Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Big Timber? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Big Timber's most popular destinations.
This campground does not use a reservation system, it is managed on a first-come, first-served basis. Be aware the campground may fill up on weekends & holidays during the summer months and you should arrive in the early afternoon to ensure there is a space available for the night. Accessible - yes (toilet as well)
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: https://www.campendium.com/camping/boondocking-101/
This free campground is located on the West Fork Stillwater Road and is near the West Fork Stillwater Trail (#90). The campground is maintained from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but is opened the rest of the year without services. There is a 16 day stay limit for all Beartooth Ranger District campgrounds.For a road map of the area, which shows campground locations, please see our Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM)Camp sites: 6Host: NoMax Trailer Length: 20 ftAccessible Facilities: noneTrash Pickup:NoFirewood:NoReservationsNo Reservations. This campground does not use a reservation system, it is managed on a first-come, first-served basis. Be aware the campground may fill up on weekends & holidays during the summer months and you should arrive in the early afternoon to ensure there is a space available for the night. There is a 16 day stay limit. Some sites in campground have bear resistant food storage lockers. Individual camp sites vary in size, but the max trailer length is 20ft. Initial Creek Campground remains open year-round. However, in the off-season, the roads to the campground are not plowed and the campground is not maintained. There is no water and no services. Please pack out all of your trash.Directions from district office:Drive north on US Hwy 212 for 2.1 miles. Turn left (west) onto MT-78 and drive 30 miles. Turn left (west) onto MT-419 towards Fishtail. Drive through Nye and for a total of 25.9 miles. Immediately after the Stillwater Mine, turn right (west) onto the West Fork Stillwater Rd (FR 2846). Drive 7.8 miles to the trailhead.*The West Fork Stillwater Rd is a rough road. High clearance vehicles are advised.Information:Beartooth Ranger District Office6811 US Hwy 212Red Lodge, MT 59068(406) 446-2103
A campground in the west boulder area on the Yellowstone District. Open all year. Access is limited during the fall and winter due to snow. Access road not suitable for vehicles longer than 20'. This campground does not use a reservation system, it is managed on a first-come, first-served basis. Be aware the campground may fill up on weekends & holidays during the summer months and you should arrive in the early afternoon to ensure there is a space available for the night.
$12 / night
Many people enjoy the solitude and primitive experience of camping away from developed campgrounds and other campers. Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. Dispersed camping means no services (such as trash removal), and little or no facilities (such as tables and fire pits) are provided.
Rules for dispersed camping Groups over 75 people are not allowed. Dispersed camping is NOT allowed in the vicinity of developed recreation areas. You need to be self-contained. No amenities are provided; such as water, restrooms or trash cans. Please pack out all your trash. You may camp in a dispersed area for up to 16 days. After 16 days, you must move at least 5 road miles for camping in another dispersed area and you can not return to your original campsite for 7 days. Please use existing fire rings and avoid creating new fire rings. Contact your local district office for information on fire restrictions. It is your responsibility to know if fire restrictions are in effect before you go camping. Be bear aware and know the food storage regulations before camping. These regulations are strictly enforced. Where can I disperse camp? To find out where you are allowed to disperse camp, please refer to each district's Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). These maps will show which roadways allow disperse camping and it tells you the distance you are allowed to drive off the road to camp. Please note that some roads have more limitations and restrictions than others. Please consult the Motor Vehicle Use Map or call the district office for more details. To see our Motor Vehicle Use Maps, click here.
Can I have a campfire? Please use existing sites and fire rings. Firewood permits are not needed if wood is used on the forest. If wood is transported home for personal use, you will need to purchase a firewood permit at the closest district office. This permit should be obtained prior to you gathering or transporting any wood.
Before you leave your campfire make sure is it completely out. You should be able to put your whole hand into the ashes without being burned; it should be cool to the touch. Stir the ashes to make sure all embers have cooled. This is very important! Many forest fires are caused by abandoned campfires that were not completely out.
The National Forest has wildfires each year. Many of these are human caused from escaped campfires in dispersed sites. Campfires are allowed unless there are fire restrictions in effect due to high fire danger conditions. It is your responsibility to know if fire restrictions are in effect before you go camping. You can learn about any fire restrictions by contacting the nearest Forest Service office.
Dispersed camping means no bathrooms and no outhouses. That means extra care has to be taken in disposing of human waste. To dispose of feces, dig a hole six to eight (6-8) inches deep at least 200 feet away from any water source. When you are done, fill the hole with the dirt you dug up and take your toilet paper with you to dispose of in a proper waste container. Never defecate or leave toilet paper on top of the ground. Do not simply cover it with a rock. It could easily get into the local water source and contaminate it.
Traveler
What a beautiful spot to escape to! A single, private campground surrounded by a cottonwood grove sounds like the perfect place for a peaceful getaway. The 60 acres on Miner Creek offer ample opportunities for relaxation and adventure. Speaking of getting away, if you ever find yourself needing to craft the perfect description or promotional content for your own adventures, consider using lastminutewriting.com writing service. They offer fantastic support in creating engaging and high-quality texts. Enjoy the tranquility of nature and make the most of this beautiful campground! It sounds like a wonderful place to unwind.
Scout
Easy to find off of I90. Nice clean and safe place. Once the rafters and fisherman rolled out in the evening it was peaceful. Will return.
Traveler
We were looking for an easy dispersed site to stay at while visiting a friend in Bozeman. This was an easy option for us with a 20ft camper. We stayed at the first pull off a few minutes off the main road. This site was easily accessible, right off the main road, close to town and close to some hikes.
Traveler
This place seemed promising at first. It was hard to find a decent spot at night due to only using headlights of my van. Most of the road is extremely rugged/uneven/full of large holes. The only place I was able to stay for the night was the road leading up to the locked gate. This is about the only nice spot. Other than that this place is • quiet w/occasional traffic along the high way (right next to reservoir) • very few people here, but far enough away from me • no fee required • provides OK view to the mountains • great when you bring along a pet • you will need to be fully prepared for primitive camping
Ranger
Right on the river and lots of shade and roomy camp spots. AT&T cell service is good!
Guide
There are only 2 sites here. It’s a great place to fish, rock hound and there are some trails very close. The road in as well as the pit toilet are well maintained. One morning about 12 people showed up and just walked onto my site and went fishing despite my objections. They were really aggressive and they felt completely entitled to do whatever they wanted.
Traveler
About 7 miles west of Absarokee, 2.5 of them gravel. Sign said tent camping only but I stayed one night in my Sprinter van with no problem. Did not use vault toilet so cannot speak to its condition. Some algae near the shore of river but waded out deeper for refreshing dip.
ScoutThis is pretty much a tourist trap. We got out of work late and didn’t find a spot at loch leaven and had to be on the river early, so we just gave it a try. $30, no fires allowed, essentially just a grass field. There were a couple picnic tables scattered about. Would be better off at the free old saloon camping field.
ScoutBeautiful spot by the Yellowstone River. Train whistles woke us up four times.
Scout
Not to mention the single-lane cobblestone road, I have a truck and was bouncing up and down the whole way! I didn't find one area big enough to set up camp. I definitely would NOT recommend this spot
Guide
Stayed 8-1-24
Good: KOA like expected, but great view.
Bad: Mile long dirt road to get to entrance.
Would I stay again: ?, I might try West entrance next time.
Guide
This is an amazing camp spot that is almost almost to the top of the trail to fairy Lake campground. There’s an established firing, and there’s room for multiple vehicles.
GuideSmall family friendly campground Very close to town for supplies. 15 minutes from 4 separate summer weekend outdoor music venues. Local yellowstone river float trips. Available.
RangerThis was an ok stay outside of Bozeman. The coordinates took me to a spot which was occupied but looked like the only spot on that stretch of road. It began to get extremely rutted and I didn’t want to push any farther after that spot. I camped in what looked to be a dispersed campsite that they closed off
Legend
If you like trains this place is for you. If not.. well they’re pretty prevalent. Thankfully we enjoy the sound of the train whistle. We got here late and left early ish. So didn’t get to take in all the amenities. But appreciated the grassy spot and the breeze thru the beautiful aspen trees
RangerA bit confusing with all the no trespassing and no parking on/off the road signs. Felt more comfortable once we saw another van parked, and drove past the coordinate location a few minutes to use a tiny widened part of the road. No services.
GuideAt first we were a little nervous about staying in a public campground, but we quickly felt safe and decided to stay an extra day. There was some trash around but overall it was clean. The city park staff had a strong presence during the day, taking care of the grounds. In the afternoon and evening, law enforcement made a few sweeps through the park. There was wood left by many of the fire pits and even a water fill station for our RV. Sites did not have hookups but we run on solar with generator backup so we survived the 100 degree heat just fine. The river was right there and while beautiful... too swift for us or our dogs to enter. We enjoyed walking there and felt very comfortable. The park manager came by to introduce himself also. This place was a gem. Please leave a donation if you stay and say thank you for such a wonderful resource.
ScoutGreat spot and easy to get to. Exactly where the coordinates are pull off was big enough for my sprinter 170 extended was even able to get it perfectly level a few dirt bikes on the road that stopped at sunset. It’s very quiet and beautiful views and 15° cooler than Bozeman.
TravelerGorgeous campsite only 20ish min from the outskirts of Bozeman. Stopped in for 1 night passing through on a bigger road trip and couldn’t be luckier with this location. Fire rings at all campsites. Very quite road. Level ground for car camping. Would 100% come back just for this gem.
ScoutNice and quiet, lots of room
Guide
We called last minute for an overnight and there was one spot left. We were welcomed and taken care of even arriving after hours. Nice pull through sites, clean bathrooms and showers, (laundry too, although we did not use this stop), and a nice area with horse shoes and another toss game. Trains can be heard occasionally while outside but inside with our fan running we never heard them.
GuideBeautiful space with views and birdsongs aplenty. Spaces are small and right off the road, but for a free night not far from I-94 with solitude and nature, it’s fantastic. There are a few more pull-offs (again, no privacy and right off the Forest Road) if you drive on down toward Skunk Rd, but road gets rougher (high clearance and/or 4WD fine) from especially if it has recently rained. Those spots were also all taken. Went about a 1/2 mile beyond the GPS coordinates for spot with wee bit more space but the pull-off with these exact coordinates ended up getting claimed by an RV at some point in the night—this road gets solid use in the summer—saw at least a dozen vehicles in the 14 hours here.
RangerBeautiful location with several spots. All have fire pits but picnic tables are in bad shape. Going to sleep with sound of Rushing Water 20 ft away from me. Good cell reception on T-Mobile but no trash, water or power hookups. However, only 3 mi from Big Timber and very easy to get here. Beautiful, almost unbeatable spot.
Guide
Campsite has plenty of spots and decent amenities. Some of the spots have lake access where we saw other campers with their boats tied up to shore. The spots were way too close together for my liking. There were almost no trees, which meant no privacy from other campers. The campsite was EXTREMELY overpriced. We paid $36 for one night of tent camping ($8 vehicle fee and $26 tenters fee). This might be a reasonable price for RVs hooked up to electricity and water, but this was a ripoff for tenters that used only the pit toilet amenity. The lake was pretty, but I will absolutely continue on and camp in the Beartooth Mtns next time around.
LegendPlenty of room. A few special spots. Beautiful views on the river.
Scout
This place seems to be nicer than nearby campsites, but stinky toilets with no toilet paper, outdoor shower with cold water for $54 for a small camper was quite disappointing. Trains and highway noises are extremely loud as others mentioned
ScoutNice place allowing upto 7 days of free camping. Donations suggested. This is a city park just outside of town, so water and rv dump are nearby. Laundromat also nearby. Toilets and potable water are in the park. You can fill your fresh water tank.
Camping near Big Timber, Montana, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking to pitch a tent or park your RV, there are plenty of options to explore.
Camping near Big Timber, Montana, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. Just remember to plan ahead and enjoy the great outdoors!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Big Timber, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Big Timber, MT is East Boulder Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 9 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Big Timber, MT?
TheDyrt.com has all 15 tent camping locations near Big Timber, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
