Established Camping
Bowman Lake Campground — Glacier National Park
Closed For the Season
This campground is closed for the season from November 1, 2023 through May 14, 2024.
Closed For the Season
This campground is closed for the season from November 1, 2023 through May 14, 2024.
About
National Park Service
Glacier National Park
Bowman Lake campground is located in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park approximately 32.5 miles from the west entrance and 30 miles from the Canadian border. The drive to Bowman Lake is a very slow, dusty, and bumpy ride on dirt roads. Trailers are not permitted. The campground is located close to the shore of Bowman Lake and camp sites are within trees for shade and some privacy. Tent campers looking for peace and quiet will enjoy Bowman Lake for its serenity and remote location.
Weather Dependent Primitive Fall Season
October 9–October 31
Bowman Lake Campground's typical summer season is from mid-May to early September. If weather permits, a primitive camping season can extend into the fall between early September and late October.
Reservation Info
RVs and truck and trailer combinations are not permitted at Bowman Lake due to the nature of the long, narrow, and windy dirt road to the campground. Turning vehicles around (3-point turns) is difficult.
Location
Bowman Lake Campground — Glacier National Park is located in Montana
Directions
From town: Go 7 mi NE on Bowman Lake Rd, a dirt road not recommended for large RVs.
Coordinates
48.82808798 N
114.20164367 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
- Boat-InSites accessible by watercraft.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
Features
For Campers
- ADA Access
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Firewood Available
- Reservable
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
Heaven on Earth!
Long, rough dirt roads leads you to this primitive campground at the gorgeous Bowman Lake.
The sites are roomy with lots of trees. Clean pit toilets and a few water spigots are available.
For those who want it, there is no cell service!
Spend the day kayaking or paddle boarding in this serene, remote location. Polebridge Mercantile is about 30-40 minutes away for a small selection of food supplies you might need.
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Secluded & Serenity - Need AWD/4x4 or high clearance car
First let me say DON’T plan on camping here unless you have the proper vehicle to get you safely up that road. If you are driving a low profile vehicle you are likely to blow your suspension as it is a dirt road with lots of potholes. I was fine with my 4Runner but I definitely saw some people in cars that should not have been driving on the mostly uphill road. With that being said this was my definitely one of my favorite places I’ve camped. The sites are huge so you’re not on top of your neighbors, lots of trees to hang a hammock etc. it was so quiet & peaceful. Lots of wildlife, the lake is a short 2 minute walk down a designated trail. You can kayak, paddle board or canoe on the lake. There are tons of areas to sit around the lake to relax or have a picnic. Due to the remote location they only have pit toilets and a few water spigots around the campground. There is no cell service and even my satellite GPS was finicky at times. There were a couple bear boxes open to anyone but none on the individual sites. Everything must be stored inside of your LOCKED vehicle due to bear activity. Polebridge is about 30 minutes and they have a small store with the best baked goods. You can drive to Kintla Lake it’s about an hour on the dirt road. Kintla Lake is even more secluded, but worth the drive. I will be returning to Bowman Lake as it was one of my favorite places in Glacier.
Beautiful Bowman Lake
We were visiting GNP in mid-June 2021 and originally wanted to stay at Apgar, or another campground closer to the Going to the Sun road, but since we did not have reservation to get into Glacier National Park & going to the Sun Road, we headed up to the north fork area of GNP to see if we could get a campsite at Bowman lake or Kintla Lake Campground. When we arrived at the Polebridge Ranger Station the ranger thought we should be able to get a campsite at Bowman so we headed the 6+ miles down the curvy dirt road to Bowman Lake. When we arrived around 2pm there were only 3 campsites occupied so we found a nice level campsite to pitch our tent. The campsites were spread out enough that you had plenty of privacy (except for those dang deer and chipmunks that keep on visiting us). This campground only has pit toilets. The views from the lake are unbelievable and we enjoyed our hike around the lake. We also drove the 15+ miles up to Kintla Lake (the campground was empty and had only a few campsites compared to Bowman Lake). When we returned to GNP in September of 2021 we were able to get a campsite at Apgar but we took a day off from hiking and drove up to Bowman Lake, this lake is a hidden gem, so peaceful and so beautiful, definitely worth the long bumpy trip. Bowman lake is definitely my favorite lake at GNP.
- (19) View All