Best Campgrounds near Essex, MT

This spot isn't idea for any large rig. Maybe a single vehicle. Definitely not suggested for tents. Stopped to take a break from road to the sun. About all its good for.

Secluded location. I believe it's a ranch that lets people stay for a night or two. There were horse wranglers out and we asked if we could park and they were fine. Definitely nice mountain views with wild horses. This spot is outside of the glacier park.

One heck of a location with mountain views. Ideas for smaller rigs and tents . Nice view of heavens peak.

Very large campground with A-C sections. Was very booked and spots are fairly close but rates were decent. Access to both the creek and McDonald lake.

Beginning off season, pull through site with water and electric. Uncrowded, convenient, but close to highway so a bit noisy. Bathrooms could use some heat and attention.

I really enjoyed this boondocking site. They have great tent options right beside the river but not too close for flooding. Also they have a hard structured bathroom which was nice. Would stay here again. Also the road was bumpy but I managed it with my Honda Accord.

Road to this location was closed. A closed gate that looks private prevented access.

You can only park on the one side of the river and it’s very crowded. Additionally the road going down to the camping area has huge pot holes and and water so you need high clearance to get down there.

Only about 15 minutes away from Glacier National Park Westgate. I was able to stay here for multiple days. Each time was no trouble in finding a place to park. This area is popular for rafting and fishing. The surrounding area is also beautiful. There are outdoor restrooms located nearby. The camping limit for this area is 3 days. I was able to have good Verizon signal. Overall a great spot to camp.

Could’ve been a really cool camping spot but after setting up camp a couple came yelling right by my van. They were part of the homeless camp and I just didn’t feel super comfortable because they were saying really aggressive things.

The road into Many Glacier campground is a challenge but well worth the agonizing ride in. There is nice spacing between the sites. There are no hookups and there are generator hours that people have no trouble complying with. The hosts are very nice and are willing to help in any way possible. They do a mandatory bear awaretalk for new arrivals. The campsites are predominantly shaded so solar really doesn't work well there. The restrooms are clean and there are utility sinks for emptying gray water waste if you are a tenter. The water and dump station are just out side the entrance between. There is a ranger station just past the dump station. Located on the north side of the campground is a store, lodge, restaurant, laundry, and shower. The laundry is coin operated.

At first it looked crowded but we managed two vans side by side right in the river. Everyone was respectful of each other. Fire rings available. We heard that it can be very loud and crowded on the weekends with groups/parties

Small 5 site campground. Primitive. A couple large potholes in campground road. Only sites 4 and 5 can accommodate larger campers as the road is fairly narrow to allow turning into sites.

Needed just a fast stop for the night, in a TT, after getting repairs.

Lots of noise, loud music, loud motors, cars in and out that obviously didn’t stay there off of the back of camp, and just loud racket until late at night.

Just a basic setup, but good shade. Connections were appropriate, pull in sites accommodated a standard pickup and 29 ft TT.

We stayed at B87 and A44 with our 19 foot camper van. Both sites were semi private, close the the restrooms. Bathrooms were ok sites were not shaded but you just can’t beat the location! Would definitely stay here again if we can’t get into MG.

Reserved this deamy site right on the water. Tent 1 is closest to parking but has the most traffic going by to the other sites.

Pit toilet nearby and a quick drive to flushable toilets. Showers available with tokens from the camphost ($3 for 6 minutes) but camphost weren't around when I was looking so no personal experience here.

Got a walk in site when I showed up in the afternoon. All that was left was an RV site and they let me tent there. Even though I wasn't on the water, still got a water view! Pit toilet bathroom was close by, and sometimes the smell wafted over when the wind changed.

SUP, kayak rentals on water, reasonably priced. The beach was rocky and perfect!

In the morning, I spotted a black bear on a hill. Follow bear protocol well.

Got here on a Monday at about 1pm.

There were about 3-4 sites available, 2 of which could fit a camper. We grabbed one. It could fit a 20-25' camper with vehicle at most.

The place emptied out pretty well mid week (peak season).

Pros:

Many sites Some flat/level sites Some very big sites (2-3 could probably fit a larger 30'+ rig) Very quiet 15 min to west glacier entrance gate Clean Full 5 bar Tmobile

Cons:

Not much for turn around space, especially for a larger rig. If sites at end of road are packed you may be up a creek. Weekends it's packed. Still quiet, just nit much availability. No water. The spigot that used to be available outside the park gates are no longer available. Closest water is inside the park at the picnic areas.

We stayed 6 nights and it was great. Very quiet, and an easy 25 minute drive to Columbia falls for grocery. 15-20 to hungry horse for gas.

This was a nice site for the night. I came around 6pm and all 4 sites were full so we just car camped in one of the parking spots. The four spots look really nice, but they most likely fill up quick, as we came on a Monday night. It’s a very beautiful place to camp and the bathroom is a perk! I definitely recommend if wanting a free place to camp outside of the West Glacier entrance!

Too many rangers wandering around with not enough to do. They leave nasty notes at campsites and sit around all day visiting with each other at the station.

DO NOT CAMP HERE. Got a citation even though there are roads leading here with no signs while others have signs stating camping is prohibited.