American Adventurer
Found · unverifiedMunicipalFree

Nordland Park Campground (Arlington)

Drive-up · public land · SD · 44.36119, -97.12955
We haven't personally camped here. Everything below is pulled from public land data, USGS maps and OpenStreetMap — a real place on public land, but not field-checked by us. Confirm road conditions, current access, stay limits and fire restrictions before you go.

The second of Arlington's two city campgrounds, on the north side of Lake Arlington off US-14 and US-81, with what the city calls a scenic view of Lake Arlington and Nordland Isle. Same deal as the city's Maxwell Park downtown, and the same catch: the GRASS AREA FOR TENT CAMPERS IS FREE, while the five camper pads (three 50-amp, two 30-amp) cost $10.00 per night for the electricity. Tent or self-contained and unplugged, you stay free; plug in and it is ten dollars. The dump station is at Maxwell Park, about a third of a mile away, not here. As at Maxwell, the city's page states no stay limit and no payment method -- worth a call rather than an assumption, and do not read the silence as permission to settle in. Arlington is offering this to pull travelers off the US-14/US-81 junction and into town, so buy your fuel and dinner locally. Be a good guest and it stays free for the next traveler. Town rules change often and we have not visited -- confirm current rules with the City of Arlington before you go.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Nordland Park Campground (Arlington)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Nordland Park Campground (Arlington)
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Weather outlook
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,827 ft.
Fire & smokeNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.

Everything you need

Services & drive-time data covers the public-lands states we've mapped so far — not this camp's region yet. Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
Elevation
1,827 ft
State
SD
Coordinates
44.36119, -97.12955
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

  • Resupply lookup unavailable — try the map links below.

Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open this spot elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this

Source
municipal park records
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
Camping rules and price: City of Arlington official camping page, https://cityofarlingtonsd.com/camping , fetched 2026-07-20, which states verbatim "Both are free for non-electrical spots but if electricity is needed the cost is just $10.00 per night." and for this park "There is a $10.00/night charge for the electricity." Free tier = grass area for tent campers; 5 camper pads (3x50-amp, 2x30-amp) are the paid tier. Located north side of Lake Arlington on Highways 14 & 81. Coordinates: OSM node 7633859598, tourism=camp_site. NAME DISCREPANCY, disclosed deliberately: OSM spells this 'Northland Park Campground' but the City of Arlington calls it NORDLAND Park, and the nearby OSM way 152644220 'Nordland Cemetery' supports Nordland as the local spelling -- we use the city's spelling and treat the OSM name as a typo. NOTE: 0.33 mi from the Maxwell Park lead, inside the usual 0.5 mi dedup radius, but a distinct city campground per the city's own page -- not a duplicate. fee=0 reflects the genuinely free non-electric tier; the $10 electric charge is stated plainly in field_note. Verified 2026-07-20. Not visited.
Field check
Not verified on the ground. Nobody from here has camped it. It stays at Researched until someone does.

What we don’t know

A land record can put you within a few metres of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.

Before you go

Your first dispersed night →Fire rules & restrictions →Getting unstuck →Power off-grid →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →