Best Tent Camping near Big Sky, MT

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!

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.

Eagle Creek campground is a nice small 16 site campground a few miles above Gardiner Montana and only a few minutes from the Yellowstone entrance.  Getting to the campground requires a steep 2 mile drive which the road recommends 4 wheel drive for to help with the incline and to prevent washboard.  Sites sit in a grassy open area with willows and other small trees and bushes around the edge.  Small creek runs along the campground.  Site #1 would the site to get it you can, out of view from the rest of camp and has two picnic tables.  The site has a vault toilet.  All sites have a metal fire ring and picnic table. Bear proof food lockers for food storage at most sites.  No water or trash service.  I filtered water from the creek.  Their is a horse Corral adjacent to campground.  Campground was nice and quiet at night with great view of the night sky.  No cell service.

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.

About 20 minutes south of Bozeman, MT on scenic Hyalite Canyon Road sits Langohr Campground. There are 19 spacious single sites and the 20th site is a group picnic site for day use. Langohr Campground runs along Hyalite Creek and is tucked inside Custer Gallatin National Forest in a small open meadow with Douglas fir, Lodgepole pine, and Englemann Spruce. 

I was fortunate to find a campsite as a walk-in even after arriving mid-afternoon at the beginning of June 2019 because it was too late to reserve online. Each site does have a picnic table and fire ring, and electrical sites are available. Some are drive-in or back into sites, and a few are literally next to Hyalite Creek which is an added bonus. A heavy snowfall occurred a week before and remnants of it were scattered along the campground. Good thing I brought a snow scraper to clear the picnic table of snow. The fee is $20.00 per campsite for two vehicles and $8.00 for any additional vehicles. The group picnic site is $45.00 for day use. I paid cash for the site, but I believe you may also pay by credit card.

Many of the campers were settling in and had parked RVs and pop-ups. Pets are allowed but must be on a leash as wildlife such as bears, deers, moose, and elk frequent the area. Bear lockers should be used for food storage or properly stored in vehicles. There are huge bear safe trash and recycling containers near the entrance for campers to use. The bathroom is clean, free of odor and bugs, and it is a vault toilet. There are no showers, dump station, or camp store, but you are close to Bozeman.  The camp host was settled on site 11 and sells firewood for $6.00. You can take a walk along the Hyalite Creek or drive 3.5 miles south down to Hyalite Reservoir for other activities such as fishing, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, hiking, and boating. The night sky was pretty spectacular especially with the trees around on a clear day.

Red Cliff Campground is a large Forest Service campground in the Gallatin River canyon. The campground has 63 campsites which can be reserved. This nice campground is set among pine and spruce trees. Their are two sections to the campground, the south section is more heavily wooded and has electric sites for$28 a night. The north section is more open, especially at the uphill portion of the loop with sites for$20. Several campsites have steps leading up to the campsite. The entire area was very green, with nice tall grass cover through out the campground. The Campground is set across the Gallatin river from Hwy 191, allowing the river to slightly muffle the sound of the constant truck travel on the highway, still the road noise is the big downfall for this campground. Each site is equipped with a large picnic table and metal fire ring. Bear lockers for food storage are located though out the campground, but you might need to share space with others as one lockers serves multiple sites. Vault toilets are located through out the campground. Water is available as well as trash and recycling. If you need firewood it is available from the camp host. It appears that about 1/3 of the sites are located along the river. If you like to hike there is the Elkhorn trail head at the south end of the campground, and of coarse don't forget to bring that fishing pole.

The staff at check in were friendly and helpful. The camp sites are pretty close together and can accommodate tents, small and large camper trailers. There are bathrooms, dish washing area, picnic table and shared bear boxes available for food storage. There is an amphitheater a short hike away from the camp site where a commentary is given by park rangers at 9pm every night. A small store is on site stocked with bear spray, blankets, food items and first aid supplies. This is one of the only camp sites in Yellowstone Park that can be reserved in advance.