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Missouri Headwaters State Park

Missouri Headwaters State Park Campground, near Three Forks, Montana, is a scenic spot that offers a blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure. With sites that allow for tent and RV camping, it’s a great place to unwind and soak in the stunning surroundings.

The campground features picnic tables and fire rings, perfect for evening gatherings under the stars. Visitors have noted the beauty of the area, with trails that provide access to the picturesque landscapes, including views of the Missouri River. One camper mentioned, “The state park, campgrounds, and trails are so beautiful it’s hard to fault the campground.”

While the campground is well-kept, be prepared for the local mosquito population, especially if you choose sites near the marshy areas. Many campers recommend bringing plenty of bug spray and protective clothing to fend off the little pests. As one reviewer put it, “Make sure you have lots of bug spray or clothes that cover your arms and legs.”

For those looking to explore, the paved bike path and nature walks offer excellent opportunities for outdoor activities. The campground is also conveniently located for those traveling through the area, making it a solid choice for a quick stop or a longer stay. Whether you’re here for a night or a weekend, Missouri Headwaters State Park Campground provides a peaceful retreat in a beautiful setting.

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Location

Missouri Headwaters State Park is located in Montana

Detail location of campground

Directions

Missouri Headwaters State Park is located 4 miles northeast of Three Forks, off of Hwy 205, then onto Hwy 286

Address

1400 S 19th St
Three Forks, MT 59752

Coordinates

45.91979072 N
111.50082175 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.
  • Boat-In
    Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Good
  • Verizon
    Fair
  • AT&T
    Good
  • T-Mobile
    Good

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Group

Features

For Campers

  • ADA Access
  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Firewood Available
  • Phone Service
  • Reservable
  • Drinking Water
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Pull-Through Sites
  • Big Rig Friendly

Reviews

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4.0

out of 5

23 Reviews

Reviewed Jul. 8, 2024

Beautiful State Park, Tenacious Mosquitos!

I made the mistake of picking one of the 2 spots at the end of the camp loop. Sites 16 and 17 site right on the swamp and are infested with mosquitos. You can see standing stagnate water bog on both sides of site 16 where we stayed.

I tried 3 different bug repellants, burned multiple mosquito coils, started a fire and had the large 20ft Thermacell lantern running for hours. They never cleared out and ended up with so many mosquito bites. We ended up hunkering down inside our van with the bug screens on. We did come on a dry hot July day.

The state park, campgrounds and trails are so beautiful its hard to fault the campground on the mosquitos. We are going to request to move sites away from the swamp area. Walking around the campground, the mosquitos are less at other sites but still around. I think our typical protection might work better over there but was ineffective at site 16. 

My partner likes to run and the paved trail is really nice and is far enough off the road for a great morning run. I find it super quiet here and the 5G UC T-Mobile signal is plenty to work and stream content.

SiteSite 16
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Joshua C., July 8, 2024
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Joshua C., July 8, 2024
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Joshua C., July 8, 2024
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Jul. 17, 2023

MOSQUITOS!

The mosquitos were so bad we immediately left and found another place to stay for the night. Awful.

Site11
Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed Jul. 17, 2023

Decent

It was a fine spot to stop for the night. Nothing too spectacular about it. It’s pretty close to the freeway, so I think it serves as a convenient stop to a lot of people passing through. Skeeters were bad, site was small and there wasn’t much privacy to be had. I can’t comment on the actual headwaters as we were off first thing in the morning.

Site15
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by aaron S., July 17, 2023
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by aaron S., July 17, 2023
Reviewed Jun. 12, 2023

Nice but buggy

Reservable spots online. Some sites are a bit small for larger tents. Live music weekends. Loads of misquotes. Little free library and firewood for sale on site.

Site12
Month of VisitJune
Reviewed Sep. 16, 2022

Primitive RV camping

The campsite was in a beautiful location with some nature walks down to the river and with a paved bike path— Some reviews mentioned that this campsite is right on the river, it’s not. It is right on marshlands, which makes sense for everyone complaining about mosquitoes in previous reviews. We went in September, so no bugs and we had some great nature experiences. It’s still very pretty.

Ultimately, I don’t think that it was worth the price for not having any amenities.

There is one shared pit toilet for all(well maintained), one drinking water station beside the toilet, no dump station and our site had no electricity, water or sewage. No laundry obviously—no person to check in with.

We paid $40+ for one night which felt steep considering what we got in return. We wanted to Boondock, but had a hard time finding a location close by, so we ended up here.

No Wi-Fi obviously and AT&T and Verizon cell phone service were pretty spotty.

Site13
Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Amy & Stu B., September 16, 2022
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Amy & Stu B., September 16, 2022
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Amy & Stu B., September 16, 2022
  • (19) View All
Reviewed Jul. 8, 2022

Great one night stop spot!

On our way to Montana we stopped here for a first come first serve spot for the night. They had one outhouse bathroom and although it says they have a water fill up station we couldn’t find one. Probably the most amount of mosquitoes I’ve ever seen at a campsite due to the marshy environment around the sites but, still beautiful. Make sure you have lots of bug spray or clothes that cover your arms and legs. Campsite includes a picnic table and fire pit. No bear boxes and no bears. The camp host was extremely nice and had firewood for sale.

Site08
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Haley N., July 8, 2022
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Haley N., July 8, 2022
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Haley N., July 8, 2022
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Jun. 28, 2022

Mosquitoes are vicious

Camp ground is clean and well kept. Even the pit toilets smell good! I’d have given it 4 stars but the mosquitoes were terrible. Also very little shade. I’d stay here again in cooler not blood sucking terror season!

Site11
Month of VisitJune
Reviewed Jun. 4, 2022

phone number and web site no good

It was June 4th 2022 and was camping a couple hours South of Missouri Headwaters campground and I wanted to make a reservation to camp but the contact phone number to the campground that Dyrt gave was a non existent number and the assigned email address was to Montana University. I wasn’t about to drive 2 hours North to be turned away due to the campground being full. I was able to find the correct contact information through another camping app. Get it together Dyrt!

SiteI didn’t because Dyrt didn’t give the correct contact information.
Reviewed Aug. 3, 2021

Well Kept State Park

Great location to explore the surrounding area. We ventured out to Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park and enjoyed the Classic cave tour, took advantage of the bike trails within the Headwaters State Park, and drove to Helena for a full days visit. Our back-in site offered great privacy and the camp host was very attentive and kept the sites clean. Good Verizon cell signal.

Site17
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Rick G., August 3, 2021
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Rick G., August 3, 2021
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Rick G., August 3, 2021
Reviewed Jul. 30, 2021

Good for a night only.

It was very hot and no breeze. Not even close to the river at all. Camping sites were not well marked & yet the ranger stated we were 1 foot on the grass.. ( WHAT GRASS?) and made us move 1 foot. The picnic table was so old and worn out, it was bowed & not usable at all. I would only recommend this place as a quick stop off of I-90 to sleep, if that.

Sitesite 15
Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed Jul. 17, 2021

Beautiful Location

This campsite is located in a beautiful remote area of Montana, only a short hike away from the beginning of the Missouri River. Large site. The only problem was there were many mosquitoes.

Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Scott P., July 17, 2021
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Scott P., July 17, 2021
Reviewed Jun. 30, 2021

Beautiful location

Great history filled location. Beautiful location, easy access to I-90.

Site11
Month of VisitJune
Reviewed May. 9, 2021

Missouri headwaters

Pretty nice place. Campsites barely fit a tent but some sites for campers. Lots of hiking trails and super clean bathrooms. $24 for out of staters for the night

Site4
Month of VisitMay
Reviewed Sep. 7, 2020

Great smaller campground

Very clean and quiet. Great access to the river. Great river access 1/4 mile up the road also. They sell firewood and ice are the ranger station.

Reviewed Jun. 30, 2020

Ranger Heaven

Near the town of Three Forks, to which there are both short/scenic bike trails and an 18-miler. 6 of the 17 tent sites are 1st-come, 1st-serve. With a ton of historical displays, friendly park rangers, an open-air, welcoming vibe and a sprawling variety of other things to explore, staying here will put a smile on your face.  There's decent distance between some of the sites, but some of them aren't very large.

Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Bjorn S., June 30, 2020
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Bjorn S., June 30, 2020
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Bjorn S., June 30, 2020
  • (17) View All
Reviewed Nov. 2, 2019

Camp where Lewis and Clark camped

Experience Camping near where Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery camped at the headwaters of the Missouri river in 1805. Missouri Headwaters State Park campground is a 17 site campground located just a short distance from the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers. If you are a history buff or just want to learn about the Corps of Discovery journey then this is a must stay. Historical signs about the the Corps of Discovers stay at the headwaters of the Missouri and their journey are located through out the park. If you have never spent a night in a tipi you can do it here, just be sure to reserve it ahead of time. You can see how Lewis and Clark traveled up the Missouri by checking out the dug out canoe that can be found at the entrance of the campground. All the campsites have picnic tables sitting on concrete pads, and metal fire rings. Trash pins, water and vault toilets are also available. All the campsites are nice and flat. Most of the site are of good size with nice grassy areas to set up your tent, a few are a little small and cramped. All sites can be reserved. Many short hiking trails are in the park, be sure to take the short hike up to a vista to get the entire view of the headwaters area. If you like to fish you are in luck, you have four rivers to choose from, all with great fishing opportunities.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Dexter I., November 2, 2019
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Dexter I., November 2, 2019
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Dexter I., November 2, 2019
  • (13) View All
Reviewed Aug. 2, 2019

Nice and tidy with some mosquitos

Really nice campground with sites being spread apart and not too close to each other. When the sun sets in June and July the mosquitos will come out. They are quite nasty but an hour after sunset they are gone, having a campfire going helps too. A bundle of firewood is 6 bucks and will be delivered to your site. Vault toilets are very clean and smell fresh.

Site8
Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed Jul. 1, 2019

Quiet, clean, peaceful

I just spent one night at this campsite but it was very nice. The camp hosts were helpful and friendly. It is well-maintained and clean. Seen the headwaters of the Missouri River in the evening were absolutely spectacular.

  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Kim K., July 1, 2019
Reviewed Jul. 10, 2018

Awesome

my husband and I on our way to Glacier found this great place to camp. They have serveral campsites, electric and non electric plus handicap sites. A neat feature as well is they have one teepee that my husband and I stayed in for the night. To add to this the bathrooms though rustic smelled amazing!

  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by Angela K., July 10, 2018
Reviewed Jun. 21, 2018

Secluded and beautiful

Right on the river, obviously.. SOOO incredibly beautiful of a spot. A couple of people were there when I visited and were swimming in the river and camping on it's banks.

Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by darya K., June 21, 2018
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by darya K., June 21, 2018
  • Review photo of Missouri Headwaters State Park by darya K., June 21, 2018

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How much does it cost to camp at Missouri Headwaters State Park?

    Camping at Missouri Headwaters State Park can cost between $7.00 and $36.00 depending on the site.

  • What is the max vehicle length at Missouri Headwaters State Park?

    Missouri Headwaters State Park allows vehicles up to 60 feet.

  • Are fires allowed at Missouri Headwaters State Park?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Missouri Headwaters State Park, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • Does Missouri Headwaters State Park have wifi?

    No, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, Missouri Headwaters State Park does not have wifi.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Missouri Headwaters State Park?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is fair, AT&T is good, and T-Mobile is good.