Summit Campground

I apologize for the lapse in posting. The heat, wind, and other issues had us making several plan and route changes.

I hope you and yours are fully prepped and not melting during this heatwave. We are currently at a campground with electricity, 94°F outside with both air conditioners keeping it a comfortable 80-ish°F inside. The rear one actually cycles on & off keeping it 75°!

My brain is too active at the moment to think of a respectable transition, so I’m just going throw it out there. We arrived at a place, stayed a while, and here is my 2¢!

A couple weeks ago, we were interested in staying at Summit Campground as it is convenient to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, a mere five miles away. TRNP Painted Canyon and South Unit are an easy 55-65 miles south. We were hesitant with the plan at first as many reviews say the road is heavily rutted and traffic noise is excessive but thought we’d at least give it a drive-by. I suggested Al make a few stops that travel day, so I arrived alone with the motorhome.

There are no electric, water, sewer, or trash services. There is one primitive vault restroom, NOT one each for men or women. There are three gravel RV sites, all have recycled composite picnic tables, two are covered and the third has a shade tree. There are two tent sites, one with a wooden picnic table. Fire rings with grill grates are at all five sites. There are three additional parking spaces. Car camping is allowed. Tent campers may be disturbed by traffic noise but hardly noticeable inside our motorhome. The middle RV site is the most level, but neither of the other two are very bad. The grass was mowed in the past couple weeks, but tall and naturally unkempt outside of the individual campsites as expected of a prairie.

Our T-Mobile internet scan showed 100 down/5 up. I did not check AT&T speeds but we did have service.

Upon arriving, I found the road smooth and had the whole place entirely to myself. I chose the middle site as it seemed the most level, then got to setting up.

There is a gated trailhead for the Little Missouri National Grassland near the restroom. Lift the left side of the gate and it pivots up and to the right, but watch out as it will slam down hard if you don’t assist it. We were advised by a Park Ranger that the mowed trail goes back around three miles to a landslide. We walked roughly two miles of it, seeing several overlooks of the Badlands. An abundant wave of grasshoppers fled from our path as we stepped. Bee balm, prairie sunflower, prickly pear cactus, purple & prairie coneflower, buffalo berries, yarrow, and many other flowering plants that escape my identification dotted along the campsites & trails. The trails are a very nice bonus for a free campground. The first junction to the right takes you to a close spot for sunsets, the second right to a quaint bench to sit and ponder, while the main trail went farther than where we decided to turn back.

We enjoyed the campground and may have stayed longer, but a sudden change of plans to visit an ill relative that resulted in another change when they passed away. There just is not enough time... Make the most of every single day that you possibly can.

Enjoy the pics, and a sunset video, too! We will try getting back on track again soon.

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The road appears to be a fine gravel, but underneath I suspect is bentonite clay. During and after a rain, there were instances where someone would pull in to use the restroom (many visitors to it every day) and their vehicles would slip/slide/swerve all over the road as it had gotten very slick and muddy. As an example, my shoe sunk more almost two inches when I pivoted my foot to turn around. A day later, those ruts hardened quite solidly as driving over them they were resistant to flatten. Even so, the road was still easily passable by all but the lowest riding vehicles. I would not advise showing up during or within 24 hours of rain, and check for excessively rutted conditions.

The first night we were there all alone, the next day a fifth-wheel arrived for the remainder of our stay, and the occasional car or tent camper at times. The only creepy part of our stay was just one night of whining coyotes outside. They sounded too close for our comfort.