Best Tent Camping near Island Park, ID

Arrived on a Saturday afternoon and there were 3 spots open (only 6 sites). My site had a bear box, nice picnic table and fire ring (fire ban currently). There’s two clean vault toilets. It’s just 10 minutes to red lodge but you feel very remote. There’s a creek running through some campsites which drowns out any neighbor noise. There’s a nice trail that starts in the campground (willow creek) and it’s about 4 mi RT with 900 feet elevation gain. Super peaceful trail and wasn’t very busy for a Saturday. There’s plenty of trees around for shade. I had 2 bars of LTE so could work remotely. And it’s free!

Campground is in middle of park so it’s not a quick drive in but the drive is beautiful! The campground is easily laid out and clean and fire rings at each spot. Bear boxes located throughout campsite area you may have to share with your neighbor. Wake up and go for a walk and you will see a lot of wildlife in campgrounds. The staff at checkin is friendly. There is a marina if you want to rent a boat or look to launch your own. RV dump station and water refill are conventionally located at exit. The park has a 8pm-8am quiet hours (no generators) which is fine as it dropped to 40 at night so perfect for RV and camping.

Palisades campground is a small 11 site campground on the shore of the Madison River.  This campground is in the open as it has no trees in the campground, so you will have no protection from the wind or sun, and minimal privacy.  The sites are nicely spread apart.  While at first glance it does not look like the greatest area for a tent due to the small boulders in the area, on closer look I found plenty of good spots to set up a tent, this is due to the large amount of room either between sites or behind each site.  Two accessible vault toilets serve the campground.  Each site has a picnic table and a metal fire ring,  most sites also have a bear locker for food storage, but some sites will need to share.  Water is available in the summer season.  Nearby day use area has a boat launch.  No trash service is available so be ready to haul out your trash. Cost is $12 a night.

Raynold's Pass Fishing Access Site offers free camping.  The six sites on right on the Madison River and right next to each other.  The only thing separating you from the next site is you vehicle, so don't expect any privacy at this campsite.  Each site does have a picnic table and metal fire ring.  A vault toilet is available.  Like almost all of the Fishing Access Site camping areas in the state their is no water or trash service, so pack in your water and pack out your trash.  Their are no trees in the area so no wind or sun protection.  One bear locker is available for food storage.  The site has a gravel boat launch and a good size parking area for boaters.  This is the first point on the Madison River that you can launch a fishing boat, raft or canoe.

Red Cliff is a large comfortable campground with a few electric sites; water is onsite at a well so fill bottles or onboard tanks to take to your site.  Sites are reservable through recreation.gov.  Many sites have shade most or all of the day, and they are not too close together.  Many sites are on the Gallatin River, an excellent fishery and pleasant location.  Many sites will accommodate large rigs, but small to medium trailers and RVs/camper vans are the norm. No cell service.

Vault toilets are well spaced and clean, no plumbed bathhouses.  Many recreation sites and opportunities are nearby and this is the closest campground to Big Sky Town and Resort which has grocers, breweries, shopping, restaurants, and a hospital.  It is still amidst wilderness, though adjacent to Hwy 191.  BEAR SAFE FOOD STORAGE IS REQUIRED BY LAW.  Bear boxes are provided at many sites, or lock up your stuff in a hard-sided vehicle.  You may see elk, deer and bear.

There is a great onsite trailhead for hiking and horseback riding.  The Cliffs themselves are developed for rock climbing with bolted sport routes from 5.6 up to 5.11 and 5.12.

This is a clean well-kept FS campground.

$13 (paid $6.50 with senior pass). Camped in site #13 on Sept 22, 2024. Forest Road 582 is washboarded most of the way toward the campground; access to the forest road is from Idaho, east of Ashton. Campground is a short drive from Cave Falls in Yellowstone National Park (NP fee required). Pull thru sites, some leveling required. Some sites are large, some are small. Sites along the river are nice. Clean and stocked vault toilets. Potable water station in center of campground. No electric, sewer or water hook-ups. Each site has a bear box, table and metal fire ring. Site driveways are gravel. Site #13 is a very large campsite with partial view of Fall River. The river is down a steep bank; may be difficult to access. No trails at the campground, although there are excellent trails in the national park.

Camping on the banks on the banks of the Warm River, which actually is quite cold, can’t get much better than this! There are several options here- tent camping in a tent only walk in area along the river banks and under some pretty good hammocking trees (best sites are #12, 13, 16, and 8 because they have some space from neighbors and are right on the river); RV sites with what looks like at least electric hook ups (best sites for river views and/or privacy are #2, 4, 6, 19); from what neighbors say is pretty good fishing; and an awesome alternative to camping at Mesa Falls if that campground is full. Walk down the road and cross the river to check out a protected area of the river where the fish are HUGE and you can stand with your toes in the river while you feed them bits of bread. The sites all have the usual picnic tables and firepits, with nice level tent pads, clean vault toilets, and firewood for sale from the campground host. The only two downsides are no showers and the campground is wedged between the road and the river, so there is quite a bit of road noise in the day which fortunately dies down once dark sets in. At that point the river covers the road noise (also helpful in the morning). The campground is close to a lot of hiking trails, but there are no trailheads in the campground (so I guess that makes three bummers). All in all, a cool place to camp.