US Army Corps of Engineers · North Dakota
Garrison Dam, ND is located 75 miles northwest of Bismarck on the Missouri River. Lake Sakakawea is 178 miles long with 1,340 miles of shoreline and extends from Riverdale to Trenton. There are 35 recreation areas around Lake Sakakawea offering outdoor recreation opportunities such as camping, boating, fishing, sailing and hunting.
Reservations for Sakakawea Lake are made through Recreation.gov. In peak season, the most popular campgrounds are typically claimed within minutes of each release — which is why the park reads as "sold out" for most of the year.
Sold out is not final, though. People book far ahead and plans change, so cancellations return to the official calendar throughout the season — with no announcement, at any hour. A cancelled site is bookable by whoever sees it first.
| Managed by | US Army Corps of Engineers |
|---|---|
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Location | Riverdale, ND |
| Campgrounds | 3 |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Set a watch on the whole park, or go straight to the campground you want — each one has its own availability and cancellation pattern:
| Downstream Campground (ND) | 114 sites |
|---|---|
| Wolf Creek Campground (Nd) | 67 sites |
| East Totten Trail Campground (Nd) | 40 sites |
We scan the official Recreation.gov calendar for Sakakawea Lake around the clock. The second a site that matches your dates and equipment opens up, you get a text with a direct link to that exact site. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell anything — monitoring is all we do, and it's what your fee pays for. Openings are first-come, so a text beats an email every time.
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Availability facts come from the official directory listing for Sakakawea Lake; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.