Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Boulder, MT

Galena Gulch Campground along the Boulder River offers pet-friendly tent and RV sites with picnic tables and fire rings. Pets must be leashed and supervised at all times, though many reviewers note the campground has plenty of space for walking dogs. Park Lake Campground also welcomes pets, featuring paved sites and access to a mountain lake where dogs can cool off during summer months. The picnic area and nearby trails provide additional space for exercising pets. Multiple sites across these campgrounds can accommodate both tents and RVs, making them suitable for various camping styles. Previous campers report that the grassy areas at Galena Gulch provide excellent spots for pets to rest while owners enjoy the riverside setting.

Dispersed camping options near Boulder provide more flexibility for pet owners seeking fewer restrictions. Scott Reservoir Dispersed camping features primitive sites overlooking water where dogs can enjoy shoreline exploration. Homestake Pass Dispersed camping accommodates pets with spacious sites suitable for both tents and RVs. Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park provides more developed pet-friendly options with electric hookups and water access, though dogs must remain outside cave areas. Pet owners should pack sufficient water for their animals as many primitive sites have no potable water available. The nearby Boulder River provides water access at several locations, though local residents advise treating all water before consumption, including for pets. Wildlife encounters are possible throughout the area, so keeping pets leashed and supervised is essential for their safety.

Best Dog-Friendly Sites Near Boulder, Montana (92)

    1. Galena Gulch

    9 Reviews
    Boulder, MT
    3 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 533-7600

    $15 / night

    "However, this is a clean and mowed campsite that is largely grassy field next to the boulder River. The mountainous and forested Recreation area surrounded it though."

    "Galena Gulch Campground is a free nicely maintained BLM campground just off of interstate 15 south of Boulder Montana. This campground has 10 sites all with metal fire rings and picnic tables."

    2. Park Lake Campground

    6 Reviews
    Clancy, MT
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 449-5490

    "Helena National Forest's Park Lake Campground sits next to the beautiful Park Lake. A day use areas sits along the east side of the lake."

    "Our favorite nearby campground that's for enough away to get everyone to unplug. Peaceful mountain lake with no motors allowed on the water. Fish, kayak, paddle board, and swim."

    3. Merry Widow Health Mine Camp

    3 Reviews
    Boulder, MT
    7 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 225-3220

    4. Delmoe Lake

    12 Reviews
    Butte, MT
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 287-3223

    $8 / night

    "Located in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest near Butte, Montana, Delmoe Lake was a beautiful place to camp for a night."

    "Best out of the 7 campsites we visited on our Montana trip! It’s gorgeous and open and has trees you can easily sling up hammocks. Gorgeous lake."

    5. Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park — Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park

    37 Reviews
    Cardwell, MT
    31 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 287-3541

    $8 - $90 / night

    "The layout of this state park was somewhat unusual: there are five loops within one larger loop with 32 sites plus seven additional pull-through sites on the outside of the loop."

    "Once you are up near the caverns there is plenty of parking for RVs or cars. There is also a shady area to kennel your dogs for a fee, as they are not allowed in the caverns."

    6. Scott Reservoir Dispersed

    3 Reviews
    Clancy, MT
    15 miles
    Website

    "Road going around to the other side of the reservoir is gated and closed now."

    "There were just a few cars driving back down the mountain in the evening. But no one bothered."

    7. Homestake Pass Dispersed

    14 Reviews
    Butte, MT
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 683-3900

    "Found a spot right by the entrance to the large camping area (approx 1/2mile past railroad tracks on the left). We were exposed from 3 sides, luckily we could park our jeep for privacy block."

    "The spot was close to the highway - lots of potential spots - some “locals” who seem to live out there and run generators 24/7 - we had no problem and got a good night sleep to carry on our journey."

    8. Basin Canyon

    1 Review
    Boulder, MT
    10 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 287-3223

    9. Lowland Campground

    5 Reviews
    Butte, MT
    20 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 494-2147

    "p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; }

    Lowland Campground Review

    Lowland Campground located in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest north of Butte Montana is nice small very quiet campground"

    "Overall pleasant but ATV campers showed up Saturday, driving around the camp, but they were polite after quiet hours."

    10. Cromwell Dixon Campground

    10 Reviews
    Elliston, MT
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 449-5490

    "Close to the Continental Divide trail, which we briefly hiked. Beautiful trail. Campsites had tables and plenty of shade."

    "p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; }

    Cromwell Dixon Campground is a nice Forest Service Campground located on the Continental Divide's McDonald Pass."

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Dog-Friendly Camping Reviews near Boulder, MT

539 Reviews of 92 Boulder Campgrounds


  • Thomas C.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 26, 2025

    Toll Mountain Campground

    Pretty Neat

    Wow this was a very unique camping experience up in the boulders. Had a lot of fun walking my dogs and cat up in there. (Yes my cat goes camping too). There was no water pumps on the campground, however there is a nice little creek running through that one could get water. Also there were vault toilets and the one we used was closer to the entrance of the campground. It was clean, however the door didn't lock. Really wish we didn't go on a holiday weekend as it sounded like a dirt bike ho-down and wasn't very relaxing. We will try again during the week or a non holiday weekend. The stars were gorgeous, and the bird watching was phenomenal. At least when there weren't dirt bikes.

  • MThe Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 19, 2025

    Three Forks KOA Journey

    Nice small KOA

    This is a small KOA. Super friendly staff. Sites are shady unless you have a big rig - that area does not have shade. Decent dog park. Decent playground. I did not use the bath house so can’t comment on that. No pool, but did have a nice patio area with tables and chairs behind the store. I just stayed one night as we are on the road home. I do have one complaint and that is the sprinklers that came on overnight - it soaked the chairs and picnic table by our camper. I think the friendliness of the staff and the shady sites are the main reason for 5 stars.

  • D
    Jun. 13, 2022

    Jo Bonner Campground

    Fine for what it is

    The campground itself is nice. It’s on a cove and sheltered from the wind. It is right in the middle of a village so you are surrounded by houses. The current caretaker is quite rude and not accommodating unfortunately. Pets must be leashes.

  • Jamie K.
    Jun. 11, 2018

    Goose Bay Marina and Campground

    Wonderfully Accomodating

    Very friendly. Campground store, campground hosts.

    Lake access, boat access.

    Pet friendly.

    Picnic tables and gazebos throughout the park.

    Clean bathrooms, outhouse and showers available.

    Full electric, sewer hook up spots available.

  • Marianna C.
    May. 24, 2022

    Goose Bay - Dispersed Camping

    Lovely Stay by the Water

    Not too busy during the weekday. Picnic table and metal fire ring. I didn’t see any bathrooms but might have missed them as I drove in at night. Not a lot of trees so there isn’t much privacy, but the other sites were far enough away that it didn’t matter. Pretty windy. I heard coyotes at night so keep your pets close, otherwise it’s very quiet and peaceful. Just a stones throw away from the water.

  • Milagros A.
    Aug. 29, 2018

    Galena Gulch

    BLM Free camping Outside of Boulder, MT

    I I initially found this on free campsites. Com. Though the official website is listed as BLM, BLM actually doesn't have Galena Gulch on their site. However, this is a clean and mowed campsite that is largely grassy field next to the boulder River. The mountainous and forested Recreation area surrounded it though.

    There is plenty of space for RVs, though there are no hookups of any kind. There is no water and no electricity and no cell phone service. I have Verizon. I took a star away because there wasn't any water but added it back because it was free!

    There were probably a dozen official sites that had fire rings and a parking spur. While there were a couple sizable rigs there, if your RV is so big that you must have a pull through, you will probably find this Campground challenging.

    There was a large grassy area and another smaller grassy area that were simply open with no fire ring or parking spur. However, it was very easy to park on the grass and several people could pitch tents there if they wanted. I did this.

    There are two side-by-side pit toilets and an information board in the center. They were clean and stocked. Once again, I want to emphasize that there is no water here. The boulder river is directly adjacent but locals in Montana don't consider any water safe.

    There were multiple people there with their dogs and a great number of sites filled with RVs. At the time I was there there were only two of us tenting.

    Your GPS will get you here, nearly. Take the exit it tells you and follow the directions. However, my GPS told me that I had arrived and I was looking at the boulder River on the right and houses on the left and no Campground. What you have to do is go up the road another hundred feet and follow the sign to turn right to Galena Recreation Area. This takes you on an underpass under the freeway and immediately becomes a gravel road that goes over a one-lane bridge. You can't make any wrong turn here. As soon as you cross the bridge you will see the campground immediately on your right. From the time you make the right hand turn to the campground it is probably a couple hundred feet.From getting off the freeway to the campsite is probably less than a mile

    I was there for 3 night and it was full every night. However, the turnover seems high as it appears most people use it as an overnight on their travels, especially since there are not any services there. But it's a pretty area. Some people bring their ATV and use the dirt road that runs through the recreation Area to drive around. You can use that road to hike to , also the radon health mine is right up the road.

    Bring water and food as you would have to drive 20 minutes back to Boulder to get services. Boulder's a cute small town with a few restaurants, a grocery store, gas stations and a very wonderful Hot Springs Resort.

  • Carol P.
    Jul. 7, 2016

    Lost Creek State Park Campground

    Lost Creek State Park

    We stumbled on this campground by accident but were very surprised by how wonderful it was. The campground is tucked between two imposing rock walls that deliver wonderful sunset and sunrise scenery. The camp spots are really nice with level spots for parking or tents, lots of nice tall trees (for hammocks!), easy access to a beautiful trail with stunning sights and some relic surprises and nicely positioned boulders for privacy between spots. We're definitely going back there!

  • Dexter I.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 12, 2018

    Indian Road Campground

    Nice campground with a kids fishing pond

    This is a nice campground just outside of Townsend Montana. Good information signs about the area and the Lewis and Clark journey. A nice fishing pond is available for children 14 and under. Campground is on the edge of the Missouri river. The only draw back is noise from the nearby highway.

  • Dexter I.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 27, 2019

    Galena Gulch

    Nice free BLM campground right off I-15

    Galena Gulch Campground is a free nicely maintained BLM campground just off of interstate 15 south of Boulder Montana. This campground has 10 sites all with metal fire rings and picnic tables. Two ADA accessible vault toilets serve the campground. This is a trash-in trash-out campground. Be sure to bring your own water as there is no water at this campground. Most sites sit along the Boulder River. Camping is limited to 14 days. This is a busy campground despite it not being listed on the BLM's website and their being no indication from the interstate that the campground is present. The main drawbacks of this campground is the noise from I-15 and how busy the campground is. The sites are nicely spread out giving you plenty of room. The entire campground has nice grass covering and is well maintained making finding a good spot for your tent an easy choir.


Guide to Boulder

Dispersed camping near Boulder, Montana provides campers with multiple options for backcountry stays. Located in southwest Montana at approximately 5,000 feet elevation, the Boulder area features pine forests and mountain terrain with daytime temperatures averaging 75-85°F in summer and nighttime temperatures dropping to 45-55°F. Access roads to most dispersed sites require high-clearance vehicles, particularly after rain.

What to do

Hiking from campgrounds: Lowland Campground connects to the Continental Divide Trail with minimal crowds. "Short trail in the campground, and about five miles from entrance was the Continental Divide Trail. We didn't know about that until we were leaving, so we will come back to explore," writes Lisa K. about Lowland Campground.

Mountain biking: Homestake Pass area features trail networks suitable for intermediate riders. "There are MTB OHV and walking trails nearby," notes Andrew H. at Homestake Pass Dispersed. Trails range from 1-5 miles with moderate technical sections.

Fishing in mountain lakes: Park Lake offers non-motorized fishing for trout. "The lake is open to non-motorized watercraft," explains Dexter I. about Park Lake Campground. Fish from shorelines or bring small watercraft for lake access.

What campers like

Privacy between sites: Many campgrounds offer well-spaced sites. "The sites are nicely spread out giving you plenty of room. The entire campground has nice grass covering and is well maintained making finding a good spot for your tent an easy choir," shares Dexter I. about Galena Gulch.

Cooler temperatures: Higher elevations provide relief from summer valley heat. "I stayed there for a few weeks when the temperature is down in the valley started to get into the upper 90s and near 100. It was a good 10° cooler at this campsite than down in the valleys," notes Will M. about Cromwell Dixon Campground.

Wildlife viewing: Multiple sites offer opportunities to see local wildlife. "Deer visited camp at night!" reports Mark F. at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. Campers regularly see chipmunks, rabbits, and occasionally larger mammals from their sites.

What you should know

Weather changes quickly: Mountain locations experience rapid shifts in conditions. "Check weather report, strong winds and we had thunderstorms," warns Mark F. at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park.

Limited water access: Many dispersed sites lack potable water. "There is no water and no electricity and no cell phone service. I have Verizon. I took a star away because there wasn't any water but added it back because it was free!" mentions Milagros A. about Galena Gulch.

Bridge conditions: Some access roads have challenging bridges. "Bridge is a bit scary, just go slow," advises Kimberly about Galena Gulch when discussing the approach.

Tips for camping with families

Playground options: Some established campgrounds include play structures. "We camped here with a group of families and the playground was nice for the kids. There aren't many trees and the land is flat but we were able to really keep a decent eye of the kids running around because of it," explains Heather about Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Boulder, MT?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Boulder, MT is Galena Gulch with a 4.2-star rating from 9 reviews.

What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Boulder, MT?

TheDyrt.com has all 92 dog-friendly camping locations near Boulder, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.