Looking for the best options for RV camping near Cardwell? Finding a place to camp in Montana with your RV is easier than ever. Each RV campsite offers quick access to one or more of Cardwell's most popular destinations.
Cardwell General Store and Campground, located off I-90 at exit 256, is locally owned and operated in beautiful Cardwell, Montana. Centrally located between Butte and Bozeman in the Jefferson Valley of Montana, it is nestled in the tiny ranching community of Cardwell. Laundry, restroom, shower and wifi are some of the amenities offered for our guests.
The RV Park is located directly behind the general store, which offers a wide variety of goods and services to locals and travelers alike. Fishing supplies, tackle, & bait are available for purchase, as well as firewood. The gas pumps are open 24/7 for credit card users, and an ATM is on site. Inside the General Store is an Espresso bar with fantastic coffee drinks! a candy store and a ice cream shop with the best shakes ever including Huckleberry!
The Cardwell General Store and Campground is open year round and harbors thirty-eight pull-through RV sites, up to 60' max, and six dry tent sites. We also have one fully furnished dry cabin. It comes with a queen sized bed with included bedding, table and chairs, mini fridge and Microwave. Heat and Air Conditioning also in this cabin! The cabin is super nice and fairly close to the shower house and you will enjoy it!
The facility includes a covered pavilion, and horseshoe pits for summer evening barbecues with family and friends. For campground guests the North Boulder River and Jefferson River are easily accessible nearby. Plenty of log furniture, swing sets and lovers swings to rest and visit!
Laundromat, restroom, and shower services are available to guests. There is a designated pet walk area for campers or travelers with pets. All pets must be leashed at all times. No exceptions. WIFI is available to our guests. A laundry facility is available free of charge to guests.
Welcome to the Sportsman Lodge
My family and I just purchased the Sportsman Motel in 2021. This was a 2-year process for us by way of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Our journey with the Sportsman Motel in Melrose MT started over 7 years ago. It all began with our oldest son Cody, who was deployed with the Army at the time, wrote me a letter. In his letter, he reflects on the passion he and his brother Marcus (also serving in the Army National Guard) and I have for the outdoors. Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, I have developed a love of the outdoors for as long as I can ever remember. We have always wanted to go west to Montana. In Cody’s letter, he spoke of a small town in Montana called Melrose and about one of the best Rivers to fish in the country, The Big Hole, running through Melrose. He spoke about staying at the Sportsman Motel. Almost immediately upon his return to the states after his deployment, we booked our trip to the Sportsman Motel.
We have been coming back every year, multiple times a year, and staying at the Sportsman ever since. We fell in love with the town, the great people of Melrose and of course the World Class Fishing and Hunting.
In 2018 I approached the previous owners of the Sportsman about buying it. I brought my wife Bonnie out so she can experience what the boys and I have come to love. Bonnie grew up in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area and although she had been a city girl at heart, she has gained the love and appreciation of the great outdoors through my own lifetime passion. We have relocated here from Pennsylvania to Montana living our greatest dream and want to help bring the same joy to others.
No matter what you are in search of — hunting, fishing, camping, or just being one with nature – The Sportsman Lodge in Melrose, Montana is your ideal outdoor paradise and home away from home.
For fishing, Sportsman Lodge is in close proximity to some of the best and most famous streams in the country. Our rivers are legendary. If you’re looking for fly fishing or trout, there’s nothing better than a stay in one of our cabins on the water.
The hunting here is as good as it gets anywhere. If you’re after the big game, trophy-class elk, mule deer and whitetail are out there. You’ll also find black bears, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and antelope. If bird hunting and waterfowl are more your style, there are strong sage, sharp-tailed, and mountain grouse, as well as migratory ducks and geese. Melrose is home to a beautiful diversity of habitats and wildlife!
Sportsman Lodge has accommodations for everyone. Our cozy cabins can serve as your mountainside oasis coming completely furnished with various bedroom options and each with a kitchen, living room and bath. Our cabins by the river offer outstanding access for fishing.
Our RV park boasts seventeen, full-service hookup spots allowing you to enjoy our Montana views with all of your creature comforts. Or if you’re looking to get a little closer to nature, it doesn’t get any better than camping out under the vast and wild Montana sky.
Roaming around this part of the country can’t help but impress. In Melrose, while the surroundings are peaceful, the ability to explore the outdoors awakens a strong sense of adventure.
Melrose is a small town on the Big Hole River. Between our 8 rooms, 6 cabins, 17 RV sites and grass tent spaces, we can suit any traveler looking to experience the best of the outdoors.
$29 - $48 / night
$15 - $37 / night
$35 - $55 / night
Stay at** Starry Night Lodging & RV Ennis** and enjoy a convenient and complete RV park experience during your trip to Montana. We are equipped to accommodate even the biggest RVs and provide all the features and services you need to complete your Montana experience.
Bozeman Campground is located in a peaceful setting, just five minutes from golfing as well as fly-fishing on the Gallatin River. Plan a day trip to Virginia City or Lewis and Clark Caverns. Visit the Museum of the Rockies, which boasts the world's largest T. Rex skull. Take a day trip to Yellowstone National Park from this campground. Just 40 minutes south, you'll find fishing access inside Yellowstone, and 82 miles south is the west entrance to the park. Relax at the campground and let the kids take part in gold panning or let them unwind in the pool and splash park.
Dump Station & showers for registered campground guests only
$45 - $100 / night
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
Guide
This site was lovely. We pulled in around 5pm or so and there was only one spot available next to the restroom. Lucky one other spot was large and we ended up sharing it with some other campers. Picnic tables available at each site and vault toilet on site was well maintained and clean.
It was a quiet and lovely place to rest for the evening.
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.
Legend
Was able to snag a primitive spot for one night. This campground isnt too far off I90 near 3 Forks, MT. No cell service (ATT) at the campground but 5g at the caverns. Hosts were super friendly and nice. I was in A7 which had a nice shade tree. Did not use the facilities so can’t speak to that. They had a guest speaker that night share about the bat population in MT. Very interesting!! Be sure to unhook and get to the caverns early in the morning to get a reservation to tour. We did the Paradise tour as my son is in a wheelchair. The classic tour looked super cool though!
Scout
Maybe one acceptable loop, perhaps mostly for boaters. But there are 3 other loops: nothing is labeled, so good luck in finding your spot. The Manager site is not labeled either, and she was of no help. Dry, hard ground, no trees, nothing that might make a visit enjoyable. No drinking water; arid, depressing; i kept waiting for the undead to come over the horizon.
Pretty Lake, though.
Traveler
Very clean, super nice owners, close to a quaint little historical town, and 15 minutes from another great little town. Good foods and shopping nearby. Very clean showers and laundry area. Definitely recommend!
Traveler
We stayed four days here and it was great! From Wednesday through Friday, we basically had the entire place to ourselves. Even in July, the mornings and evenings were cool and pleasant. The camp has three clean toilets stocked with toilet paper, and a pump water fountain with clean and cold water to enjoy. Overall pleasant but ATV campers showed up Saturday, driving around the camp, but they were polite after quiet hours. 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. 20 spaces. Will accommodate RV off grid, but no generators after 10 pm, which is good. So quiet at night!!
RangerGreat hosts, Full hookups, lots of space & Beautiful views. Rode our bikes to Virginia City -lots of fun!
Guide
Love the spot, not many people, picnic tables/fire pits at each pull through spot. Pit toilet was locked. The mosquitoes were absolutely blood thirsty and aggressive and after multiple reapplications of bug spray we had to call it quits. The fire barely kept them at bay, but we still got a few bites sitting next to the heat.
Traveler
Big rigs have a great space at the bottom of the hill... but if you're in a truck, van, etc., head on up the hill. The road is in great shape. There are some pullouts, but look for a road on the right (veer left at the private drive; you'll see a sign) and you'll find a great site with a fire ring and somewhat level ground. Chances are it'll be COVERED in cow poop, but hey. It's quiet, aside from the mooing of cows, and totally private. There's probably more up the road, too, I just didn't go further. Solitude.
Scout
Pulled in around 10 to find a couple 5th wheels in a circle and a few vans dispersed, only one sketchy motor home but quiet night. We stayed in the camper all night as the mosquitos were the worse I’ve ever seen at all hours.
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.
Guide
I made the mistake of picking one of the 2 spots at the end of the camp loop. Sites 16 and 17 site right on the swamp and are infested with mosquitos. You can see standing stagnate water bog on both sides of site 16 where we stayed.
I tried 3 different bug repellants, burned multiple mosquito coils, started a fire and had the large 20ft Thermacell lantern running for hours. They never cleared out and ended up with so many mosquito bites. We ended up hunkering down inside our van with the bug screens on. We did come on a dry hot July day.
The state park, campgrounds and trails are so beautiful its hard to fault the campground on the mosquitos. We are going to request to move sites away from the swamp area. Walking around the campground, the mosquitos are less at other sites but still around. I think our typical protection might work better over there but was ineffective at site 16.
My partner likes to run and the paved trail is really nice and is far enough off the road for a great morning run. I find it super quiet here and the 5G UC T-Mobile signal is plenty to work and stream content.
GuideThe Paradise tour was really easy and it was spectacular!
Traveler
Great spot right on Ennis Lake. Stayed for one night and part of the next day.
ScoutCarter Lake south shore. NIce pull through sites with electric. Dump station with easy access. Many sites on the lake and more with lake view. Many shaded sites. Boats allowed. Very pleasant experience.
Scout
Few sites, best suited for smaller campers. Beautiful area. OHV and horseback riding.
RangerGreat hosts, clean and well maintained. They do have drop in non reservation sites, but recommend getting reservations as well as cave tour reservations on line In Advance. Walk in for the cave tours without reservations best between 9 and 11 am. Beware, it's a 2mi hike uphill from the campground of you don't want to drive your rv up the caves! Deer visited camp at night! Check weather report, strong winds and we had thunderstorms. Warm showers $3. (Cave tours not included in camp fee, dump is $5 also). Some hiking in area, but .. bears!
Guide
I’m not sure why others gave this campground reviews any stars under five! First, this campground is on BLM and free, and only costs money if coming with a group of many or some type of organizations’ camping outing; and the fee is so very minimal even for this. For regular, independent camping, it’s free being on BLM land, per their notice board. Despite being a free, BLM campground, it’s well-maintained, clean, possesses established, separate tent sites with a parking block for each separate vehicle, an area for RVs, even, and a maintained outhouse central to the tent sites and RV space. It’s also set right next to the river offering great fishing! There’s homes across the river, and a bit of vehicle traffic from those specific homes, for whatever reasons; but this campsite is still very much separated, regularly maintained, and flippin’ free! What’s there to possibly complain about?! I’ve camped free on BLM land many times, and it is pretty rugged and wild. There are no established tent or RV sites, no outhouses for the bathroom to use, nothing. You make of it as you will. I’m not understanding why every camper hasn’t given Glen Campground five stars! Also, future campers, PLEASE remember to pack in and pack out of ANY campground, including this one. Though it is maintained, they do not come daily as it is a free campground on BLM land and does not have garbage bins or water spigots. The campers that stayed before us, in the tent site next to ours, left litter everywhere and aluminum and tin cans in the fire pit. Come on now, people! Beer cans, canned vegetable cans, and the like are NOT biodegradable and do not burn down in a camp fire! Use common sense!! Pack in AND pack out all your items, including your GARBAGE!!
Traveler
Nice, clean, manicured property, has everything i needed
Scout
The area is stunning, but we could not get to the campground. Our campervan felt like it was going to tip over because of the ruts. Will try again in a car someday
GuideEasy over night stay. Free.
Guide
Nice Level Campground,Great Hosts, Right on the River with Water And Bathrooms,can’t Beat this
TravelerMost camp sights have lake access. Fishing is pretty good, I caught a few brown trout. Very open not much seclusion available. Has a vault toilet, picnic tables and fire rings. Bring fire wood. Not much around to scavenge to burn.
Scout
Beautiful facilities and friendly helpful staff. Lots of trees, minimal road noise
ScoutNice place. Quiet and empty. Clean vault toilets. No cell service. A variety of spots to chose from depending on your preferences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular RV campsite near Cardwell, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular RV campground near Cardwell, MT is Cardwell General Store and Campground with a 3.9-star rating from 7 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 72 RV camping locations near Cardwell, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
