Downstream Campground

We were fortunate to snag one of the last sites at the Downstream Campground on Friday night of the Labor Day Holiday Weekend. The Downstream Campground is located on the Missouri River below the Garrison Dam of Lake Sakakawea.
In 3 loops, they have a total of 101 modern campsites, each with a nice picnic table, grill fire pit and electric hookup. Also a sanitary dump at the entrance and fresh water fillup, as well as 16 primitive campsites. They had ice and firewood for sale at the check-in.
The 30 campsites in Loop 1 are very close together, not much privacy and families with kids congregate here.
Loops 2 and 3 have about 70 additional sites that are reservable. all sites are paved and most are level. the sites in Loop 2 are more widespread. We lucked out on Site 61 in Loop 2 which was so long and level that we could have backed in in our 25 footer and still had room for a tow and a boat!
There are several water spigots spaced arund the loop, including the primitive sites. Also 2 playgrounds, horseshoes and volleyball. (Horseshoe and volleyball equipment is available for checkout at the office.) Lots of families with kids, bikes and many folks had boats.
The Garrison Dam and Fish Hatchery were a nice bike ride and the road lead to several parking lots which had views of the lake. We pedaled out to the airstrip on gravel and back on the road for a nice 12 mile ride in the evening. There are several gravel hiking trails with parking, very well maintained and clean.
The Fish Hatchery was massive with 24 shallow ponds, unfortunately not in service in fall. Lots of high intensity power lines assoiated with the power generation facility but not visible from the campground.
The camp hosts were super friendly and tried their best to find us a spot for Saturday night, since everything else we tried was booked for the holiday weekend.
Very quiet at night and we were awakened by the sounds of the owls calling.
The bathrooms were very clean, well lighted and heated with 2 toilets and 2 showers each for men and women and one handicapped.
The camp host stopped by in the morning to tell us that they ahd a cancellation and we would be welcome to stay another night provided we moved to a different spot. However we had already decided to move on and take our chances near the badlands.

Well maintained and clean campground! Lots of space between sites! Electric only, with water spigots scattered throughout!

Dump station with potable water is within Campground!

Several miles of well maintained multiuse trails! Lots of opportunity for those who fish!

Saw lots of wildlife; white pelicans, bald eagles, deer, and more!

Had 3 bars Verizon LTE!

Very nice clean campground with heated bathrooms. It is right next to the fish hatchery and Garrison dam. Our six-year-old grandson love the tour of the fish hatchery where they even let you hold fish. The tour of the dam was very interesting but not so much for young kids. The campground has a nice hiking trail. Our only negative was The campground host were very nice until you asked them to do something like change your site and then they gave everybody a hard time and wouldn’t do it. The $11 rate reflects the senior access discount otherwise it’s $22 a night. There is no water at the site but there is good drinking water to fill up. Good Verizon and AT&T cell signal too.

This was our first experience with Army Corp of Eng camping and it was great.
PROs:
* the nightly fee (with interagency senior pass) was $11 for 50A service;
* there was dump and water at the check-in office;
* sites in Loop 3 were spaced well away from each other so that was nice, with loads of mature trees for shad;
* super nice hiking loops, not only along the Missouri River but inland through wetlands;
* we used the Ebikes in all the camping loops and over to the Fish Hatchery building so there is 'some' opportunity for biking;
* super clean private shower room that was heated and lots of hot water;
* couldn't tour the Garrison dam (done for the season) but in our wanderings, there was a large habitate for the white pelicans;
* Fish Hatchery has a wonder program and tours, highly recommend.
* not that difficult to get to the campground with our big rig/tow vehicle.

CONs:
* remote location with small towns 20 miles or more away;
* you don't see much of a presence of state staff but there were 3 campground loops and a primative campground;
* some over the air TV stations and okay connectivity, not super great but doable.

What you need to know is that Loop 1 (sites 1-30) are first come first serve and Loops 2 & 3 are reservations only.

Lots of flat & hilly North Dakota to go through (including 2 short but intense downpours) to get here. Previous reviews are accurate - clean, well-kept grounds. Level paved sites and 30A power. Sites on Loop 3 are well-spaced, but trees have small trunks and don't have low branches, so there's no real site privacy. Even though we camped on the Sunday before Labor Day Week, it was less than half full, so we had no immediate neighbors. Evening walk along the river featured a little island full of white pelicans and small gray gulls, and tall riverside trees hosting noisy double-crested cormorants.
Would have liked to try the fishing - the river looks very tempting!
Writing this in the campground using an iPhone hotspot on Verizon 3 Bars.

We actually paid half of our reported price through my Access Pass so $12/night. The sites and the entire park were well maintained. We came in with our 43' motor coach pulling a 22' flatbed car hauler. Host said we could park our trailer in the grass if desired or back behind the pad. We were the longest coach in the park at the time but this park can easily handle 45' plus.

Facilities:
Power: clean 50A where we were parked
Water: available around the park at hose bibs. We could reach with our hose but didn't need to fill. Recommend topping off before you arrive at your site.
Dump: serves both directions, inbound and outbound at the park entrance. Well-maintained and clean.
Restrooms: did not use.

Excellent walking and cycling access. Watching the wildlife such as the Richardson Ground Squirrels zip around was fun. There were some cottonwood trees doing their thing so when it's heavy, make sure you clean off the fluff from your AC coils after your visit. It was light for us though.

Make sure you visit Little Bar & Grill in Pick City. Seriously, Brandon the chef does some AMAZING work and everything we tried was incredible! The beer selection is also fantastic!

Absolutely loved this campground. Large spots, plenty of space between sites, lots of trees. We stayed in site 17 (30 amps in loop 1) for 2 nights, then moved to site 84 (50 amps in loop 3) for 6 nights. During the week the park was pretty empty. On the weekend the campground was at capacity. Site 17 was a bit unlevel for a larger RV (37 foot class A motorhome). We needed to use blocks in order to level. Water spigots places around campground. Dump station available. One lane in each direction near entrance of campground. Good Verizon signal. Able to talk, text, and stream videos. Would definitely stay here again if I’m the area.