Chief Looking Glass Campground

All the forest service campgrounds in the area were full and we happened across this place. We stayed 3 days &amp; it was very peaceful. Each day a few sites opened up mid-day. There is a beautiful flat water river with two access points and locals tube and paddle here. There are tent sites, back-in sites, and pull through sites. Our site was on the river though separated by a thin strip of woods. At night we could hear coyotes. There are a lot of people who drive through looking around and kicking up dust, but that's the only negative. There are no hookups, only a central hand pump for water and no dump station. Prices are cheaper for residents and those with state fishing license (who have already contributed to the up keep).




A very nice, small riverside campground

Sites were well marked with okay spacing. Definitely plenty of room, but not secluded. Each had a picnic table and a fire ring.

We got there about 4:30 in the middle of the week in late September and there was only one spot left.

Looked like about a third of the spots were people who had taken up residence. About a third were fisherman. About a third just traveling campers.

The river wasn’t particularly scenic, but it was right there. Lots of towering trees. Restroom was clean for a vault.

Not a bad stopover, but not a destination site unless you are fishing.

Good cell service. 

Good basic camp. Odd vibe.

This is a pretty quiet fishing campground. In fact, if you have a fishing license it’s cheaper to stay here than if you don’t. The river/creek is pretty flat and low in mid July, but I guess there are fish as there were plenty of fishermen here. There is a boat launch for non motorized boats (kayaks, tubes, SUP), but the water seemed too low to me. Maybe this is a tributary that links up with the Bitterroot? 

There are a handful of sites along the water and the rest are up against small trees or a fence line. Some sites are really large and some are really small. But on a Monday/Tuesday it was pretty easy to get a spot before noon. Vault toilets were clean and well serviced, and every site has a picnic table and fire ring (not stated anywhere were fire restrictions even though the Lolo fires are less than 40 miles away).

Quiet and close to Missoula 

We are full-timers in a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow and stayed in site 17 (away from the river) for 1 day in early August.  We were headed up US-93 toward Glacier NP and needed a place to overnight and all of the NF campgrounds in the area were full.  $18 for non-residents is a bit steep for no hookups, but this campground worked out well, as it is pretty well maintained and quiet, other than a fair bit of traffic on the loop in the early evening, and most of the sites are fairly large and well spaced. AT&amp;T coverage was ok, with 2 bars of LTE and speeds up to 2 MB/s. We were able to get DISH coverage on all three western satellites at our site. There were 13 OTA channels to be had with our fixed omni antenna.

Clean, spacious and was only about a third full in the late afternoon 

I rolled in mid-afternoon and was able to find a great spot to camp for a couple of days.  The sites were well dispersed and clean with picnic tables and fire pits available.

  

AT&amp;T phone service was available and at good speeds.  I chose to stay the extra day and was able to work remotely from the campground with my hotspot.

  

$18/night for out of state travelers with no hookups was a bit steep.

  

Good site and will be back!

Solid Place To Stay

As soon as you drive up those mosquitoes are licking their chops for your flesh. I’ve never seen so many or been bit so many times. I put on bug spray and long sleeve t-shirt but that did nothing to stay their blood thirsty lust for my man flesh. 

All of the camps are great. $18 a night if you are from out of state. Right next to the river and lots of trees. Fire pits, bathrooms, picnic tables and good cell coverage. 

Probably a better camping area in the Spring or Fall but avoid if at all possible in the summer unless you have a camper or build a big fire or can live in a mosquito net. 

Mosquito paradise!

One of my favorite spots to camp relax during the spring-fall. I spend a lot of time here when home from fires to get peace and quiet and not have to deal with in town people when I am home during the summer. Good fishing, can float the river from Florence bridge to camp, mostly private spots, most spots are on the tributary run off of the bitterroot river, lots of wildlife from small to larger animals, there is garbage disposal and restrooms which are well taken care of most times.