Best Glamping near Fort Smith, MT

Friendly staff, clean, well maintained grounds, quiet and charming. This place had everything we needed for a few nights of work, rest and play. And to top it off the internet worked great. They have a pool, mini golf, kids play grounds, and an enclosed dog park. The laundry and bathrooms were exceptionally clean and updated. We splurged a little got the deluxe pull through with the swing, patio and fire pit, and saved a little with our AAA membership. And, after having gone through death valley and the High Sierra Valley having the lovely tree coverage was awesome. This camp ground is tucked into a residential area, and far enough off the interstate to not hear the noise, but close enough to town and all the other amenities to make it very convenient. It’s also on the river, but we didn’t have a chance to take advantage of that on this trip. I only gave four stars because we were positioned right behind the maintenance residence and there was a lot of noisy activity coming and going at all hours. I’m not complaining, they did an excellent job of maintaining and I’m sure if we were in any other location on site we’d not been bothered by this at all. We’d definitely stay here again.

General: Upon arriving at this campground (the FIRST Holiday KOA), I felt like we were in Disneyland! Everything was spotlessly clean, the staff was exceptionally friendly and even though there were rain clouds in the sky, it felt sunny! 

Site Quality/Facilities: There are a variety of sites ranging from tent to full hookup with concrete patio, swing, and upgraded picnic table with umbrella. We had reserved a water/electric site. The first site assigned to us had a huge puddle from the recent rain so I went back to the office and asked if we could switch to the one next to it and it was no problem to do so. Sites that back up to the river are, in my opinion, the nicest but they don’t have full hookups if that is what you need. Some of the tent sites will hear road noise. There is a restaurant on-site (Pistol Pete’s) that was not open when we were there (due to Covid) but there was a food truck where you could order breakfast sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, etc. We did not try this so cannot comment on the quality. Coin-operated laundry. 

Bathhouse: As nice as, if not nicer than, our bathroom at home! The tiled showers were very clean (it helped that I snagged one just after it was cleaned) and had a bench, plenty of hooks, a sink, and a toilet in an all-in-one. The water pressure was a little meek but hot. Husband had a shower in the alternative trailer– nice and clean but not as fancy. 

Activities: Pool, hot tub, nice playground, mini golf all on-site. Campground backs up to the Yellowstone River with direct access, although the river was very low when we were there. 

This very family-friendly campground is not our typical place to camp but after a week without, we needed showers and electricity and it was a Friday night in August, so we are glad we made the reservation to stay here!

We stopped here for a night en route to another location. As soon as we pulled in I wanted to leave. I have never seen so many people in one campground before! It looked like a state fairground!

The sites were mere feet apart - no privacy and hardly any room to set up so much as a lawn chair. If there were half the amount of people, it would have been lovely. The plot of land is pretty and runs right alongside the Yellowstone River - the only spot we found any respite. There was mini-golf, a pool, hot tub, a laughably small fenced in dog “run”, a neat looking themed playground, a restaurant, ice cream social, and store. Also on site were bathroom and shower facilities and laundry, though we did not use those, so I can’t speak to its cleanliness, etc.

My young boys thought it was pretty awesome, and I agree - it could have been if there were half the people.

If you do choose to stay, be sure to grab a burger or breakfast sandwich at Whole Hog. The owner has a trailer on site that he turned into a food truck and makes a damn good burger. He was such a nice, personable guy and probably the best part of our stay.

Definitely caters more towards glamping or RV life if that's your thing. The campground was gorgeous and staff was incredibly friendly. The only reason I'm rating 4 stars is because it's a long trek to the river. I assumed from the name we'd be close enough to it to see water or hear it from our campground. The closest "river" is a completely dry bed which is probably an over flow channel and then it's another long trail through field and bramble to get to the actual river. Aside from that. Their are fire rings/grills at the camping sites w electric as well as access to amazing private bathrooms with insanely awesome water pressure and very clean surroundings

There are dry docking camp sites stuffed in the back of the Campground as well. We didn't get a chance to use the pool/spa but they looked really nice!

We picked the Lazy R for a quick overnight stay on trip to Missoula, MT.  We weren't expecting much, given that we were tent campers staying in an RV park.  However, we were pleasantly surprised we arrived to find a nice grassy campsite for a our tent and clean restrooms and showers.  The following morning, we opted to skip making coffee and oatmeal for breakfast and instead visited the onsite bakery.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  Hard to beat rolling out of your tent, walking 100 feet and getting reasonably priced gourmet coffee and fresh baked pastries for breakfast.  I will definitely stay here again.

Wow. The mini golf, pool, park, grounds, bathhouse, on-site restaurant and food options are 5 star. The location is a little off the beaten path but it’s so nice and secluded. The price is incredible compared to other KOA’s too. This is the nicest one we’ve ever seen and we’ve stayed at over a dozen (many that have been award winning). The staff are super friendly, the bathrooms and showers very clean and private, the amenities are so cool - the mini golf is Disney quality and the playground is awesome. The options - options of food onsite is so nice!

Quite possibly our favorite campsite so far on our trip to Yellowstone. This is the original KOA established in 1962, and believe me they have it down to an art AND a science. The place is incredibly organized, the staff is amazing. They have all the amenities that will make your stay truly memorable for you and your family. They have a large swimming pool, and a hot tub, and a great little putt putt golf course. The tent sites were very comfortable, they are on grass, with grated fire pits.

I’ve never been to a place that had so many bathrooms, and showers. There was never a line at any time. The laundry facilities were immaculate, and always available.

This KOA truly sets the bar for a safe environment for you and your family. The only challenge that I had was trying to get my daughter to leave. She was happy staying there versus going to see Yellowstone park!