Valentine City Park Dispersed Camping

Stayed here for one night. Sites were hard to decipher so picked some grass that looked like a site, next to the creek. Was able to find a level spot. No other campers in the park till after dark when a van and a Class C found spots and left at sunrise. Flies and stickers were numerous. We’ve been traveling through North and South Dakota and have encountered a lot of flies…. There was a lot of local traffic that came through the park just for a drive, we think. But did not notice any after we went to bed. Price was right ($5), area prettier than the two private campgrounds and close to the Cowboy Trail. Would stay again.

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon. We were the only trailer but there were some tents in the area and on the other side of the park. There were some walkers and families playing at the playground plus a few people just out for a drive, but it was generally quiet. One old guy drove by and cussed at us for being too close to "his" trash can. He wanted to just drive by and toss his trash. The other cans have lids. The sites are sand/gravel and ours was very uneven but we were able to maneuver into the right spot so we were level. There are bathrooms with showers but no doors to lock and the women' stalls smell like urine and the shower is the roughest we have seen after a month-long trip. We didn't use them. We took the dirt trail along the stream for a nice after-dinner walk. It does climb up and down. There are lots of stickers but the stream is beautiful to listen to.

On the way to Valentine the SandHills were amazing, as advertised. Main Street was torn up and a detour required to get to the park. Valentine City Park cost five dollars, and though it did not provide on-site water or electricity there was a brick restroom complete with showers. The grounds were immaculate and the park itself was really nice. We parked the Ollie next to the creek and by the looks of things there is room for about five or six trailers along the creek. There is also plenty of room for tents and most of the sites all have picnic tables. We spent a quiet night and the low temperature was forty-eight degrees. We had to use the comforter and shut all the windows around 2:30 AM. Quite a change from the one-hundred degree temps we suffered through in Oklahoma and Kansas.

We set up camp for the night, left Bob the Dog in the trailer, temperatures in the low seventies, fan on and windows open, and headed for town and the luncheon prime rib dinner we had been anticipating ever since reading about the Peppermill Restaurant both in essays and memoirs written by Jim Harrison. We were not disappointed, but it was remarkable how much the small town reminded us of northern Michigan in regards to vinyl-clad homes, poor designs, and basically bad taste. But the prime rib dinner was delicious and as good as any we have ever had. The grocery stores didn’t have much to offer and while looking for some boxed-almond milk the employees remarked they had never heard of such a thing as unrefrigerated boxed milk. It felt as if we had gone back in time. Simple people and a simple life.

Nice city park. Local traffic is heavy. We were there in January, and there were no bathrooms, no electricity, no water, and warm weather gave us sloppy wet muddy sites (they have on the entry side of the park 4 sites to choose from). It used to be free to camp there, but basically, you now get charged $5.00 a night to stay on their grounds. They claim to have bathrooms and showers, but they must lock these up in the 'off' season; no facilities were available to us. We didn't see any deer, but they were there in droves judging by the piles and piles of little balled excrement everywhere you walked. Dog owners didn't pick up either, so much to look out for on a stroll. They did have a very nice frisbee golf course set up, not just the flat course with turns but up wooded hills and down, looked fun. There is a large pavilion that can be rented. Three walking bridges that carry you over a rather nice little creek. This park is located just outside of town. The town itself offers you pretty much whatever you may need.