Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park — Attraction in Bismarck

This camp was really nice and each spot in loop 4 was mostly surrounded by trees so it felt a bit private. Each spot had a concrete pad to park and was pretty open with a good amout of space. There are a lot of ticks so bring your bug spray! Everyone around us was friendly but stayed to themselves. There is a camp store -open in the later evenings on the weekends- that houses a large shack where you can buy wood using the honor system ($7 each bundle), and also at the camp store are restrooms with AC & a laundry mat open 24/7. Loop 5 has campgrounds that are secluded and you have to hike a ways to reach them (check out 502, 507, or 509). They are set back in the forest. Super cool. Go check out the Shut-ins. They are beautiful but dangerous so please be careful. We walked through the river and climbed the rocks. Had a BLAST! There are leeches in the water so be watchful. They were very small and didn't hurt. The water was really cold but that didn't stop people from swimming in it. There are fish in it with you and they are neat to watch. Elephants Rocks State Park is within 20 minutes and was AMAZING. Go in the morning though because it gets incredibly busy in the afternoon and you will not be able to find a parking spot. There is Mal's Snack Shack there for "carnival like" food (hotdogs, nachos, shaved ice) and is reasonably priced and good. Don't forget to leave them a tip! They take cash or card. Both the Shut-ins and Elephant Rocks have picnic tables and grills. The bathrooms are better at the Shut-ins. I would recommend you bring your own TP and hand sanitizer for Elephant Rocks. You will probably need it. Overall my family and I had a great time and we were sad to leave such beauty and peace to return to the the hustle and bustle of daily life. We will probably go again within the next few years! Hope you enjoy your trip here as much as we did 😊 PS... if your wood here is damp, charcoal and lighter fluid will be your best friend. That is the only way we could get our fire going. It rained the day before we got there and the humidity held on. It was almost impossible to get our fire going both nights without it. We got a huge bag of charcoal and went through it and 1 1/2 bottles of lighter fluid. There was no cell service for me (T-Mobile) but my sister's phone (AT&T)...

This is a new(ish) and well maintained campground. It is located on the Black River, and the water flowing through the shut-ins is crystal clear and cool. We weren’t there during the summer months, but I am sure this park is busy when the weather is good for swimming. We stayed at the campground at the end of September when the leaves were just starting to change colors and it was beautiful.

All the sites have concrete pads and there is plenty of space between sites with lots of trees. There is also a walking path that cuts through the middle of both loop 2 and 3. This is great if you are planning trips with friends and family but can’t get sites directly next to each other. The park has a great general store which is centrally located and there is a nice big laundry facility attached if you need it. We didn’t use the bathroom/shower facilities while we were there due to covid, so I unfortunately don’t have information about those for you.

Be aware the shut-ins are separate from the campgrounds. This can be either a positive detail or a negative depending on how you look at it. It’s only bad if you are concerned about the fact that you have to drive or walk to go play in the water. However, I think the good outweighs the bad in this case.

Although we weren’t there during the warmer/swimming months, I can imagine the park gets pretty busy during the weekends and hot days. So the positive is, if you are camping, that the campground area won’t be busy with day-use visitors because the park is split up. Which means, you can still enjoy the peace and quiet if you aren’t playing at the actual shut-ins. That is definitely a plus in my book.

The only issue we had was there was nobody at the gate to check us in. We had to check in by text or we could scan a QR code and there were no campsite maps available either. So hopefully you have better phone service then we had, and make sure to download a site map so you can find your campsite more easily.

Overall, the park is great. The shut-ins are beautiful and if you are into exploring the area around Johnson’s Shut-ins there are multiple state parks nearby where you can drive to and do some...

This is a nice park with a couple of decent hiking trails. Park entrance is free of charge. On a hot day, bring your bathing suit and you can swim in the river (it's a crystal clear, spring feed river). There are multiple rocks to climb on (make sure to bring good footwear, and also some that you don't mind getting wet). Many of the rocks in the river basin can be sharp.

The Shut-In is a naturally occurring area of the river basin that is very narrow due to the type of rock that this there. That volcanic rock does erode as quickly as the surrounding area, which creates a funnel like area. While the area is subject to flooding and has warning signs and signals, the chances of a flood are very small. There was a large reservoir that broke open, pouring over a billion gallons of water through the area in 2005. No one expects that will happen again, however, there are signs in the park to remind you of that fateful event (a massive Boulder that was carried 1.5 miles by the flood). There is a sign that commemorates that event and marks that Boulder (it's close to the entrance as you drive in).

Note that the park is NOT dog friendly, so leave your dog at home. The visitor center is currently closed due to covid.

Keep your eyes peeled as there is plenty of wildlife that may be tough to spot (baby snapping turtle in the river, toad by a small waterfall, and...