Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park Campground — Hotel in Bismarck

I stayed here for a few nights. I reserved ahead of time online to secure a spot. Check in was easy, I just scanned the barcode at the entrance and off I went. The dump site is as you arrive on the left, which was easy to use and double lanes which is nice. Fresh water sites- there’s usually one per loop and one when you first pull in. It was fairly easy to find my site though I did have to look at the map online. The pull through sites are really nice. All sites have a cement pad which helps with leveling and cleanliness. I was near the washroom and shower sites for the loop I was in (3). The campsite has a trail system going through it that has a couple loops that you can walk. All very lovely except the walk in camp site area has some elevation & LOTS of spider webs. Laundry services- they work and are adequate. However. Only run on quarters & there is no change machine. The camp store is only open at odd hours (maybe it’s just the fall?) and if it’s closed & you don’t have quarters you’re out of luck unless a neighbour can spare some change. You have to bring your own supplies of course. You can rent bikes and grab firewood at the camp store even when they’re closed by honour system where you stick money into the designated box. Camp personnel are on site and do rounds. Now, the showers. I don’t know what this campground normally does but I think these are the worst showers I’ve seen. It feels like you’re in an abandoned prison cell. The first shower shall I used (they’re private rooms in the shower/washroom buildings) had some weird coral reef mould growing between the cinder blocks below the shower head & actual cock roaches. There was spider webs everywhere with dead carcasses. All that would be needed is to hose that down, im really not sure why it isn’t done. The second stall I used had something wrong with the light switch and it kept beeping every ten seconds, which at first sounded to me like a camera being triggered. It was cleaner overall but still left me unsettled. Bring your own shower sandals. You’ll regret it otherwise. The nice parts is the fold down benches, the hot water and water pressure is good and you’re in your own contained unit. I’ve stayed at a few state parks now and can say this has not been the norm.

Otherwise the park and campground is absolutely beautiful. The sites are secluded among trees and gives more privacy than other places I’ve been. I would absolutely return, even with the disturbing shower...

I stayed in the campsite with my buddy during the last weekend of March, 2025 and I was impressed with the campsite! One night we stayed on the basic campsite which was $15 and no electricity. The last night I chose the campsite with electricity which was $25. They have walk in options which are first come and first serve which I ended up doing on the last night. The customer service was extremely helpful! Camp host Sarah and Mr. Dell were very accommodating after we backpacked The Ozark trail helping find the best campsite for the evening. They showed me where the bathrooms and shower houses were located and the camp store. Showers are open from April to October, unless you are renting a cabin which will give you access to a shower year round.I was impressed with the cleanliness of the bathrooms and showers which had hot running water! The bathrooms and showers are separate from each other,but in the same area.The campsites are well maintained, clean, labeled accurately, and easy to find. The campsite has WiFi available at the camp store and the camp entrance, if you have AT&T you might be okay, otherwise, the signal is difficult to have access to depending on your cellular carrier.Another perk to the campsite is that they have washing machines and dryers! Just remember to bring quarters. The camp store is open April through October. They have a playground in the camp grounds as well as picnic tables, every campsite has a picnic table, most have fire pits that I can recollect, and the campgrounds have small pavilions. It's family friendly, as well as pet friendly. We backpacked The Ozark trail which I recommend for those with a little bit of hiking experience due to elevation,rocky, and muddy terrain. The Boulder Field Pavilion is about a mile and a half away from the camp grounds and offers picnic tables, trails, and climbing play areas. I was impressed with how well maintained and clean the pit toilets were even filled with hand sanitizer in the dispenser. I was not able to check the other half of the trails ,but the Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park campground is well worth the visit and I look forward to...

What an incredible place! This is a review for the cabins! A group of three moms and our combined five kids had an incredible four night stay at cabins four and five! While they are the farthest from the bathroom facilities and parking lot access— they are perfectly located for a larger group with five kids! Plenty of room to run, a little further away from other cabins. A nice long sidewalk made razor scootering a fun activity! Cabin 5’s fire pit is in between both cabins. Cabin fours fire pit and grill are on the opposite side, so we used the one in between. Perfect for our situation. I loved out the porch stairs kind of faced eachother so these two cabins truly are the perfect cabins if you need two.

The interior is roomier than I expected. The bedroom had enough room to put a queen size air mattress on the floor. The included queen bed is plenty comfortable. We moved the included table around to make moving a little easier. The kitchen has tons of space for storing foodstuffs. The counter is workable and has enough space for a makeshift sink situation.

My only complaints— in both cabin 4 and 5 the tables were incredibly sticky. I was glad I brought a table cloth. It’s obviously a sticky varnish issue, and not necessarily filth. So— bring a fabric tablecloth! The futon in cabin 4 has an absolutely terrible thin leather mattress and I’m thankful no one needed to use it for sleeping. Cabin 5 had a much better futon mattress. It was fabric, not leather, or faux leather.

The bathroom facilities are clean! Never did we have to wait for a shower room or toilet. There are plenty of toilet and shower houses scattered around. The laundry facilities are nice— four washers, four dryers, $1 for each. The shops have weird hours during shoulder season so be sure you bring all you need or be prepared for a 25 min drive to the nearest shop off site if there after high season.

Everyone is eager to return! Such a...