Basin Campground

Basin Campground is just a few miles outside Red Lodge, Montana at the foot of the Beartooth Mountains. The road in is paved and passes through beautiful elk country and along the West Fork of Rock Creek, a large stream coming out of the mountains. Sites are paved and mostly level and nestled in the pine trees - gorgeous! The camp hosts are fantastic, the vault toilet bathrooms were very clean and there is water available at several pump spigots throughout the campground. The Beartooth Highway is a must when in the area as well as a visit to Red Lodge. We loved it here! P.S. We had no cell coverage with T-Mobile and so-so reception with Starlink due to the tree cover.

The sites are big, close to a creek to lul you to sleep and evrything is fairly level. It is dry camping but plenty of sun in the right places. There are dispersed sites up the road a piece and great hiking at the end of the road.

There are a lot of sites here and they are close to each other kinda feels like a fish bowl.

We lucked out and found a very empty campground for 4th of July weekend. The recent flooding in the area canceled all reservations and the CG became FCFS until the end of the month

Coming through on motorcycles, we got the last spot on a Wednesday. Friendly camp host and some long-stayers happy to chat us up as we setup camp. Quiet enough - could hear some generators early in the morning, tho.

This is a small but nicely maintained campground about 7 miles from Red Lodge, MT on the West Fork of Rock Creek.

Loved this campground, very large campsites with lots of space. Quiet, close to some good hikes. Loved the location near Red Lodge and the Beartooth pass.

This is a great site due to its upkeep and proximity to a flowing river, which gives you a nice sound at night. The valley it’s in gives great wind protection for tent campers. There is a host who takes great care of the facilities.

Basin is popular for so many reasons - proximity to Red Lodge, paved roads all the way, a wild and crazy small river, great hikes literally across the street, a well laid out and logical arrangement of sites and the knowledge that a small group of enthusiasts will always be there to whoop it up with you. It might seem harsh to only give it three stars, but it’s just that much more crowded, noisy (the road is right next to the sites) and hemmed in compared to Cascade Campground, which spreads out down where the paved road ends.

We used this as a base camp for heading up to Lower and Upper Timberline Lakes last year and were delighted by the quality of the sites.  While staying here it's also a good idea to head up and over Beartooth Pass if you haven't already by going to Yellowstone!

Was very clean when I visited last summer a little congested tho.

Montana is one of my favorite places to visit. The amount of outdoor activities is incredible. We try to visit Montana once a year, and it’s obky because we love being surrounded by the mountains and hiking. Basin Montana Campground doesn’t disappoint. Here are some things I like:

1. Big spacious spaces

2. Close to hiking- beautiful hikes nearby that are hard to beat! Views are gorgeous!

3. Lots of campground spaces- with picnic tables and fire rings. Bring your own wood!

4. Close to some great restaurants.

If going in the summer time I would recommend reserving your spot ahead of time. This is important! They save your spot with a tag so no one else can take it. If you walk up you probably won’t grt a spot. Can’t wait to come back!

must see

This was such a beautiful spot to camp. You see the mountains all around you, which is perfect!! This campground was awesome. The one thing I really liked about this place was that the camp sites were pretty big. It was summertime when we came and it was super busy. We had to reserve our spot ahead of time, otherwise we wouldn’t have received a spot. Even the “walk-in” spots were all taken. Recommend reserving ahead of time in the summer. It was hot, but we made it work. Tons of bugs because it’s close to a river. Bring your bug spray! We enjoyed hanging out hammocks and relaxing by the fire. It was easy to find, and right off the road. We could hear road traffic at night, but it wasn’t too bad. Our campsite was away from the road. We hiked in the mornings, and hung by the water in the evenings! Loved it :)

Merrywidow health mine is pretty awesome, the spot looks like it has a lot of history.

We came into this campground on a Wednesday and picked the best of three open sites. There were a lot of reserved sites, but they were mostly coming in on Friday.

The site was beautiful and very close to the river (the sound was great). The vault toilets were very clean. The water was available through a easy to use hand pump. The camp hosts had firewood for $5.00 per bundle.

We were tent camping and the site had a large pad, a place for my hammock, a nice wooden picnic table, and a GREAT fire ring. The sites were all very far apart from each other.

My wife and I were able to stay here for 3 nights. The grounds feature vault toilets, campfire rings, food storage lockers, and even a hand pump for water. There is someone who sells firewood at the camp which makes things easy on everyone. The tent site was level and large. There are some good hiking trails but they are open to mountain bikers so heads up! They may get pretty muddy. The kayaking was peaceful. I didn't catch much fishing but that's my fault not the campsites! We were on the Wild Bill Lake.

This is a great area to go out and ride trails for days. The campground is really forested with water running near by. Very peaceful.

This spot has been my favorite campground since I was knee high to a grasshopper! There is no drinkable water, must be packed in. Ticks and mosquitos are present in this area, must carry spray, soft spots for tents, cut your own firewood, no access bathrooms. Quiet camp, adventurous. This is where I played in the creek, caught frogs and the best Brook Trout fishing where I first learned to cast. Excellent family camp site!

Waterfront sites right on Rock Creek. Great fishing area makes this site ideal for anglers or anyone that enjoys being right on the water with a stunning view.