Best Dispersed Camping near Arlee, MT

Recent Dispersed Reviews near Arlee, Montana

69 Reviews of 22 Arlee Campgrounds

• A

  Ahron B.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 9, 2023

  Rock Creek Dispersed Spot - Lolo

  dispersed camping

  first dispersed camping spot for Lolo from the entry road for this Forest Service land entry. Just cross the bridge, and be careful of high water (signs stating it's impassable 100 yards past the photo of the bridge when high water.) The grey area is public land the white square at the end of the road is private property by the map legend. 

  maps attached are screenshots from the National Forest Service online map as of Sept. 8th, 2023.

  The dots show where dispersed camping is allowed for this spot.

• 

  Amy & Stu B.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 24, 2022

  Muchwater Dispersed Campground and Recreation Area

  Beautiful, right by the water

  Lovely dispersed camping area. Very pretty. We stayed for a night and were in good company. By the end of the day each site was filled and there were several folks driving through still looking for sites.

  They’re spaced out well from one another giving all campers lots of privacy. Very wooded with paths down to the water. We hung out on a hammock most of the day but it rained throughout the night and into the next day so I wasn’t able to snag any good photos.

  We small camper trailers, tents, single cots, and full RVs in this campground. Our site and seemingly most sites could have supported a 50 footer.

  Although a popular spot, it wasn’t loud and we didn’t really interact with other campers.

  There is a single vault toilet but no hookups. It’s dispersed camping. No water source beyond the river.

  Great spot, highly recommend. I would try to get there early to grab a spot (first come first serve.) We went late September and every spot ended up filled.

  ATT & Verizon service work well. Sites very unlevel

• H

  Harry H.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 1, 2017

  Garnet Ghost Town Dispersed Camping

  Mining ghost town for day or overnight

  Many states out west allow dispersed camping on select public lands owned by the Bureau of Land management. You need to pick up a map of exactly where you’re allowed to camp (there are no facilities, obviously). You can also rent “cabins” which are buildings from before the building became ghosted (but have been updated). Even if you don’t want to camp you can tour the town and have a surreal afternoon imagining what it’d be like to be a miner back in the day.

• 

  Ben H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 7, 2024

  Blue Mountain Forest Rd 365 - Dispersed

  Dusty dirt road

  This area allows disperse camping Beyond a certain point (there is a small sign). There is a map provided at the road trailhead. However it is confusing since I believe the map is upside down. On my drive up I did not see any established distributed campsites. However there are some turn offs that you could park at. This area would probably not be ideal for RVs. Four wheel drive does not seem to be a requirement. I ended up camping at a turnoff and walked a bit off the road to set up my hammock. The road was not very busy I did hear an occasional car pass by. Good views and decently private. I was able to get Verizon signal at my campsite. However driving up signal was spotty

• 

  John F.

  Guide

  

  May. 12, 2024

  Muchwater Recreation Area

  Peacefulness by the river

  This is by far one of my favorite camping spots. Dispersed. Pet friendly. Quiet. Plenty of space between you and other campers. A river right by you. What more could you want? Oh and it’s right by a hot springs resort, in case you want to take a dip while you’re camping.

• 

  Josh S.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 26, 2024

  Dispersed Site - Lolo National Forest Recreation Area

  Quiet open site on the river

  Dispersed camping at the "Peninsula" Recreation Area. 6 day stay limit according to the sign. No potable water. Stone fire rings throughout.

  We stayed mid week during August. Stayed in a medium sized site on the river. Small steep slope to the water.

  Pros:
  Plenty of space, both large and small sites. Room for a 30' in a couple of the sites. 3 bars Tmobile. Some sites on the water with a short steep slope down. 12 miles to gas station. Beautiful views.

  Cons: No pit toilets (edit: another camper said they are at the end of the campground) No potable water. Road/train noise. POISON IVY (found it... found all of it)

  Overall we loved this spot. Being ok the water in a mostly private setting with such amazing views is our goal. Little bit of road noise but hardly noticeable over the wind in the trees.

  Sites were clean but well used, so thank you to all the campers that took care of this place!

• 

  Joshua C.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 1, 2024

  Big Pine Campground

  Great camp spot, limited space

  Maybe 6-7 spots for cars/trucks/vans. We fit our 170 sprinter no problem and would work for half the sites. Sign says no trailers where all the camp spots are and I would agree as there is no turn around room or ways to back in.

  Sites looked clean and was very quiet while we were here for a Sunday night.

  T-mobile 5G UC signal from campgrounds. Day use area has wide open sky to recharge if needed. Camp spots are shaded by trees. River access is along camp spots and also near day use area. No trails from campsite so pretty limited in exploration options, just more a beautiful place to stop for a night or 2.

• 

  Liz P.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 10, 2024

  Rock Creek Dispersed Spot - Lolo

  Not a camping spot.

  This spot is not a camping spot.  Day use only.

• M

  Maxine P.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 20, 2023

  Blair Flats

  Nice for overnight by river

  3 FREE campsites to pull in at end of road. We had a 26 ft 5th wheel and had no problems fitting in. Also was a place for a tent by the river and two other dispersed sites, again suited for overnight, as there are no facilities. As we left there were more vehicles either fishing or leaving a vehicle for float pickup. Would stay overnight again.

• 

  David H.

  Traveler

  

  May. 30, 2024

  Blair Flats

  Perfect spot

  This area is gorgeous. Right next to the swan river. 3 very nice camp spots, vault toilet and food storage. Could definitely see this being very heavy bear territory. No sign of them when we were there. 0 cell service on Verizon or AT&T

• s

  sophia M.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 6, 2024

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  beautiful spot by the creek

  super easy to get to! just exit off I90 onto Petty Creek Road and go straight for a mile or two. not totally isolated, the site is not too far from the road but not the interstate, so there is a bit of noise but not frequently. service is spotty, verizon and at&t had only 1 bar. found some random bones, saw some deer, and lots of bugs. small area with a few places to park, thankfully nobody was there when we were but could be fun for a group!

• 

  Amanda L.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 17, 2016

  Garnet Ghost Town Dispersed Camping

  Wonderful Summer Camping and Winter Cabining

  Camping is dispersed and a little eerie. This ghost town is complete with still stocked shops, empty hotels with beds left in and slowly aging buildings. It is an interesting look at the mining industry in Montana. There are numerous interpretive signs and information about the building throughout the town and rangers on site during the summer months to answer questions. During the winter two of the cabins (the larger of which is the old saloon) are available to rent through the forest service. Most of my recent trips have been during the winter months, where the town is only accessible by ski, snow shoe or feet. Then it is silent and strange but heart breakingly beautiful.

• b

  brett M.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 18, 2024

  Dispersed Site - Lolo National Forest Recreation Area

  Dispersed, nice

  Pulled off, quickly found decent dispersed site. A bit buggy, no mosquitoes though. Great night sleep until OHVers came screaming through early

• K

  Katherine S.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 6, 2023

  Clark Fork River

  Clark Fork River

  Beautiful secluded site with view of the river. Easily can fit multiple rigs. I have xfinity mobile and had 3-4 bars the whole time.

• 

  Sarah C.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 28, 2018

  Muchwater Dispersed Campground and Recreation Area

  Nice primitive camp

  Most sites have river access. This is bear country so plan accordingly. No water available. Pack in, pack out. The road is somewhat close and train tracks across the river. Not really secluded but nice for a night or two.

• 

  Andy C.

  Scout

  

  Feb. 25, 2024

  Lower Blackfoot River Dispersed - BLM - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

  Closed - but new options available

  The dispersed campground near the start of Johnsrud Rd (Mile Marker 28 on Hwy 200) has been removed. However, 2 new campgrounds have been added, and the entire road is now paved making RV accessibility much easier. 

  The three campgrounds are as follows: 

  Thibodeau Campground- 5 mi in

  Corrick River Bend - 11 mi in

  Ninemile Prarie- 13 mi. in

• 

  K B.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 15, 2021

  Peterson Lake Dispersed

  Nice mountain lakes

  About 5 miles one way to Peterson lake, anither 1 and 2 miles to Duffy and Holloway lakes above Peterson. Nice secluded valley heading into Bitteroot-Selway wilderness. You gain around 1700ft in elevation before dropping down around 800ft into the first lake.

• B

  Barrett I.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 13, 2023

  Blair Flats

  Great stay

  Lovely little campsite next to the water. A little buggy but not too bad. Campsites we’re clean, had a fire pit and nice flat tent area, pit toilet on site too which was a nice surprise.

• r

  robert K.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 12, 2024

  Muchwater Recreation Area

  a beautiful place to stay on the river

  stayed in site 1 first campsite on your right-hand side, big rig friendly plenty of room for our set up 70+ ft RV and trailer short walk to the river. quiet, clean and plenty of space between camps. it was cool to see and hear the trains go by.  will definitely be back.

• 

  Jay G.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 15, 2020

  Blair Flats

  Small NF campground w river access

  If your lucky, you'll get one of three epic campsites right on the river at the end of a mile gravel logging road. The road is rough, but has room at the end for a boat ramp, campsites, toilet and an overflow camping field that can accommodate several low fuss campers. Look for the sign "Blair Flats" for access.

• J

  Jess

  Guide

  

  Aug. 1, 2022

  Blair Flats

  Free & Quiet Camping

  This campsite was a really good find. The road to get in wasn’t bad for our low clearance vehicle. Other reviews on here said there are only three spots. We didn’t see all three because the first one was open and we took it. Large grassy area with a fire pit. Be prepared for a colder night because of your proximity to the water. The only negative thing about this campsite were the masses of mosquitoes and other bugs.

• J

  Julia R.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 11, 2024

  Dispersed Site - Lolo National Forest Recreation Area

  Easy, peaceful and beautiful

  So gorgeous! Tent camped along the river! Very spaced out campsites, nice for lots of privacy and quiet! Signs to be aware of bear country but took precautions. Rock fire pits at each site. Super easy for quick stop road tripping (0.5 miles off main road)! Stayed in early September on a road trip to Glacier, was able to find our site decently well in the dark! Verizon cell service 3-4 bars! Loved it!

  The west is the only safe way to enter onto the road to the campsites. On the map, it looks like you can enter/exit either way from 135… but the east side of the road to get back onto 135 is impossible… so we just had to turn around and exit the same way we came in (from the west).

• 

  Tee C.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 2, 2023

  Muchwater Recreation Area

  Beautiful quiet and cozy!

  This is a wonderful camping area right off of quiet rt 56 along the Clark Fork river. I only saw one other van there. It’s a nicely maintained gravel road to the campsites and there are two tracks that give you access to the river. I didn’t get any Verizon service here, however.

• B

  Barry L.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 31, 2021

  Blair Flats

  Boondocking at its best

  Beautiful camping just south of Swan Lake campground. Free 16 day limit. Three sites available.

• 

  Tee C.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 2, 2023

  Big Pine Campground

  Near river, not far from 90

  Conveniently only 4 miles down a well maintained road and positioned next to the river, this campground has vault toilets and bear boxes. It’s very nice!

  Heads up for trailers, the coordinates will take you to the official campground which seemed potentially a little snug, but if you take the right toward “Rivulet” at the T at the bottom of the road, there are more campsites!

  I had no service here.

• k

  katie

  Guide

  

  Jul. 16, 2022

  Blair Flats

  Secluded, peaceful and free.

  -3 sites, all were full for the weekend. -1 clean vault toilet -woodsy spot in tons of beautiful pines and conifers -boat ramp and river access -free -fire rings

• 

  K B.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 14, 2021

  Boulder Lake Backcountry Site

  Great Backcountry Lake

  Awesome lakento hike into, best accessed during summer after snow has melted. Trail that descends the steep grade down to the lake is not horse friendly, difficult for those who struggle with steep terrain.

  Numerous primitive campsites around west shore of lake, old growth grove at base of cliff is fun to explore. Burned remains of Boulder Lookout sits at the top of the cliff overlooking the lake. Awesome views to take in. There was a pair of loons mesting at the lake when we visited a few years ago.