Best Dispersed Camping near Corvallis, MT

Recent Dispersed Reviews in Corvallis

25 Reviews of 14 Corvallis Campgrounds

• J

  Jordan G.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 7, 2024

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  Was a great spot

  It was a good spot despite that I was in the middle of a windstorm. The only part that genuinely made me concern and what docked points was the fact that I had multiple people throughout the night, pulling up to the spot and like walking around my truck

• R

  Robert T.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 26, 2024

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  Great spot (1 night stay)

  Loved this spot. Toyota Tundra pulling a 14' trailer. We were able to back into site (flat !) and do a 180° turn ok to exit. We stayed one night 9/23/24 and had the place to ourselves. Nice rock fire pits.

• 

  Ben H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 7, 2024

  Blue Mountain Forest Rd 365 - Dispersed

  Dusty dirt road

  This area allows disperse camping Beyond a certain point (there is a small sign). There is a map provided at the road trailhead. However it is confusing since I believe the map is upside down. On my drive up I did not see any established distributed campsites. However there are some turn offs that you could park at. This area would probably not be ideal for RVs. Four wheel drive does not seem to be a requirement. I ended up camping at a turnoff and walked a bit off the road to set up my hammock. The road was not very busy I did hear an occasional car pass by. Good views and decently private. I was able to get Verizon signal at my campsite. However driving up signal was spotty

• W

  Wessel D.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 13, 2024

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  Perfect for one night stop

  Great quiet spot next to the road. Not much traffic, we slept great in our car and felt very safe.

• S

  Sarah S.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 6, 2024

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  Amazing quiet and private spot!

  What a great spot! 3 sites in a beautiful spot, about 5 minutes off the highway. We pulled in about 7pm and we were the only ones there. Someone else pulled in around 9 but the sites were separated by enough trees we could barely tell they were there. Felt very private, and the stars were fantastic! Creek bed runs right next to the back site, but it was completely dried up in late July.

• 

  Lauren M.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 25, 2024

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  Small but good stop

  Right off the road and easy to get to. I only saw 2 spots and the other was occupied. Both had fire rings but we were in a fire restriction. I got the site closest to the road and it was not so bad, I was camping in my car anyway. The spot seemed pretty level. The trees were gorgeous. Not bad for a free spot.

• 

  Liz P.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 10, 2024

  Rock Creek Dispersed Spot - Lolo

  Not a camping spot.

  This spot is not a camping spot.  Day use only.

• 

  Katrina H.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 18, 2024

  Squaw Creek Road

  Beautiful Spot And Very Remote

  We camped along a lovely creek, we were hyper aware of the fact that we were in bear country but we didn't seeing any traces of them. We didn't have any phone service and were very far away from any civilization, which made us uneasy, but if that's your thing, then this is the perfect place for you! No one traveled the gravel road while we were there.

• s

  sophia M.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 6, 2024

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  beautiful spot by the creek

  super easy to get to! just exit off I90 onto Petty Creek Road and go straight for a mile or two. not totally isolated, the site is not too far from the road but not the interstate, so there is a bit of noise but not frequently. service is spotty, verizon and at&t had only 1 bar. found some random bones, saw some deer, and lots of bugs. small area with a few places to park, thankfully nobody was there when we were but could be fun for a group!

• 

  Andy C.

  Scout

  

  Feb. 25, 2024

  Lower Blackfoot River Dispersed - BLM - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

  Closed - but new options available

  The dispersed campground near the start of Johnsrud Rd (Mile Marker 28 on Hwy 200) has been removed. However, 2 new campgrounds have been added, and the entire road is now paved making RV accessibility much easier. 

  The three campgrounds are as follows: 

  Thibodeau Campground- 5 mi in

  Corrick River Bend - 11 mi in

  Ninemile Prarie- 13 mi. in

• 

  Danielle B.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 17, 2023

  Blue Mountain Forest Rd 365 - Dispersed

  No actual camp spots

  The recreation area is nice but there’s not actually anywhere to camp unless you want to camp on the road.

• A

  Ahron B.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 9, 2023

  Rock Creek Dispersed Spot - Lolo

  dispersed camping

  first dispersed camping spot for Lolo from the entry road for this Forest Service land entry. Just cross the bridge, and be careful of high water (signs stating it's impassable 100 yards past the photo of the bridge when high water.) The grey area is public land the white square at the end of the road is private property by the map legend. 

  maps attached are screenshots from the National Forest Service online map as of Sept. 8th, 2023.

  The dots show where dispersed camping is allowed for this spot.

• 

  Kelsey W.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 7, 2023

  Lost Horse Dispersed Campground

  Pretty spot, but full of trash

  A ton of dispersed sites right near the creek, but poorly taken care of by campers. We encountered more trash here than we’ve ever seen camping before. I mean, full trash bags left behind that were of course then scavenged by wildlife and spread all over. We also found human poop and used toilet paper in multiple spots, even though there IS a toilet provided here! We found tampons too…it was seriously disgusting…and obviously a popular spot for burning pallets because we found handfuls of nails scattered around, so be mindful of your tires!! This area just seems to attract a different kind of camping crowd, one that doesn’t respect the land or keeping it clean and better than you found it. It was pretty unfortunate because it really is a pretty and overall peaceful area.

• 

  Opus 15 !.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 23, 2023

  Lost Horse Dispersed Campground

  Very busy road

  From the highway 93 turn it is 4.6 miles to where we camped. The last 2.3 miles of the drive was on a fairly rough, but very manageable, forest road. (Mostly washboard and a few holes) It was 11.8 miles from our camp to Darby, and about 13 miles to the Yellowstone Ranch.

  We grabbed a nice big spot right next to Lost Horse Creek late Friday afternoon. Another RV came into the area later in the evening and crowded us a little bit but we still had plenty of room to spread out. The road in is BUSY. We have camped at a number of dispersed locations over the years and this was BY FAR the busiest forest road we have seen. On Friday night we counted 50 cars passing by before we stopped counting. We drove west down the road a ways Saturday and saw a handful of other sites, but not enough to justify the traffic. We found out that “Twin Lakes” is about 20 miles down the rough forest road from our campsite. We didn’t venture that far as we could only go about 8-10 MPH max in our truck on the washboard road. Maybe we should have tried because it seemed to be quite the attraction given the traffic. This place will do in a pinch but if you are looking for a quiet dispersed camping area kept driving. This is not for you!

• 

  Steve O.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 16, 2023

  Lost Horse Dispersed Campground

  My go too dispersed area in the bitterroot .

  This is my favorite area for dispersed camping in the area. Lost Horse creek is beautiful. Can get a little tight with campers in peak season.

• 

  James R.

  Traveler

  

  May. 24, 2023

  Lost Horse Dispersed Campground

  Great spot

  Wonderful location near the river. Not too many people

• K

  Kelly

  Guide

  

  Dec. 31, 2022

  Rock Creek Dispersed Spot - Lolo

  Standard

  It’s a spot to pull up and sleep for the night

• C

  Celine K.

  Ranger

  

  Nov. 8, 2021

  Blue Mountain Forest Rd 365 - Dispersed

  Local fav

  Blue Mountain is a great place to recreate! Very dog friendly and tons of trails for hiking and mountain biking. Camping is allowed west of road 365. The area can get busy during the day but is quiet at night.

• 

  Lizzy K.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 29, 2021

  Petty Creek Road Dispersed Camping

  Cute spot off the creek road!

  Beautiful spot a little ways south down petty creek road, stayed here one night after rock climbing at Alberton. Fire rings and accessible by cat

• 

  Leonidas R.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 9, 2021

  Blue Mountain Forest Rd 365 - Dispersed

  An escape from the city

  Not the best in terms of views, but worth the drive to get out of the city. You will have the occasional driver coming up and dust you a bit, but if you can get past that, it's a nice area to set up camp. You've got to go in at least 5 miles to camp.

• 

  K B.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 15, 2021

  Bass Lake Dispersed Camping

  Easier mountain lake hike

  Around 7 miles one way to the lake, only gain 3000ft over the course of the hike with around 1000ft of elevation gain in last mile. Scenic mountain meadows lots of vegetations, creek nearby for a good portion of the hike.

• 

  K B.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 15, 2021

  Peterson Lake Dispersed

  Nice mountain lakes

  About 5 miles one way to Peterson lake, anither 1 and 2 miles to Duffy and Holloway lakes above Peterson. Nice secluded valley heading into Bitteroot-Selway wilderness. You gain around 1700ft in elevation before dropping down around 800ft into the first lake.

• K

  Kerrie

  Guide

  

  Jul. 9, 2021

  Lower Blackfoot River Dispersed - BLM - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

  Pretty

  The river was running pretty fast when we were there. Couldn’t play in the water but it was still beautiful. Saw an eagle. Quiet.

• 

  Quinn Z.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 29, 2020

  Upper Seymour Lake Dispersed Camping

  Lake-side hike-in dispersed camping with amazing hiking nearby.

  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.

• 

  Quinn Z.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 29, 2020

  Flower Lake Dispersed Camping

  Very secluded hike-in only BEAUTIFUL dispersed camping.

  Oh man, what an epic camping spot. Getting here is a doozy, but it is so worth it.

  In early September, myself, my brother, and our two cousins decided it was time for a long-overdue reunion, and getting lost in the back-country was going to be the stage for it. We struck out from Bozeman, drove as far as we could go (past Lower Seymour Lake) and then once we hit the end of the road, strapped on our (very heavy - remind me not to bring so much food next time) packs and trekked in.

  The trek is pretty damn tough if you aim to do it in one go, like we did. It's about 7 miles to Upper Seymour Lake (also very beautiful, and with dispersed camping), which isn't too strenuous, but then you have to cut over a pass to get to Flower Lake. That is pretty much straight up and straight down, switchbacks the entire way. I was struggling. The views from the top are amazing though. Also, don't mistake Page Lake for Flower Lake - once you descend the other side of the pass, you'll hit Page Lake before you hit Flower Lake. Page Lake is also beautiful and has dispersed sites, but keep going. I think you'll find it is worth it.

  Once we got to Flower Lake, it was serene. From the time we left Upper Seymour Lake to the time we got back, we didn't see or hear another soul. Five days of just us. The area around the lake is pretty dramatic - it sits in a little valley basically surrounded by steep mountains. Around the lake there are a few areas with rough dispersed sites. Fire pits, a few logs to make "benches", that's about it. Plenty of space to throw tents down, and TONS of firewood from the dead trees in the area. You can camp out in the open if that's your jam, or in trees. We chose the trees for better cover and because that's where we found the best dispersed site. Flower Lake itself is beautiful but absolutely frigid, so we didn't go in. There is a little stream that feeds it where we gathered our water to filter, and I finally decided to take a half-bath. Good god it was freezing, but it felt good once it was over.

  Definitely check the weather before going in. We got slammed with a blizzard that lasted all of the second day and night. We were expecting snow that day, but this was more than we were imagining. It was COLD. Intense wind. Lots and lots of snow. We didn't leave the campfire the entire time except to dig out our tents when the snow got too high around them. Given we were running three-season tents, that night was bitter cold (the water bottle in my tent next to me was frozen the next morning) but we all tossed and turned and made it through it. Not gonna lie, the blizzard was a bit unnerving when we were in it, but it made the next four days of sun so much more appreciated. If you're in the sun, it's actually pretty warm, and a lot of the snow was gone a few days after it fell.

  Lots of great hiking here, as the CDT (Continental Divide Trail) goes through this area. I recommend the hike to the top of Rainbow Mountain for some truly stunning views. Not too hard either, once you've cleared the initial pass to get in, and you're not carrying your full pack. 

  BRING BEAR SPRAY. HANG YOUR FOOD. This is grizzly country and we saw a LOT of signs of them. Fresh droppings. Fresh prints in the snow after the blizzard. We never ran into one directly, but they were definitely around. Be in the habit of making noise so as not to surprise them. I can't possibly imagine how many times I yelled "Hey bear!" over the course of the trip. We noticed that one side of the lake had far more signs of bears than where we were. We avoided it, and I wouldn't recommend camping there. See my photos to get an idea of where.

  The hike out was not a cakewalk either, but with lighter packs and having the hard ascent and descent happen at the beginning rather than the end, it wasn't half as bad as going in.

  This is a great spot for back-country aficionados. It was my first real pack-in back-country camping trip (other than when I did Outward Bound when I was a teenager), and one I won't ever forget. 100% recommended, but be prepared. If you got hurt out here, or caught in bad weather, or god forbid had a nasty run in with a bear, getting out could be difficult. Definitely let someone know where you're going, and when you expect to be back. That said, don't talk yourself out of it if you want to give it a go. This place is special. Really special.