Best Tent Camping near Choteau, MT

We decided to not stay here, because we are tent camping this trip. If you have an RV or Trailer, this would be a good stop if you are in Great Falls.

Overall, not a bad place to stop for the night. My friend and I were driving to Glacier and needed a place. We typically tent camp, but neither of us felt comfortable setting up our tent here so we opted to sleep in the car. $10 in the box and you just park your vehicle. Not sure about bathrooms as we just went to the gas station down the road.

You have to drive through part of Great Falls, Montana to get to this campground, but once you are in it, you forget all about the city. You get the full camping (in a campground) experience, but you can easily drive into the city to pick up whatever you forgot to pack.

Our site was in what they call a tent village, which is a nice roundabout of tent sites. There are walls separating the sites for privacy, but the area is big enough for your vehicle and a large tent, or multiple smaller tents. Toward the middle of the roundabout is a covered area, including a table, counter, electrical outlets, and a large cabinet that can be locked with a padlock. The tent villages are very close to a nice restroom/showers that require a key code to get in.

In an area of mostly open fields, this KOA is filled with nice trees. It is a very large campground with RV sites, cabins, and tent sites. This is a very kid friendly campground, almost too much. Twice within an hour a train full of kids rolled by my site shouting. There is a large playground, volleyball court, basketball, and pools. The wifi was pretty good. The bathrooms could use some updating. They are nice single occupancy toilet/shower combos but some had damage on the tile, missing soap dispenser, non functional paper towel dispensers. Close to town but no city noise.

We were driving from Glacier to Yellowstone and didn't have a campsite.  Found this city park right off the highway going through Choteau that allowed camping in the park for just $10.  Seemed kind of sketchy when we pulled in in the dark at 10pm, but it served its purpose.  Looked like there was only one other camper when we were there.  Just needed to leave $10 in the pay box or pay online via QR code.

Bean Lake is a Montana FWP fishing access site. The 200 acre lake lying along the edge of the Rocky Mountain Front near the Scapegoat Wilderness. Their are two access points to the lake with in the FAS, each has an outhouse. Their is a boat ramp to the lake. The primary fish species in the lake are rainbow trout, which are planted each year by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department.

If you plan to fish Bean Lake, the odds are high you’ll have the lake to yourself. Few people ever bother to visit this remote lake.

Montana FWP list the site as having 8 sites, but it just looks like a dispersed camping area. Found only one picnic table and the only fire rings were made from rocks. Camping appears to be free as their are no signs or fee stations. You have to look carefully to find the camping areas due to their being no signs. Once you spot the lake look for the outhouses. You are out in the open at this FAS not a tree to be seen. No water (except for what is in the lake) and no trash bins.

This was the best KOA I’ve ever been to. I’m not a dedicated KOA camper but I’ve been to my fair share and this one takes the cake. The grounds were shaded and kept tidy, the shower+toilet bathroom combo was really nice and super clean. The amenities and camp store were great too. We stayed in the glamping tent for one night, which was a super cool spot with a great view. Unfortunately it rained all night. We were nice and dry but the road up from the glamping tent got muddy and slick. Thankfully we have 4-wheel drive. A 2-wheel drive car may have gotten stuck. Overall it was great and I wish we could have stayed longer!

KOA has everything you need. An outdoor swimming pool and hot tub, tent, cabin and rv spots.Outside kitchens. Shower area, small store, playground, and wifi. A lot of room to move around and have fun. You can even winter camp. We really enjoyed camping there and our day trips with the cub scouts.

This camp has a lot of both comfort and entertainment. There’s a petting zoo and a mini water park. The bathrooms are an individual room with both toilet and shower stall. There is a laundry facility. Found greater comfort and service here than if I had parked my Roof Top Tent at an RV site and it was $20-$30 cheaper per night.

The prior review is spot on. There is really no good place for a tent. You could park a camper along the parking area near the campsite. As stated prior, it is next to the outhouse, but which was clean and odor-free. You can use waders to fish by the boat landing. The site/boat landing was busy during the day but abandoned except for me in the evening. So, I liked the privacy. According to the interpretive sign, Lewis and Clark had breakfast here in 1805. Kinda cool! And I had breakfast here in 2024: but, I drove. Road noise quiets down when it gets dark but starts up by daybreak.

General: Just about every option you could ask for (except for tents): 50-amp FHU pull-thru, 30/20-amp with w/e(back-in and pull-thru), FHU with patio, glamping tent, one and two-room cabins and cottages. 

Site Quality: Different from many KOAs we have stayed in is that the camper pads are gravel, not paved, and there are quite a few trees that provide decent separation/privacy between the sites. The sites are bordered by railroad ties, and some are a tighter fit than others. A few of the sites at the end of the row before the glamping site appeared a little overgrown. As is usual for a KOA, our site was assigned upon check-in. The first site we were assigned didn’t work out for us since our electric cord could not reach the pedestal. Be aware that electric connections are shared between two sites so if you do not have an extension cord, you may have a problem (or need to be reassigned which was easily done for us). 

Bath/Shower House: Accessed by code. All-in-one units with soap and paper towels. They were clean. 

Activities/Amenities: Many and varied including a water playground (guests can join you here by paying a fee), petting zoo, train, dog park, yard games, bike rentals, propane fill, dump station, laundry, ice, ice cream, and free pancakes. There was even live entertainment! 

We don’t typically stay in KOAs or RV parks (mainly because of cost and lack of privacy between sites) but they are good for us when we need showers, laundry, and a dump station. Although still more than we like to spend for camping, this one was a pleasant surprise with the number of trees on the property. The staff was exceedingly friendly!

We camped here overnight on our drive back to Utah. it was beautiful to fall asleep under a bright full moon In May. The access road to the reservoir is a 7 mile dirt road that weaves through ranch and cattle land. We camped in campsite two right at the beginning of the reservoir. The campsite fee is 18.00 per night if you don’t have a Montana fishing license. 18 seems like a lot, but I am all for supporting public lands. You pay on your honor up at the boat launch. Our campsite had a fire ring and a picnic table. There are pit toilets by the boat launch. The sky is wide open. On a clear night it looks like it would be a great place for stargazing.

This campground is okay however it needs some maintenance. It’s seems like several of the sites need to be cleaned up and re-leveled. They were working on the volleyball site when we visited so maybe they are in the middle of renovations? The cabins in the back had some nice views and for the most part the sites were shaded. I was glad my site was near the office/shower house/laundry due to the fact the WiFi worked only in that immediate area. Big park, nature trail out the back that was interesting and some animals like in the old style KOA’s. I really liked the tent area and shelters on the far side, they looked brand new and the camp kitchen was nice. Good base camp for the area.

There are two loops on either side of a small creek, a dry side and a shaded grassy side. There is also a terrific dog park just down the road within walking distance. Great for an overnight and a great price.