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
Scout
Ennis RV is a basic RV campground. It has wifi, laundry, showers, and full hook-ups for RVs. The wifi works very well, at least at our site near the office. We stayed in a tent site as it was the last site available. There’s a short trail in the back that has some nice views of the mountains (better I’m sure without wildfire smoke), cattle, and pasture. There’s also a clubhouse that apparently has a book exchange. No coin machine in the laundry room but there might be a chance to exchange in the office. There’s also a grill at each site- charcoal.
Legend
We pulled off I-15 in little Melrose, MT and imagine our surprise to find this RV park. Beautiful setting, full hookups, well maintained, friendly small small town, near Big Hole National battlefield, great restaurant in town. Would be a perfect place to stop for the night or a few nights on the road.
Scout
This is not a place he would stay long term it’s just merely a pitstop. They do have a little riverfront great that runs by it but otherwise it’s just a parking lot.
Guide
Stayed here while attending a music camp in Bozeman. The owners were super nice. Easy drive into Bozeman and to nearby trails. Shade. Showers and pretty quiet. Quite a few long term stayers. Cheaper than any motel and nice to have your own camper while doing stuff in town.
Guide
Nice location for an overnight rest spot. We had a tent site, close to the road, but traffic wasn’t bad after dark. Site was grassy. No fires allowed for obvious reasons. We were the only tent guests. Most people looked like they were long term RV’rs. IMMACULATE bathrooms and showers with hot water and pressure ! There’s a hot springs nearby, a water slide, golf course and resort hotel/casino. Easy access to I-15. Only drawback I could see was that there was dog poop everywhere. Bags were provided, but apparently people don’t use them :(
Traveler
I used the online registration late in the day, so we were happy to get the last spot. Very easy to find in the dark at 10:30 pm because driveway is well lit with little lights, however the driveway is gravel hill going down and very bumpy. Spots for the RV are full hook up & very close but well divided with bushes and lattice for privacy. The view from the back of the RV was great. The gardens on the property really are beautiful. There were two single shower/bathroom in the bathhouse. We did not go over to the hot springs because it was closed.
GuideReally nice RV Park just on the edge of town. Overlooks a bluff with gorgeous view. Nice level gravel parking pads with a grass rectangle beside each spot. Fabulous restaurant at entrance to park called Continental Divide. Wonderful food. People very accommodating.
Ranger
Great rv park with hotsprings great staff
GuideThis is a great spot in a tiny town south of Butte Montana. They have a couple cabins, several motel rooms and about 10 full hookup, all grass, RV spots. Also a large area for car/tent camping. The grounds are meticulously maintained by the owner and it has nice views of the bluffs and mountains all around it. Walking distance to the restaurant and bar in town if that’s your thing. Quality hookups at each site, and each site has its own trash can. Clean bathrooms and laundry on site. Owners are very present and attentive on site and super friendly. Picnic tables at every site. One shared fire pit out front of the office. It’s in a very small town, with several fishing spots nearby. Very peaceful location. We would stay again.
A few things to be aware of:
Ranger
We camped here only because the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park (where we have often camped on trips out west) was full on fourth of July weekend. The host told us about the Cardwell Campground further west.
So we were cranky after the extra drive and the late hour, hoping to find an open site on the holiday weekend. There is also a market and gift shop there. You have to call the host and he comes to escort you to a site.
I kept asking him what the rate was but he ignored me and spoke to my husband! Only after the credit card went through did I find out we were paying $65 for one night, even with a "veteran's discount." Under other circumstances we wouldn't have stayed there as we do not usually stay in such expensive RV parks. We were to learn that private campgrounds rates have gone up.
The park was well kept and we had electric plus sewer and water.
TravelerNicely laid out RV park. Bathrooms very clean. Nice laundry. Right next to Fairmont Hot Springs.
TravelerNice RV park. Very well managed. Very clean restrooms and showers. Small store, gas pump. Near Fairmont Hit Springs Resort. Very quiet.
GuideA little pricey RV Park, but the free entrance for 2 to the hot springs and free breakfast is well worth the stay
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!!
ScoutThe rudest people to deal with, especially an employee named Dan. Do not stay here and do not expect any kind of customer service from this place. Horrible attitude and horrendous manners.
Will never stay here in the future nor recommend this place to anyone!
Not the only RV Park in the area; the owner should be happy to have business and money coming in!! Rude to the max!!
ScoutWell really enjoyed our time at Ennis. The town is close to the Rv park, we could really easily bike to the grocery store and some local restaurants. The grounds, shower, and bathrooms are very nice and clean. Our first site was small pretty much right next to your neighbor. We moved to the premier sites though, and it was better.
Would stay again.
Will just say, no masks by staff at all 🤷🏼♂️
Traveler
Parking lot style. Reasonable space between sites. Reservations accepted. Full hookup sites & electric sites available. Safe feeling.
LegendThis is a Good Sam Campground.
Ok for an overnight stop 1 hour away from the North entrance of Yellowstone. There was no parking for the laundry/bath house & I forgot my code so I couldn’t get in to check it out.
Right beside I90 & the railroad so noisy all night. I sleep with the fan on & noise machine so didn’t bother me. Not much room on sites either, but again the location was the only reason we picked here. WiFi wasn’t working either with little cell reception. We were greeted by an alien at the picnic table so we had that going for us. 😁
GuideNice dog park across the street, sites are a little tight but its perfect for a couple night stay. Awesome that its only 35 miles to Big Sky and its a gorgeous drive. Our sire only had electric/water but i know there are some with full hookups. Picnic tables and fire rings and sites are gravel.
Scout
Good amenities for a full time RVer, probably a little lean for someone looking for a resort feel. $35 a day for electric, $36 for water, $37 for full hookups.
Laundry and showers available, but I did not use. Manager is on site, and while it’s not a looker, it’s kept nice. Nice view to the west for sunsets, very easy access to I-10. A good stopover if you need a day’s rest with hookups, it was never full while I was there.
Guide
Camp sites are fairly spread out, there’s room for RVs if that’s your style. Boat launch available for easy access and a large enough parking lot to park your trailer. There’s slight phone service in some spots. Lots of rock formations in the area to climb and explore. There’s a few trail heads to get to the peaks and get an amazing view of the lake and surrounding valley.
Guide
Dry camping tent or rv Clean level sites Pit toilets water near by...
Ranger
Great hosts, Full hookups, lots of space & Beautiful views. Rode our bikes to Virginia City -lots of fun!
ScoutEasy access from interstate and Rv friendly fuel stations. Located on a hill with well maintained gravel roads and pull throughs 30/50 Amp and full hookups. Wifi fast but weak, no laundry (yet), no cable and the OTA TV is crappie. Open skies for satellite TV, 2 miles from downtown. We didn't use the bathrooms or showers but they are available. Lots of spaces designated for tent campers.
TravelerWe’ll laid out. Long sites. Plenty of room between sites. Full hookups, WiFi, Verizon cell service. Very friendly, helpful staff. Would stay here again.
Ranger
Good campground for RVs, gets windy and not much shade for tent campers.
Ranger
The road was so bad that I don’t know if I’d come back again. Not great for RVs. Awesome campsite with great access to a creek.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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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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