Are you planning a dispersed camping trip to Butte? We've got you covered. Find the best information on dispersed campgrounds near Butte, including photos, reviews, and tips. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campsite for your Montana camping adventure.
Guide
For a dispersed BLM camping area, this is lovely. Plenty of sites that each have a picnic table and long gravel spot to park an RV. There’s a cute little river and some interesting rock features. Close to the freeway so an excellent stop for a night spot.
GuideThis place looks like a paid campground, only free! All the spots have a picnic table, fire pit and bear box. The mountain views all all around you are gorgeous. Some other folks camping here went trout fishing - so that's an option. Only downside is that my dogs had some trouble walking on the gravel.
GPS: 45.702416, -112.736869
Scout
The road to this location is closed, the bridge is out. There is no access.
GuideBlm camping on the big hole river, montana, free up to 16 days. About 15 spots. Boat ramp, fishing hiking fire pits, no wood available.
Guide
As a single female tent camping I felt very safe here. One morning a bunch of cows came through my site, which was amazing.
GuideLots of open space and locations to pull out--beautiful views as well! To access this place we went towards Copper City Trail Head, and drove by the entrance onto BLM lands. Also, note that this place seems common for mountain bikers and trail bikers, so you'll likely run into a few of those. Also also, this place is DRY--so be sure to bring your own water (but on the plus side, no bugs!!)
ScoutPlenty of pull out sites with some scattered man made fire rings. Secluded quiet and great views
Guide
We didn’t stay at this exact site as it was taken but there one more dispersed site about a mile or so down the road.
Was nice being close to the creek and there was lots of fallen trees we used for firewood.
Quiet spot with a small amount of traffic on the road.
Didn’t see any wildlife but the horseflies were a bit out of control this time of the year.
GuideGreat spot right on parts of the trial! It’s open and you can see miles in each direction. No shade, no bathrooms, but most have man made fire pits.
ScoutFew sites, best suited for smaller campers. Beautiful area. OHV and horseback riding.
ScoutOnly 5 min from highway on a smooth road, spacious with vistas and private. Best yet
ScoutIt is easy to get to and very nice views. We did have a creepy experience. Three trucks drove by our spot and parked just staring at us and would leave. They did this 3 times before we decided to pack up and go elsewhere. Also saw a bunch of bear poop. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back.
Scout
Easy to find, road isn’t too rough, no service with t mobile, nice little fire ring. Definitely recommend getting there a little earlier to get the good spots
ScoutThe 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.
There are MTB OHV and walking trails nearby.
Legend
This campsite is right off the exit, but not very noisy. There were several other campers and RVs and trucks there. Even just parts of cars. Kinda a weird vibe, but down the various 2 tracks, there are hidden sites that afford some shade and privacy. I got 3-4 bars LTE of Verizon here! Plenty of fire pits and access to a couple lakes. And it’s only about 8 miles from Butte!
Legend
Only 3 miles from the highway, this campsite is at the end of a well maintained, slightly rutted gravel road. It’s wide enough for trailers.
Along the road, there are a handful of pull offs that are big enough for an RV to pull into.
The coordinates bring you to an open gravel lot with nice clean pit toilets. There’s a creek nearby. Big beautiful rocks, some shade, pretty epic views on the way in. Beautiful!
No cell service, unfortunately. Another con is that there’s another road that goes in further, but it’s narrow and eroded. I attempted it in my campervan, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the hassle and parked in the open lot instead.
Guide
Great place to camp for overlooking the reservoir. Ran into one local taking pictures but left soon after. About 4-5 rock fire rings fairly close together. I had the entire place to myself on a Thursday night. Some bugs but not too bad. Road going around to the other side of the reservoir is gated and closed now.
ScoutCame up here in a whim one night and got lucky! No one else camped up there so it was peacful. You're right by the water with. Great mountain view, couldn't ask for more.
There were just a few cars driving back down the mountain in the evening. But no one bothered.
There's a nice hand full of spots you could pull up in a car, maybe two spots your could fit a small trailer in. About four or five fire rings in the immediate area. I wouldn't be surprised in there were more spots in the area or the other side of the reservoir.
Pretty easy to get to from Helena. Just take Rimini road all the way up, past the town, past private property. At some point I took a right onto Goulds.
Not the best roads but I got up there fine with my 2015 Outback just fine.
TravelerIt’s easy to get to and there aren’t bad potholes. No problem getting there without 4 wheel drive. I was able to find a pretty private campground by going a little further then the initial parking area.
ScoutWe pulled in for the night on a whim. Nice spot, the road was a little wash boarded. Just made a quick stop off the highway. Nice and quiet.
ScoutThere’s a big area that had a dozen RVs & tents, but it was late & we wanted space so we followed a rough dirt road 1/2 a mile to find a spot in the trees. The Homestake Trailhead down the road has a bathroom. We did have a weird experience: a truck camped near us with two people who openly watched us the entire morning & followed us to the trailhead before driving on.
ScoutThe dispersed camping is super easy to find, and it's right off the highway! It was perfect for a quick spot to camp on our way home to Colorado instead of getting a hotel room.
GuideThis was a pretty spot on the river with quite a few sites and a day use area. Access to the river was a bit tight through the day use area. A small amount of road noise could be heard and the vault toilet was clean. Overall a great place.
LegendThis is the 3rd and final disperse site that the Helena National Forest has marked along the little Blackfoot River. It is nice to be sure that you are on public land when in an area checker boarded with private land. This is a large flat camping area with plenty of room for tents and several RV's. Site has a large rock fire ring, and the river is only a few short flat feet away. Plenty of wood can be found for making a fire. Site is near the road, but very little traffic comes this way as you are almost at the roads end. Water can be easily filtered from the river (more like a creek at this point)
Legend
This is the second disperse camping sit along the Little Blackfoot River that has been marked as a disperse campsite by the Helena National Forest. It is nice having these sits marked by the Forest Service as their are several parcels of private land along the road. This site is small with only one small level area for a tent of mid sized RV. The site has a large rock fire ring in the center. Their is no easy trail access to the river. Plenty of down trees in the area for firewood if you have a way to cut them, their is also plenty of small stuff that can be easily collected for a fire. Site is right next to the road, but road noise should be little to none as a few curves will slow vehicles down and their isn't much more road left until the campground and trailhead at the end of the road.
LegendBumped in to this disperse campsite while heading out for a hike. This is one of three disperse campsite along the Little Blackfoot River in the Helena National Forest that have been marked by the Forest Service as a disperse camping area. This is a nice large flat right next to the creek with plenty of room for multiple tents or RVs. The site has a large rock fire ring and the big bonus of having a picnic table. A short trail leads to the river, but does require a little bit of scrambling. The River (more of a creek at this point) has a nice spot if you need to cool off from the summer heat. Another short trail goes up a small hill and leads to an area with lots of fallen trees which can be cut for firewood if fire restrictions are not in place. The only bad thing about this disperse site is that it is right next to the road.
Ranger
Full disclosure: I didn't camp here as I passed through this area en route to another dispersed campsite a bit deeper in. That said, we stopped here for a snack / water break and to filter some water so I had some time to explore.
The area is BEAUTIFUL. The lake is stunning, and sits nestled right up against some pretty dramatic mountains. Lots of trees and dispersed camping sites throughout. The hike in is about 7 miles, very gentle incline. Not too hard unless you're not used to carrying weight.
When we went through, there were people camping, but not too many. Once we went beyond this camp area, we didn't see a soul. That's likely because of the really intense pass you have to go over to get to the dispersed site we were aiming for (see my review for that here: https://thedyrt.com/camping/undefined/flower-lake-dispersed-camping).
Tons of great hiking in this area as it is close to the Continental Divide Trail. A lot of it definitely involves going up the sides of mountains, but if you're day-hiking and not carrying a heavy backpacking pack, they're not that hard.
Bring bear spray. Hang your food. This is grizzly country.
For true back-country seclusion you'll probably want to go further in than this dispersed area, but for a less strenuous and equally as beautiful locale, this is a pretty amazing place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Butte, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Butte, MT is Homestake Pass Dispersed with a 3.9-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Butte, MT?
TheDyrt.com has all 19 dispersed camping locations near Butte, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
