Best Equestrian Camping near Elliston, MT

If you are looking for a quiet campground away from electronic distractions then this campground is for you. Kading Campground is located along the upper Little Blackfoot river at the end of Little Blackfoot road. Being at the end of the road and located along the river you will have a nice quiet night as the only vehicle traffic with be those vehicles travel to the campground of near by trail head. Kading Campground has 11 sites, each site has a picnic table and metal fire rings. The campground has two vault toilets. Water is available at Kading Cabin located across the road from the campground entrance. A small public corral is located across the road from the campground, and there are two horse watering troughs in the campground. A trail head at the end of the road can be reached from a short trail at the end of the campground. The trail follows the Little Blackfoot river. A five mile hike leads to Blackfoot meadows a popular fly fishing location. The campground has been recently cleared of its beetle killed trees making the campground much more open than it used to been, but this is still a nice quiet campground to visit.

Indian Meadows Trailhead is the trailhead for two trails in to the Helena National Forest  Scapegoat Wilderness Area, plus it features a camping area with picnic tables and metal fire rings along with a vault toilet.  The camping loop has five developed sites with tables and fire rings.  The area serves as the trail head for two trails,  Mainline Trail #481 and Landers Fork Trail #438.  Each trail head has a small parking area, but a very large parking are is between the two to allow for additional parking and for horse trailer parking.  No water or trash service is available at the site, but can be obtained at the Copper Creek campground a few miles away.  Cost is FREE!

Lost Creek State Park is located just outside of Anaconda, and is a perfect location for a quick day-hike or a multi-day trip. It is located in a canyon that is very secluded and has great views. You have to start by going to the waterfall, which is a very easy 100 yard, paved hike. If you’re staying overnight, campgrounds are located right next to the trailheads and offer tables, campfire rings, and well-water. The prices for both day use and overnight use differ for state residents and out of state residents. If you’re staying multiple days, take advantage of the miles of trails that will bring you to different creeks and mountain lakes!

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Cromwell Dixon Campground is a nice Forest Service Campground located on the Continental Divide's McDonald Pass. The campground has 15 campsites serviced by two vault toilets and water spigots. This is a Trash-in Trash-out campground. The campground has a mixture of drive and and pull through sites. All sites are first come first served. This campground use to be nicer until pine beetles killed most of the trees. All the dead trees have been removed making this campground more open, with little cover from the winds. Cromwell Dixon is very busy during the summer months. The campground is available in the shoulder seasons if snow drifts are not blocking your access to the campground. Nearby the campground are trail heads for the Continental Divide trail heading south along the trail. The hike along the CDT trail is a nice hike through rolling terrain.

I would think you either need to decide this campground is a destination or, like us, pick it as a midway point between Yellowstone and Glacier. 21 sites, no reservations but was told the campground rarely fills. I really did not feel the love when we arrived here. We didn’t know the layout and after Sites 1-6, the (gravel) road seemed to go on for quite some distance without seeing any additional sites. We settled into Site 4, which was very close to Site 5. This would be good if you were with friends, but we hedged our bets that after 5 pm on a Sunday, no one would take that spot and we were right. These sites have no shade, however, and it was very hot until the sun dipped below the rock walls surrounding the campground. Only pit toilets but they were exceptionally clean. Early the next morning, I set out for the mile walk to see the rest of the park. Site 7 is about a quarter-mile from Site 6 and has a seemingly private pit toilet as Sites 8-21 are another half mile up the road from Site 7. Sites 8-21 have a few pit toilets (also clean) and drinking water (Sites 1-7 do not). They are also more shaded. There is a nice waterfall accessible via a short, paved path from the end of the park as well as an additional trailhead (this I did not explore). Two small day-use areas; one between sites 6 and 7 and one at the end of the loop. The host was very friendly. There is a pack-in/pack-out policy. By the time we left, I was loving this place much more and might have given it five stars except for the steep price: $28 for non-residents for basically dry camping– compared to what we got in Idaho, this price is very high!

Campground is alongside Lost Creek which offers a pretty nice waterfall accessible by a short paved path. The sites are large and private and somewhat level but many will require leveling. Many of the sites are short, officially 23ft max, but there were several there would easily accommodate our 28 foot rig. toilets. Definitely quiet! No other amenities other than trails. It got very cold (27°) and flurried while we were there! Super surprised that we had some tmobile service! The first 7 sites are asking the entrance road and are exposed. Hold out for the loop at the end of the road for nicer sites.