“Hike along a Meandering River!”
Situated on the meandering Turtle River, Turtle River State Park is located in a beautiful wooded valley. Constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the park offers year-round recreational activities, including camping, picnicking, fishing and trails for hiking, mountain biking and cross country skiing. Rustic group cabins can also be rented. The Turtle River is stocked with rainbow trout, and youngsters can borrow fishing gear at the park office. The visitor center at the park hosts Conservation Corp Interpretive Exhibits and Displays. The center also has a small gift shop and public restrooms.
Reviews of Turtle River State Park
7 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on August 25, 2022AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on May 19, 2023Despite a couple of negatives, we really did like this campground. The price is decent although you have to purchase a separate daily or yearly pass for the car. It is a pretty park with lots of trees. And quite a few of them could use a good trim. There are low hanging branches and tight corners. We found that taking the second entrance into the campground is a shorter distance and hence you avoid some of the trees. The first entrance involves much dodging. The loops are narrow and tight and bi-directional. It was pretty vacant when we were there so we didn't have an issue playing chicken with other RVs. The sites are placed vertically with the entrance/exit leading right into the next site. The sites are gravel/dirt and pretty darn level. There are not many sites suitable for very large RVs. Oddly, you can hear some traffic noise but it's not bad. Due to trees, we could not get satellite. Verizon was 4g with 2 bars. The camphost was very informative and warned of bad weather and spraying for mosquitoes (which can be quite vicious at times!). The bathrooms are utilitarian but functional and very clean. The park itself is well cared for and beautiful. There are lots of picnic areas and playgrounds. Biking is available on the road as well as off road on some fun trails that are maintained. We also got to see a mink! We camped here in a 45 foot motorhome and would stay here again.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 41
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We called ahead on short notice the Thursday night before Labor Day Weekend and was able to get a campsite at Turtle River State Park. It's a big wildlife and recreation area with over 70 campsites with water and electric and many more tent sites.
A former CCC Camp, the impressive remains of a hearth and chimney from the CCC Camp Lodge can be seen near the trailhead.
The rangers at the office check in were very friendly and helpful and ice and firewood are available. The paved roads in the park were nice for biking and we rode the Prairie Loop Trail, which was fun but a bit of a challenge on our road bikes, probably more suitable for mountain bikers.
Our site was adjacent to the modern bathrooms/showers, which were spotless.
Sites are wooded, mostly level with the nice picnic table and fire pit.
There were few other campers ahead of the Labor Day weekend so it was very quiet. The rangers said they were completely booked for the weekend.
We didn't see much wildlife.
Would stay here again.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 70
WOW what a gem, North Dakota you have done yourself proud.
Easy access, friendly staff, large sites ... bit odd entrance odd / even sites drive down the same narrow_ish (not wide enough to pass) drive in the opposite direction to enter. Can be entertaining.
Park is a 10/10 gem, lots to do (walk about), lots to see. Only 1/2 to Grand Forks.
BTW Rogers (CDN) on USA network for roaming does not work - drive 1/2 way to GF to get a signal. No WiFi - don't recall but there may be an OTA TV station or 2.
Would we be back YOU BET, when the CDN $$ is worth something again.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: South 23
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T
Lovely wooded park. Some of the drive through site were pretty close to each other. It was not crowded but visitation did pick up over the weekend. Wonderful showers in the new comfort station. AT&T cell service was sketchy and didn't always work which was a bummer when a thunderstorm cane through. Would have been nice to watch the weather reports Did get a few tv stations on our RV antenna. Would stay again.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 5
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T
Friendly and helpful staff. Lots of trees. Campground design is one-way sized roads that are to be used both ways. During our stay it worked just fine. Inner spots go left around the loop and outside sites go right.
Dump station/fill station at entrance of campground loops. Be aware: the rinse out water spigot at the dump station does not have threads.
They do fun kid activities during summer months having themes like Halloween in July where they had a costume contest and trick-or-treating.
Our site(s) were 3, 22, 19, 41, and 21. Most of our sites contained poison ivy that it backed up to or surrounded the outdoor living space. 41 didn't seem to have any.
Site 3 - a very nice site with minimal sun and lots of shade for the whole day. Average size site and fairly level.
Site 22 - a large pull-through site. The outdoor living space is also huge. The site is mostly level. It does have more sun during the later parts of the day starting from noon to about 5. The worst is between 2-5.
Site 19 - slightly unlevel and narrow. It has full sun in the morning and is shaded by early afternoon. Has good sized outdoor living space.
Site 41 - pretty much all sun until late afternoon. Level with big outdoor living space.
Site 21 - a little unlevel but pretty spacious. Pretty good spacing between neighbors. Pretty shaded spot. Does have some evening sun.
All in all it's a pretty nice campground. The site pads aren't terrible. The water tastes good and appears clean. They have trails, and a river to play in. Twelve minutes from the campground is the tiny town of Larimore. It has a coin laundry and fresh food market with fair prices that was stocked nicely. There is also a dollar general and a bar.
We had Visible/Verizon - it did pretty poorly especially during weekends.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 13
Site Number: 3, 22,19, 41, and 21
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay! Large, shady spots, very clean shower house, and friendly staff. 2-3bars LTE with Verizon. Would definitely stay again!
Nightly Rate: $37.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 28
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This park is just lovely: rolling hills along a beautiful river, lots of great lawns, clean, friendly staff.
The RV sites are wooded, generous in size, great bath/shower rooms. It is just off route 2, but peaceful and quiet, with beautiful birdsong in the AM. The only mar was a ton of deer scat in the campground. We did not see any deer or other animals.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 81
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
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Turtle River State Park
Hours
- Mon - Sat: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 18
- Last Nightly Rate
- 37.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 34.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 25.0
- Max Length
- 45 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Pull Through RV Sites Count
- 70
- Sites Count
- 125
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
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