Looking for dispersed camping near Canyon Ferry Lake? Dispersed camping is an excellent way to get away from it all and to disconnect. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campgrounds for your Montana camping adventure.
Tizer Lakes is a state fishing access site located in southwest Montana. The lakes are accessible by pack trail, 8 miles from the trailhead. Tent camping is permitted with a 7 day limit, sites are primitive and no drinking water is available. Surrounded by Forest Service lands in Elkhorn Mountains with difficult access.
Scout
The road to this location is closed, the bridge is out. There is no access.
Scout
I felt so secluded here on a Sunday night. Beautiful area. Appreciated the reviews on here to find a good free place to spend the night.
ScoutStayed here twice in early August about a week apart. Any car should be able to get down the road to the campsites. A bit buggy but free. Pit toilet available.
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.
ScoutThere’s signs about limiting the stay to 14 days, but there clearly are people who have been here much longer than that. Way too crowded.
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
TravelerYou can not stake anything down here. It's all sand. No cover from wind. Does have a vault toilet. Could see how to could very crowded in summer.
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.
GuidePulled in early on a Friday and it was already filling up. Stayed 1 week and was by myself for most of it besides the weekend. I did come back at one point during a storm to find a bunch of teenagers parked right next to my camper and when it stopped raining they started doing donuts and messing around. Also, the fire pit was full of garbage when I got there. Overall it was a great stay, especially since it was free. The reception was good, the road just leading to the camping spots was a little bumpy
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.
GuideEnough space along the banks to find a spot and still feel private . ATT and Verizon service. Accessible to low clearance vehicles
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.
ScoutGreat place to camp right along the water for tents, RTTs, or campers. The problem is there were a ton of people. I arrived on a Thursday with only one other person camping within 100 yards of me. By Saturday, there were 12 different campers packed in like sardine along the same 100 yard stretch. Loose dogs were running all over and generators were running all night. If you don't mind the crowd, it's a great place to camp and enjoy the water
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.
GuideCanyon Ferry has great dispersed camping all around it. The specific site we stayed at was right next to the beach. Great views and right down from a pit toilet.
GuideThere were some of the cutest cows on the way in. It took me over half an hour to locate the owner and get a calf's head unstuck. The water was pretty and my dogs loved all the beach wood. My neighbors were friendly and didn't mind the dogs running around.
LegendYou almost don't realize that this area open to camping and would drive right by if it were not for a plywood sign just after crossing a cattle guard. The plywood has just a few signs on it, one listing the number of nights you can camp for. The others are the camping rules, travel restrictions and notice that spot must be occupied at night. This camping area is a mile north of Confederate Campground. When you look back up the road leading to the camping area you can notice a vault toilet in the distance. It is over a½ mile to this vault toilet down a two track road. One flat grassy camping spot can be found about half way to the toilet. This grassy spot is your best bet if you have a tent with out a crowd. The spot is on the shore of the lake with just a few young willows between you and the water. The remainder of the camping appears to happen just after the ADA vault toilet. A few more grassy spots are possible near the vault toilet, then there is a narrow section of gravel beach on which RV's turn in to a parking area. The RV's line up one right behind the other on this beach as this is the only real level place to park. No other services besides the ADA vault toilet is available so come prepared. The area has no picnic tables and any fire rings are on the beach made by previous visitors. The site does not have a boat ramp, but the gravel shore would make it easy to launch one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Canyon Ferry Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Canyon Ferry Lake is Confederate Disperse Camping Area with a 3.9-star rating from 10 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Canyon Ferry Lake?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 dispersed camping locations near Canyon Ferry Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
