Best RV Parks & Resorts near Essex, MT

Fish Creek campground within Glacier National Park is a great place to stay on the west side of the park. It’s within a short walk to beautiful Lake McDonald. There are no electrical or water hookups available, but there is a dump station on the way out. The bathrooms have clean flush toilets and sinks, but no soap provided. Loop A showers have great water pressure and hot water. There are plenty of water spigots throughout the campground. There are several bear proof food storage sites as well. The Fish Creek amphitheater hosts fantastic ranger talks almost every night during the summer. Most if not all of the sites in loop A are pull through, but they can be very tight for a mid size travel trailer. During our stay sit was quiet and peaceful even though every site was full. Excellent National Park campground!

We booked this campgrounds so we could visit Glacier National Park. If that is your intent you need to get Go to the Sun Highway access tickets way in advance. We got luck and were able to visit the Highway by taking the bus trip.

The campground is about 45 minutes from the Going to the Sun Highway. It is a beautiful drive.

The campgrounds is on a meadow. It is very clean and well carried for. The showers are hot, sometimes too hot. 😃 Manager was very informative. It is a quiet campgrounds with a pleasant mix of seniors and families.

My campsite, number 34, has water, 30 Amp, 50 Amp, fire pit, and a picnic table. There is lots of room to park additional vehicles.

The only issue is there is no cellular service unless you use there Verizon booster in the pavilion. The wifi is weak. I have a booster which gives me enough wifi to check my phone and watch movies. I found nothing else to complain about.

I reserved a site at Sundance when I couldn't find any other campgrounds close to Glacier National Park that had availability for our 40 ft Super C. It was reasonable in price compared to others, but...

First the pros:

1. We had a pull through site.
2. Plenty of space for our towed Jeep to park.
3. Beautiful trees and wild huckleberry bushes provided a peaceful setting and some privacy.
4. It is minutes from the West Glacier entrance.

Cons:

1. No sewer at the sites. There is a dump station you can use on the way out.
2. The sites are level, but just barely.
3. Instead of a sturdy dumpster or bear-proof receptacles, there are old fashioned galvanized cans with unattached lids. All of them were completely full the three days we were there.
4. The dog run is unkempt and has no doggie bags or even a garbage can for waste.
5. Although the trees are nice, they are so close to the parking area that we were unable to extend our awning.
6. The laundry room has 2 washers and 2 dryers, but only one of each works.
7. The whole place is terribly unkempt. "Rustic" is being generous. "Junky and trashy" is more accurate.

It is too bad that the owner, who was very nice but obviously trying to run this place all by himself, appears to have given up trying to make a nice place. There are junk cars and RVs surrounding the campground and I don't think a weed whacker has been used for years.

I would have been okay with paying $50 a night for this place, not $90.

This is a small, family owned native American campground. While not perfect, we ended up staying 6 nights. We had no reservations and called around. They were very accommodating. We loved how convenient it was to St. Mary (1 block) and the Many Glaciers road turnoff at Babb (8 miles). Some sites so have mountain views. Although only 2 bathrooms with showers (1 each for men & women) they were very nice with current decorating. There are new power poles in the big rig section for 50 amp. However, there is no breaker on the pole. We used a 30 amp reducer and on the 3rd night, our power relay switch fried. We had to go to Great Falls for repairs (Martin's RV Repair is the bomb). They couldn't be sure, but think it may have been a power surge, not a lose wire. The roads around the campground were dirt and not smooth. Not too bad though. The big rig section was level, gravel sites with grass area and picnic tables. No shade. The other areas for 30 amp and tent/car camping are tree shaded. The wifi could only be reached at the office. No cell at all. They do have 2 washers and 1 dryer. $2 each. This is definitely not a resort. They do try hard to accommodate. Would we go back. Yes, but only if we could get a 30 amp (our rig usage) site.

Awesome scenery and hikes close by. Going to the Sun road is amazing. Hidden Lake Overlook is not to be missed. PRO NOTE: If you like steak, Cattlemen in Babb (the only rest.) makes the best steak and lamb per hubby. Avoid the Salmon, though.

Stayed here as part of a 12 day vacation. Nice small rv park just behind a hotel which muffled the street noise a bit. I'd say 40% ish of the park is long term residents, but they were all friendly and stoped by to talk and talk about our rig. The couple who run it are incredibly nice. We were about 75 yards from the showers/bathroom which was nice. This was the first time for us to stay in an RV site with the roof top tent which we took advantage of with an electric heater and blanket for the nights. It was needed because it was high 30's in the mornings. The Glacier Nation Park gate was about 25 miles away. There were a ton of great restaurants and shops near by. I'd highly recommend stopping by the Army Navy Surplus store next to the rv park! I could see if your towing a fifth wheel or have a long setup this location could be a tight squeeze. Ohhhh yeah there is this town siren that goes off every night at 10p sharp...there is a reason behind this with some history, pretty cool...I'll let you look into that!!

Swan Lake Campground in the Flathead in National in Forest near Ferndale/Bigfork Mt is a beautiful wooded campground with lots of wooded private campground spots. The host is onsite and we had no problem backing in a 40’ motorhome with a tow dolly and vehicle. I did not see any pull through spots. We didn’t have any cell service (Verizon) and cell service is spotty out towards Swan Lake. The lake is right across the street and you can rent paddleboard‘s and probably kayaks. The campground spots are level and paved with a picnic table and a fire pit. There are porta potty type bathrooms, bear food lockers and enclosed trash bins. $20 per night. Bears are active in this area. There’s a fun bar/restaurant about 10 minutes down the road towards Bigfork called the A Bar. I highly recommend it (they even carry my “Josh” Cabernet as the bar wine. You’ll find all kinds of local characters.