Buffalo Gap Campground

This quiet little campground is located near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park about a mile north of I-94 in North Dakota. There are about 30 sites total, each with tightly packs gravel pads. Most sites are level, but there are a few that could be a challenge. Every site has a relatively large grassy lawn, picnic table, and fire ring.

This is completely dry campground. There are no hookups (electric, water, or sewer) at the individual sites. There are pit toilets, water spigots, and pay-per-use showers, but water was not available at the time this review was written. According to the camp host, lightning struck the water pump in 2011 and it has not been repaired since. There is no dump station either, so dump your tanks and fill up on fresh water before you arrive. If you are solar powered, you are in luck because at least half of the sites are sunny.

Internet was a bit of a challenge. We were able to get 4 bars of AT&T voice, but no data. On Verizon, our standard reception was ranging between 1 bar of 1x to 2 bars of 3G, also with no data. Once we hooked up our range extender though, we were able to get a solid 2 bars of Verizon LTE and data that was fast enough to stream movies with little to no lag.

It’s really amazing how easily you can find something wonderful about every single place you visit. Even with a tiny bit of road noise, this campground gives you the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere. At $6 per night this was a great stop for the price and privacy.

Buffalo Gap is just a few miles down the road from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but hardly anyone seems to camp here. There were just 3 other campers on a weekday early in August.

Sites are basic and have no hookups, but are extremely spacious and well spaced from another. Numerous hiking trails are nearby.

Its a little close to the highway so you may hear some big trucks, but it didn't bother us and we're pretty light sleepers.

A good spot to stay for 1 or 2 nights and good for any sized rig. Freeway noise ruins the soundscape, but isn't so bad I wouldn't overnight here again. The water tasted to terrible to drink (chemically treated?), but the showers are decent with plenty of hot water. No bugs, some turkeys, and lots of rabbits.

Stayed at Buffalo Gap in August 2017. It is a great no hookups park that has easy access to the Interstate, and is big RV friendly.

The campground has paved roads, and paved site driveways. Sites have a table, firepit, grass and some shade. Bushes had wild plums that were ripe, and quite tasty!

Showers had hot water, and restrooms flush toilets.

There is no water or RV dump available.

Near the highway, but didn't notice it too much.

Only negative I can think of is the flies. They were pesty, and bit us until we put bug spray on.

We enjoyed our stay at this campground. Sites were level, spacious, and isolated. Plus, there is a nice network of hiking trails easily accessed from the campground.

The only negative was the highway noise, since quite a few trucks frequent the highway.

A surprising bonus though—the coin showers were free when we were there. The hosts had taped over the coin systems and the showers were free to use. Since we weren't expecting that, it was a pleasant surprise.

The camp host was friendly and more than happy to share knowledge of the area.

Dan & Jaclyn are world travelers, having kicked the dirt in over 100 countries and sailed within all 7 seas. Currently, we are full-time, location independent, perpetual travelers, roaming around North America.

We found a home base at the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands campground so as to visit the town of Medora and the entire Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

This campground is located 1 exit past Medora. Medora is the entrance point for the busier portion of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. That 1 exit makes all the difference in obtaining a camping space that feels like you are miles and miles from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Arriving to the campground, there is a pull in round-a-bout to gather knowledge about the campground before entering. Speaking with the hosts upon arrival, we discovered the sites within the campground that DO have cell service. That said, we needed a robust connection to do our work and in our site, boosted, we were more than happy with the strength of the signal at our chosen #12

WHAT OTHERS MAY EXPERIENCE
Throughout our stay the campground was pretty full, although the spaces are a fair distance apart and therefore you are able to enjoy your outdoor space without feeling obligated to interact. We did not have access to amp service or sewer, although our specific site did have water access.

SPECIAL EXPERIENCE
The property has a bathhouse with running water and more importantly FREE HOT SHOWERS. Individual rooms for you to get yourself clean. That said, I did discover that the campground is in the middle of upgrades and things like hot showers will not be free forever. Once the upgrades are complete, we can expect that $6 per night fee to be in the wind.

I noticed that other reviewers mentioned highway noise. We being world travelers, we truly do not sweat the small stuff, although that said, with our open windows at night, we never noticed. Others have mentioned water quality. We found the water access at our site unacceptable. Cloudy! Very!

That said, we did discover the picnic pavilion and its water access for both our internal jugs and our onboard system was pristine quality.

I would have to say that we were happy with the campground, facilities and the locations.

RATING - CAMPING MET OUR EXPECTATIONS

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This was my last night camping for my 37 day road trip to and around the PNW and I can easily say this is the best deal I got - bar none. $6 for a national grasslands campground would be enough. But on top of that, there’s actually shade trees and the parking spots are level. Then throw in the FREE showers and the flush toilets and this was a no brainer! It’s in a wonderful location just west of Medora & Theodore Roosevelt N.P. I also got the best star gazing experience of the trip too, though that has more to do with weather. ;) But it’s out away from everything, 2 large loops so the sites aren’t right next to each other, no lights away from the toilets, the sky is so dark and it was a magical experience. Top marks to this place.

We were more than surprised to find a paved, level site for our 42’ Class A MH. Easy in and out. Our site, #15, was shaded morning and afternoon. Secluded, relatively quiet in our loop. Some road noise but not to the point that it kept us awake. The bathrooms, including showers, were exceptionally clean (better than a lot of private campgrounds). No hookups, but we are self contained so that was no problem for a few nights. Cell service, however, is virtually non-existent. Located just 9 miles from the gates of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the little town of Medora. The campground host was very friendly, eager to answer questions and give useful information. We enjoyed our stay immensely. I would highly recommend this campground.

Easy access to Theodore Roosevelt. Most sites don’t offer much privacy but there are a few that are real gems 16&17 are a couple of them! Easy access off the freeway so there’s road noise but that’s it.

Cannot say enough about this hidden gem. Plenty of level sites, restrooms with running water, hot (now free) showers, great walking/biking right from campground - only $6. We decided to stay 2 nights. Super convenient to highway - there is some noise highway noise in the park. Sites to accommodate rigs of all sizes. We arrived at 2pm and had our pick of sites. By 6pm nearly all sites were taken. The trails from the campground are awesome for walking or biking. No campfire wood available on site. Friendly hosts. Dump station and clean water. Met a few folks who had been camping in Medora and decided to move to Buffalo Gap for the remainder of their stay. Good choice! We climbed the butte to watch the sunset. Easy path & a bench to sit on at the top.