Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Custer Gallatin National Forest

About 20 minutes south of Bozeman, MT on scenic Hyalite Canyon Road sits Langohr Campground. There are 19 spacious single sites and the 20th site is a group picnic site for day use. Langohr Campground runs along Hyalite Creek and is tucked inside Custer Gallatin National Forest in a small open meadow with Douglas fir, Lodgepole pine, and Englemann Spruce. 

I was fortunate to find a campsite as a walk-in even after arriving mid-afternoon at the beginning of June 2019 because it was too late to reserve online. Each site does have a picnic table and fire ring, and electrical sites are available. Some are drive-in or back into sites, and a few are literally next to Hyalite Creek which is an added bonus. A heavy snowfall occurred a week before and remnants of it were scattered along the campground. Good thing I brought a snow scraper to clear the picnic table of snow. The fee is $20.00 per campsite for two vehicles and $8.00 for any additional vehicles. The group picnic site is $45.00 for day use. I paid cash for the site, but I believe you may also pay by credit card.

Many of the campers were settling in and had parked RVs and pop-ups. Pets are allowed but must be on a leash as wildlife such as bears, deers, moose, and elk frequent the area. Bear lockers should be used for food storage or properly stored in vehicles. There are huge bear safe trash and recycling containers near the entrance for campers to use. The bathroom is clean, free of odor and bugs, and it is a vault toilet. There are no showers, dump station, or camp store, but you are close to Bozeman.  The camp host was settled on site 11 and sells firewood for $6.00. You can take a walk along the Hyalite Creek or drive 3.5 miles south down to Hyalite Reservoir for other activities such as fishing, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, hiking, and boating. The night sky was pretty spectacular especially with the trees around on a clear day.

Booked 6 months in advance and based it on many good reviews. Was promised a new, upgraded campground with a premium site. Found new section is not completed and under construction. Was placed on site 40, which is terribly unlevel, a muddy mess with no crush, no patio and a tree that lays disgusting bushy bug-like buds every day all over everything. The only site like this. We could not enjoy it outside at all. No dog park as advertised. Paid a good deal for a week and was very disappointed. It was far from all the attractions at Yellowstone. It takes 30 min to get to the west gate, and over an hour and half to any points in the park. People seemed nice enough. Did see a moose close by and the laundry room and store were nice. The store was way overpriced tho. West Yellowstone seemed much nicer and closer to NP. Wouldn't stay here again. So disappointed that we booked a week here. The site was horrible and I was told it was a nice site when I questioned it by staff.

West Yellowstone Grizzly campground is located close to the West Yellowstone entrance. It is an Rv Park, lodging, and cabins. It is also in the town of West Yellowstone which is a darling little town with so much to do. The Rv sites are full hook ups and they have picnic benches on a leveled gravel site. There are no fires allowed here and it is pet friendly. . They have WiFi and cable. The sites are pretty close together, which I did not like. There is a grass area on each site which is wonderful for dogs. There are 4 laundry rooms and clean bathrooms and showers. We stayed for 2 days and would stay again.

Resort prices for lackluster campground; you are paying to be at the mouth of Yellowstone, which is invaluable considering everything you want to see within the park is 1-3 hours away.

The park itself is fine - the showers and laundry work. But it’s very small with cramped spaces. We were fortunate to get Site 15 at the end of the first row, so we aren’t facing anyone’s sewer or slide outs, but one site faces the doggy waste bin and another faces the dumpster, so I could see those visitors having grievance.

There is no dog run, just a square of grass. I understand it’s difficult to provide space for pets here as it borders the park, but just be aware that your pet won’t get exercised.

What’s frustrating is we are full-timers staying here for over two weeks, and the managers indicated they won’t accept deliveries from Amazon, UPS, or FedEx. Long story short - FedEx confirmed they will deliver directly to your site. Unfortunately, I already placed a hold on the delivery and these were time sensitive items.

They give you a discount to the IMAX theater and a token for a free ice cream cone, which might satiate your need for more from this park if you’re retired or traveling with kids, but we aren’t.

Overall, I would stay here again because of the location. But like most “resorts” on the cusp of a national park, it leaves more to be desired