is also available away from established campgrounds and developed recreation sites. For details, please visit the Dispersed Camping page (see below).

Please visit the Safety and Outdoor Ethics page for details and additional resources.

Contact a Ranger District Office for more information.

Interagency Passes, or America the Beautiful national park passes, provide access to and discounts at over 2,000 federal recreation sites, including USDA Forest Service campgrounds.

Interagency Senior/Access Recreation Passes provide a 50% discount to Single Campsites only. The discount applies only to the fee for the campsite physically occupied by the pass holder, not to any additional fee or campsite(s) occupied by the pass holder's party members. Passes are available at all five DPG offices.

Recreate Safely Sign in prairie Grassland

As a visitor to the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, you are asked to follow certain rules designed to protect the natural environment, ensure the health and safety of visitors, and promote a pleasant and rewarding outdoor recreation experience for all visitors.

Please be careful, remain mindful and alert for natural hazards and dangers and mitigate risky behaviors. Everyone is primarily responsible for their safety.

Recreation.gov is the federal government's centralized travel planning and reservation platform for 14 federal agencies. It provides tools, tips, and information for visitors to find destinations, plan trips, and make reservations for various outdoor activities and experiences on federal lands and waters. Users can make reservations for camping, cabins, RV sites, permits, and other activities on federal lands.

Note: USDA Forest Service does not manage the Recreation.gov site.