Scoria Pit Dispersed Camping

We found the review of Scoria Pit on Campendium and decided to check it out while visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We arrived on a Wednesday evening around 8pm, and found the site empty! There is tons of space for a tent(s), car(s) or even a large RV (ours is 24 feet and we tow an 8 foot trailer), and the road up to the site is gravel but short and in good shape. The site isn't far from the highway at all and has great cell coverage, but feels miles away from civilization. It's definitely easy for an RV to get up here, and there is enough space to turn around at the top. Beautiful views of the surrounding badlands, and only a couple miles from the National Park! We wish we could stay longer!

We had no problem getting big Betty up to the area and there's more than enough room for several rigs up here! It's not all flat but there are some flat spots depending upon where you park. The sky at night is very dark and the milky was was wonderful to view. There was some Bison scat in the area but we didn't see any while we were here.

We were here in August and it is a GREAT boondocking spot. The area is on an overlook so the views are beautiful, and the stars are stunning at night. Be prepared for active wildlife at night.

5 minute drive to Medora and the entrance of Teddy Roosevelt National Park. The campgrounds in Medora have dump stations, $5 for non-campers. However, Medora does not have a grocery store, so stock up in advance. Nearest grocery store and Walmart are in Dickinson, about 40 miles away.

It's about 1.5 miles of dirt road off the highway, but it's very well maintained and not washboardy at all.

Verizon signal was screaming fast and a full 5 bars - you could see the cell phone tower from our spot! AT&T was useable on the phone but not as great - we had trouble using our Mobley unboosted.

We had this spot all to ourselves for most of our stay, which we can't believe given people were packing in like sardines in the Medora campgrounds.

Rangers DO check - we had one drive in and take a picture of our license plates but he didn't say anything to us.

Due to rain, we got a little muddy hauling our 32 ft Airstream up the dirt road but we were so happy we did! Plenty of room and oh so peaceful.

Great location to Medora & the park! Gorgeous views everywhere you look. You can hike up behind the spot & it’s beautiful up there as well. Road getting in was really great. One mud hole but it didn’t phase us. Traveling in a Chevy Avalanche 2500 pulling a 28’ bumper pool. No issues. Dump station at the Medora camp ground $5.

Scoria Pit is the hidden gem of North Dakota campgrounds. Just a few miles from Medora and Theodore Roosevelt NP. The sunset was spectacular and the stars were vivid. There was a ton of wildlife at night too which really amplified the experience. Incredibly peaceful too, only 1 camper down the road about 1/4 mile. Not to mention the blazing fast 4G! Highly recommend this to anyone who wants the real North Dakota experience without the hassle of tourists and traffic.

A very nice gem of a place. There is only one area but big enough for several groups. Easy to find, basically the first right off the main dirt road, climb to the top of the hill and turn left.

We arrived here today after reading the reviews. Unless we missed it entirely this was far from what has been described. The GPS coordinates were a bit off and my gps wanted us to turn down a road that didn’t exist. When we found the “spot” it was just one fairly large circle of dirt with a fire pit. There was one rv there already and we would have felt rude parking so close to them. So I wouldn’t say this is multiple spots. Just one big spot. If you’re the only there it will be great but otherwise you will feel like you’re sharing a campsite.

Located on a bit of a hill surrounded by prairie, it was a lovely spot but definitely a bit cramped with two campers plus us in our tent. The ground is quite rocky and hard to drive stakes into and being on a hill there wasn’t much shelter from the wind. Lowkey worried our tent would blow away lol. Still, the area was nice, rustic and the air smelled amazingly fresh. Also had a great view of the sunrise/sunset/stars:) would be perfect if you’re the only one there and not in a tent lol

No toilets, water or anything, literally just a flat spot off the road

We stayed here for 2 nights over Labor Day weekend when we couldn't get a spot at Cottonwood in the park. The road to get here is a pretty nice mile long dirt road with a right turn onto a quarter mile not so good dirt road. We took our 38 foot Class A on it - just go VERY slow and you won't have issues. There is a big mud puddle just after the right turn but it is not hard to get around. The site is just a big round area - little bit hidden as you need to make a left turn into the site just at the top of the hill. If folks are friendly and park well, it could easily handle three big rigs. Maybe more if there are tents or small trailers. There were two fire pits dug in the area so watch where you drive. No shade, but we have a solar array so it was perfect for us. The views are amazing and oddly enough, the cell coverage is about the best we have had in any campground near a National Park.