My wife and I have been watching a Canadian TV show called Sullivan’s Crossing that airs on CTV Sunday night and on the CW in the United States on Monday night.
It’s set in the Maritime province of Nova Scotia and is actually filmed in a suburb of Halifax. Sullivan’s Crossing is a fictional campground in the community of Timberlake, Nova Scotia.
The reason I’m bringing this up and how it correlates to North Dakota is that in numerous scenes of that TV show, there are comparisons to those types of campgrounds here in North Dakota.
It got me to thinking that long before I was married, I used to visit many of those campgrounds. I didn’t often stay at them, but I certainly visited them and after watching two full seasons of Sullivan’s Crossing now, it makes me miss those places here in the state.
And you can go anywhere in geographical North Dakota and find a campground. Some might not be as picturesque as the TV show, but I’m sure they are just as peaceful.
From Bowman to Pembina and from Hankinson to Crosby… We all know this is a big state geographically so if anyone complains about not having enough lakes or campgrounds, they’re living with blinders.
On Monday, I got back to my hometown of Hazelton for a couple of meetings. After the second meeting, I drove out to the prairie cemetery where my parents and grandparents are buried. After that, it was a visit to my grandparents’ farm where I had a lot of fun as a little kid.
From there, it was four miles west to N.D. Highway 1804 which runs parallel to the Missouri River as it winds toward Bismarck.
On the Emmons County side of the Missouri River near Fort Rice is the Hazelton Campground. It was a place that was developed some 30 years ago and has had ebbs and floes of crowds throughout those years.
And just like the scenes on Sullivan’s Crossing, it’s peaceful, there’s quite a view of the river bottom, you can see a portion of Morton County, there are boat docks and a bonafide campground that is just waiting for visitors.
As I drove by on Monday, I didn’t see any campers, but there were numerous boats floating on the Missouri that included one canoe.
As you might guess, many of the people who go to the Hazelton Campground live in Bismarck because of the proximity to the capital city. But, it’s open to anyone to visit. Take a rest, catch a few fish and who knows, you might even see the Aurora Borealis.
There are numerous others across the state and honestly, there is no way I could name all of them in this space. However, some that I’ve visited come to mind.
They include Lake Ashtabula north of Valley City, Fort Ransom, near Lisbon, Lake Metigoshe north of Bottineau, Lake Tschida, near Elgin, Lund’s Crossing southeast of Williston, Icelandic State Park near Cavalier, Mouse River near Mohall and let’s not forget the Medora Campground. Maybe you would like to attend the musical and/or pitchfork fondue this summer. Save a little money and stay in the campground.
There are numerous state parks that all have campgrounds as well. They include Beaver Lake, Cross Ranch, Fort Lincoln, Fort Stevenson, Grahams Island, Lake Sakakawea, Lewis & Clark, Little Missouri, Roughrider and Turtle River.
There you have it, an endless supply of campgrounds to enjoy. You could spend all summer visiting campgrounds and not hit them all.
It may be worth a staycation this year. But, if my memory serves me correctly, back in the early ‘90s when I was visiting many of those campgrounds, the ones with fewer people were the more peaceful places. And sometimes that’s just what a person needs, peace and quiet and to enjoy nature at it’s finest.
