Hankinson Hills Campground

We stopped for a night. We had our choice of campsite as there was no one else here. Unique area with a hiking/ biking trail right from the campground. Big rig friendly. Just off the highway and has cell service. The entire area is open to dispersed camping but we prefer to not contribute to further destruction of the natural environment.

Nice campsite. Two loops, front is for horses back loop without. We stayed in back as dog is not fond of horses. Vault toilets which were very clean, no electricity and water is from hand crank pump but very cold and ranger told me they test every month and it’s safe and clean. We enjoyed the 8 mile well marked loop as well as cutting few trails though parire. No issue with ticks. There are cows on pasture so watch for patties. Unfortunately dog found few to roll in. Very quiet and peaceful park, there was a couple other campers on horse section but none in back. Scenery and sunsets are the most beautiful. Ranger came by daily to check in and clean. Had to use google maps as didn’t see many signs but was easy drive and roads are in great shape. Stayed 5 days and would stay again if ever in area. Cell service was 1 sometimes 2 bar at 4 and 3g depending on area in park.

I loved this campground. It was constantly quiet, very clean, and just a joy to stay at! There is a really cool 8 mile loop of a trail connected to the campground that is very enjoyable, and the limited amenities otherwise were all in lovely shape.

With that said, let me get my one and only gripe out of the way... I stayed in mid June. It was lovely, and I decided to go hike that 8 mile trail one afternoon. Such a wonderful idea. I enjoyed it tons. Until I got back to camp, covered in ticks. Several had latched on to me, and even more were crawling all over my clothes. I ended up fighting this tick infestation the rest of the time that I was here. I bailed mostly just to deal with the ticks better elsewhere. Ticks suck!

That said, everything is lovely. It is a long dirt road from either the North or South. But those roads were all in excellent condition, and I saw all kinds of sized vehicles on them. The South is a little more obvious, once you enter the National Grassland than the North, because you just be sure to keep going straight, and it will be on your left. The North, the road forks right at the beginning of the Grassland. Make sure you are on the better road from that fork, or you will just about circle the whole grassland to get to the camp, and on a road that could be difficult for many vehicles. I'm making way more of a fus out of it than is really necessary, but know this: Google Maps does *not* accurately portray the roads.

This is located pretty far out in the boonies. Hankinson is just a small town without too much, and the closest town at that. I ended up going into Wahpeton, about 30 minutes drive away, multiple times for supplies. I didn't mind doing that at all, so didn't really pay attention to what Hankinson does have, to be honest.

While I was there, a ranger came through and cleaned everything. When I got there, everything was already very clean, though, and I really didn't add anything, myself. It's just remarkably clean!

Most of the site's are smaller, but there's at least a couple that should work for larger rigs to some point. Sites in the front section, I didn't pay attention to much, because I wanted the partial shade that could be found in the back 9. In the back 9, there is also a group camping site and day use area.

You can faintly hear a train roll through a little ways away, but it is very faint and not that frequent. Sometimes, a car might drive through, and some people come through to hit up the trails. It's remarkably quiet!

By default, I got some decent 3G on Verizon. Some sites would get an iffy LTE. With the booster, I got a consistent Verizon LTE that I was overall happy with. For TMobile, I got roaming in well on AT&T, but I didn't use it at all. TMobile's coverage map shows their LTE if you have a newer phone than what I'm still stuck with, but I'm missing their newer frequencies on mine so can't comment.

Come check this one out, if you're in the area! It's a beautiful little national grassland area, with wonderful hiking and a diverse grassland and woodland ecosystem. I saw all kinds of wildlife, and the star gazing was great, too. I'll definitely stay here if coming through the area again!