If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Forsyth, look no further. You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Forsyth, Montana's most popular destinations.
Please call the local BLM Office for current recreation site conditions and restrictions. Howrey Island Trail is damaged from river flooding. Travel at your own risk Howrey Island Recreation Area consists of approximately 592 BLM-administered acres and is in the floodplain of the Yellowstone River. This is a 'Pack In, Pack Out' area and all garbage must be removed. Some road sections may be closed due to high river flows or to protect habitat. The entire area is open to walk-in visitation, regardless of conditions. Overnight camping is permitted. No fireworks are allowed. Be mindful of seasonal and area fire restrictions.
Ranger
We were on our way to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and needed an overnight.
This is BLM land for dispersed camping.
There is a pretty steep hill down. No problems with pickup camper.
Sites access best suited for vans, pickup campers or small class C. Smal trailer might be able to make it.
This is a beautiful area and was very quiet. There is a highway nearby but almost no traffic.
ScoutWe stayed October 7&8 2023 and it's a good place to boondock. No services. A couple of fire pits. The pit toilet is far from the camping, so don't rely on it. This area was flooded a few years ago so rocks are everywhere. A nice 1 1/2 mile trail runs around the island. People take boats in and out at differing hours so there is some traffic, but is fairly quiet except for the train whistles which I enjoy but some may not. Tried to get coffee in town at the gas station, but the town's water supply is not working and no one knows when it will be repaired. Not sure if this is due to the flood a couple of years ago? We plan to return soon.
Traveler
No off ramp access
RangerWe spent two nights here. Paid $50 per night. They only accept cash or checks, no credit cards. Place was clean and well kept but like a typical RV park spaces were pretty much right next to each other. They did have full hook ups with a pool, showers and a laundromat for two dollars, each and two dollars each load. A little out of town but road noise was a little excessive. Very nice camp host though.
Scout
Beautiful campground. Nice sites, forested area, cool access to Yellowstone River. Clean pit toilets, reasonable rates. But oh boy, the trains came all night, announcing their arrival. So bring some earplugs and you’ll have a better night’s sleep.
Guide
Decent pit stop if you’re traveling through. Sites are nothing fancy, a bit over priced. Restaurant is not open Sunday or Monday.
GuideIt is a quarter mile drive down a well managed dirt road to arrive to the site. There are ~10 camp sites. The campground does not have river access, but there are a couple sites at the fishing access point. The grass was cut and the vault toilet was in good condition.
ScoutUpto 16 days camping and it is free.
Traveler
My two hunting dogs ran amok for hours. There was nobody in the park but us. A few people drove through. The park is kept immaculate. There are several paths mowed down for great walks through the prairie. This is a dry campsite. If my dogs are happy, I'm happy. I can deal with rustic accommodations if I can exercise my dogs freely without leash laws! The pond and surrounding scenery are gorgeous. I actually enjoyed hearing the train and nearby farm equipment. It was a whole vibe. I did need to purchase my conservation license for Montana. I didn't know it was "a thing." $10....worth it!!! There was an abandoned campsite that the critters got into the garbage. From the looks of it, this person was here with a dog within the last week. There's a generator and deflated tent, fishing pole, and cooler with rotten food in it. I'd love to know the story there. Lots of wood ticks, btw. 🤮
ScoutIts a free BLM campground With a camp host on location. Nice scenic location by the river side with boat access.
LegendThis interesting little campground (CG) was right off I-94. You pull up to the self-check-in kiosk(for better words) adjacent to the restaurant to get your envelope to pay for the site. There is a drop box to deposit your envelope after completed. We had called a month earlier about RV reservations, but they only had a couple of campers come in the two days we were there; maybe in the summer months, you would need reservations. They had one long-termer. A few truckers overnighted on the far side of the property in a large parking lot. The restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so we called the number on the board, which is the owners, to let them know we were here and would like reservations at the restaurant on Tuesday since we were staying here for two nights, but as this was off-season and not the weekend, we didn’t need them. There are 20 sites here; if you would share utilities and drive in opposite directions, otherwise there are 10 sites. The sewer connection on site 8 was more flat to the ground, so we backed into that FHU site. In the first 4 sites, the sewer connection is about 4 to 6 inches above the ground. There’s a large grass area so that you could pull in like a pull-through, but your utilities would be on the opposite side unless you chose site 1. The utilities are pretty much in the center of these hard-packed grass sites with some gravel mixed in. All the sites are in a straight line parallel to I-94 with a large field/parking lot for the restaurant in front, which made backing a breeze. Water pressure was good at about 50 psi, and there was no problem with the electric or sewer as they looked new. We got 4 bars on Verizon, and there’s a clear shot of the sky in any direction, as there are no trees or obstacles. There are no picnic tables, firepits, or WiFi. The majority of CG reviews on this place stated that the highlight of this place was the Fort at 49 Restaurant, which is open Tue- Sat. They used to be open for lunch Wed-Sat, but are not anymore, just dinner from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. The restaurant utilizes a chalk menu with about 8 items, with 4 of the items being weekly special rotations. The wife and husband(Becky and Dave, who were delightful hosts), owners of the restaurant and CG, are both professional chefs and actually met in culinary school in Texas. Dave does most of the cooking, and Becky attends the bar and tables. The restaurant has a full-service bar with a decent wine selection, which features a local winery, Yellowstone, that uses grapes from Oregon. We tried two different Yellowstone red blends, and they were both very good and well-priced for a restaurant. The food was really, really good and worth the stay. Other than that, there is nothing special about this RV park, nor is the town of Custer. We’d overnight here again but would make sure to stay on a night the restaurant was open.
Legend
This review is from the perspective of an overnight or short-term stay versus a destination location. We ensured we obeyed the campground’s(CG) instructional email stating to take Exit 135 and no others as there’s a low bridge through town from the other exits. We then followed the instructions to this quaint little KOA CG. The people running the CG were super friendly, and check-in was quick and easy. We were led to pull through site 82 with FHUs. The utilities were placed in the middle of the site to include two sewer connections, which was nice as our new Brinkley Toy Hauler has two sewer connections. The sites have newer picnic tables and fire pits. The WiFi speed here was okay, and we got enough of a northern shot through the mature trees to have usable Starlink. We got 4 bars on Verizon. The water pressure was also good. They have a spacious laundry with a nice book swap library. The office has a small gift shop with grocery items, including selling local steaks, as this is where the USDA’s Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory is located. They have a medium-sized fenced-in dog run, but there is plenty of room to walk your dog, especially out of the west side of the CG near the Yellowstone River. We enjoyed our overnight stay here.
TravelerStayed at KOA in Miles City MT on way back from Yellowstone National Park August 2023. This place is clean, wife thought they had the cleanest and best showers of all the places we stayed for two weeks. I agree. Easy pull through and you are led to your spot. The people help you line up with hook ups. Quite at night, great pool.
GuideWas easy to get to, pulled in our 32ft trailer very easily. Lots of open spaces and fire pits at every site. We had a water spout right by our site which was very convenient! Other then 104 degrees and a horrible amount of gnats, flies and mosquitoes it was a nice stop. It’s was quite and site are spaced out.
Traveler
We are heading home from the PNW and found this stop on the Dyrt app! The host was super helpful and friendly! Bathrooms were clean and spots are wide! Our T-Mobile Wi-Fi was pulling 200 Mb/s! So that was a plus
TravelerEasily accessible. Tent camping was great, and no one was around us. Restrooms are great. Very clean overall and nice easy to check in if you come late.
Guide
Cheap by comparison, 30$, with electric, showers and bathrooms
GuidePlenty off pull off areas. There are 3 campgrounds in the park, two lake, rushing stream. Great kayaking and fishing. Bear spray recommended. Grizzly look for easy meals at night.
GuideEverything you would hope for in a campground, except for hookups, of course. Quiet, peaceful and clean.
RangerThis is a very nice KOA, well maintained and clean with a cute store, playground, dog area, pool and pavilion area. Walking distance to downtown and to the Yellowstone river. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Shaded level sites. Pay attention to the directions given to get into the campground as there is an 11’ clearance bridge in town.
Scout
The is just a dirt lot with hookups. It’s very close to the water but the area isn’t very well maintained. I stayed here a few days after it had rained and the site was just deep mud that was so deep you couldn’t walk around outside. The electric kept going out at my site and I was worried that it would damage my fifth wheel electric. It is way overpriced for what you are getting. It would be nice if they put some gravel in so it wasn’t just a muddy field. Sites are pretty close together and the roads are not very wide. I have a 37’ fifth wheel and had to be very careful driving on the roads due to then being so narrow. Overall I would not stay here again due to the high prices to park in a muddy field with horrible electric. Water pressure also always seemed to be low.
Scout
If you’re just staying for the night, it’s great. It’s FREE! Go down a short gravel road and pass a semi-maintained pit toilet. It looked great when I visited!
Further down the road there are two fire rings on your left. About 100 ft from each other. If you’re using just one tent there is a spot right on the river bank! I wish I had seen it the night before. There’s also some room on the right under the bridge.
The noise from the cars & the boats in the morning is the only bad thing. But it’s not terrible and I slept fine.
Saw a huge eagle looming over everything across the river.
Have fun
RangerGreat staff close to lots of trails and west Yellowstone entry
GuideThe campground is in a field behind the restaurant. We paid $35.00 for 30amp power, water, and sewer. Each utility pylon supports two RVs electric, water, and sewer connection. There are no other amenities. Excellent for an overnight stop. Some road noise, but not bad.
Scout
Handful of sites on a small river. Clean, quiet, well kept. Super private and lovely. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table.
ScoutStayed here overnight on our way to Big Sky. Very easy to get to right off of I94. Friendly host, easy check in. Full hook ups, Wi-Fi, pull through site which was level so it didn’t take much to set up camp. Bathroom/shower facility was clean. Plenty of shade.
ScoutFlat camping sites, mostly pull thru, with fire rings, picknic tables. One vault toilet, always clean,always has paper. Campground is free and open all year. Some sites are alongside a pond, where I have seen people swimming. There is a short hiking trail to the river. Not far from the campsites is a boat launch. I drive through this campground almost daily and in the last year have only seen it 80% full at the most. Con: no electricity, no drinking water. Stay limit of 7 days. Very well maintained.
The town of Rosebud has a bar, that is open in the weekends, and serves dinner.
The town of Forsyth is 15 minutes away, and has a grocery store, hardware store(s) and gas station(s). Also a one room movie theater, completely restored with lounge chairs. Forsyth has a bowling alley. Great place for camping, fishing, swimming, shopping, and relaxing.
I have good connection with Verizon here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Forsyth, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Forsyth, MT is Far West on the Yellowstone River with a 3-star rating from 2 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Forsyth, MT?
TheDyrt.com has all 3 tent camping locations near Forsyth, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
