Pembina, Rough Rider campsites open May 5

Camping reservations are the kind of news that sounds small until you live near a place people actually want to book. Then it matters fast. North Dakota is opening reservations on Tuesday, May 5, for two parks people have been waiting on — Pembina Gorge State Park in the northeast and Rough Rider State Park near Medora. One is a brand-new state park campground. The other is a redesigned campground at a park many people still know by its old Sully Creek name. (parkrec.nd.gov) ### What opens on May 5? The reservation window opens May 5, 2026, for campsites at Pembina Gorge State Park and Rough Rider State Park through the North Dakota Parks and Recreation system. This is the booking date, not the first night people can actually camp there — that comes later, and the gap matters if you are trying to line up summer plans. (parkrec.nd.gov)or camping on June 9. Rough Rider opens on July 7. So the state is basically giving campers a head start to lock in dates before the parks themselves are fully open for overnight stays. That is useful because both places are tied to high-demand summer travel windows, especially Medora and the Theodore Roosevelt area. (parkrec.nd.gov)gger story? Pembina Gorge is becoming North Dakota’s 14th state park campground, which makes this more than a normal seasonal reservation notice. It is the debut of the state’s newest park. The site is built around one of the state’s most unusual landscapes — forest, river corridor, steep terrain, and multiuse trails — which gives North Dakota a park that feels different from its better-known prairie and lake destinations. (parkrec.nd.gov) ### What will campers get there? The new Pembina Gorge campground includes electrical service and water hookups, and the park sits next to a trail network with more than 16 miles open to hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and off-highway vehicle use. That last part stands out. North Dakota’s park system has plenty of camping, but this park is being pitched as a more adventure-heavy basecamp. (publicnow.com)wn Pembina Gorge campsite fees by 14% for the 2026 season to match its status as North Dakota’s 14th state park campground. It is a small promotion, but it also signals that officials want people to try the new park right away rather than wait a year for the opening buzz to settle. (parkrec.nd.gov) redesigned campground near Medora that many longtime visitors knew as Sully Creek State Park. The rebuilt campground adds more campsites and leans harder into equestrian use, with horse campsites, group horse campsites, corral access, and some sites offering sewer service in addition to electricity and water. (kxnet.com)ers? Medora is one of the state’s biggest summer draws, so campground supply near town matters a lot. Rough Rider gives that area more structured overnight capacity and better amenities, especially for horse campers using nearby trails. Think of it as less of a routine booking update and more of a capacity expansion right before peak travel season. (parkrec.nd.gov)ne If you want a site at either park, May 5 is the date that matters. Pembina Gorge is the headline because it is new. Rough Rider matters because it brings a rebuilt Medora-area campground back into the system. Either way, North Dakota’s camping map is getting bigger this summer. (parkrec.nd.gov)