Best Glamping near Fortine, MT

This is glamping. This is a resort with resort amenities and feels so vacation-y. I enjoyed the heck out of it. We stayed in a Deluxe Kamping lodge with a medium patio and full bath. Linens and bedding provided, partial kitchen (stocked), room for 6. KL3 is at the back of the campground away from the busy entrance and pools—feels nice and private. Beautiful grounds, two pools, and delicious steaks ($) for dinner at the Lazy Bear Cafe. Lots to do and 2.5 miles from the west entrance to GNP. Laundry available; showers and restrooms if you’re in a tent or RV. Busy, but everyone is chill. My kids think we’re in Disney and it’s nice to be able to relax a bit after a disastrous year. Note: Most amenities are outdoors, including the restaurant.

So, its a KOA which is awesome for some and not for others. I have only been to a handful but they are way too managed and the stereotypical "glamping" situation. Reason we booked was because we were headed from a nearby camp on Flathead lake and wanted to get closer to Glacier before walking in for a permit. This KOA is less than 20 minutes from the Apgar permit office... We booked a primitive cabin online before the trip, and then the night of our arrival, about 1 hour till their general store/office closed, we got a phone call saying that they made a mistake and they over booked. How did they handle it? They put us up in one of their luxury full cabins! Now, that is not the experience we were looking for, but for us this was merely a one nighter to get to Glacier. So we accepted. Campfire ring, picnic table, private parking, and our own little cabin complete with flat screen tv and surround speakers in the ceiling. 2 other bedrooms one with bunks that went unused, a kitchen with coffee maker and mini fridge, and a bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower... While not the experience we were looking for it sure made it easier to pack up and get into glacier for that walk in permit. Although there was some mistake with their booking they owned it and gave us what would be considered a huge upgrade, and we made it to the permit office early without needing to worry about deflating our sleeping pads. Thank you West Glacier KOA!

While there’s nothing stand-outish about the tent area, at least it’s furthest from the highway, tree-lined and secluded from the RVs. It would be relaxing if there were, at most, only a couple of other tent campers, because it's just an open area. There's decent open space within and especially outside the RV park. You have a lot of uncluttered valley and mountain views. The international airport is about a mile away. It’s a bonus if you like that sort of thing. One of the most gorgeous Montana sunsets happened while I was here. Big Sky Country at its very best.

Sylvia Lake is tucked back into the Flathead Forest. Wild fires have burned through this area leaving a path of dead tree stand as a reminder of mother nature’s fury. It’s oddly beautiful as the new growth is finding its resilient way back.

The road to the lake is long, winding, often rutted and dusty, BUT the lake beckons to be explored. There is designated camping as well as a few dispersed spots that have been created over time. You will find no amenities and you are quite a distance from any sort of cell service or stores, so come prepared.

The sketchy rope swing was left untried but the crawdads were plentiful! If you want to disconnect and want something other than the typical Montana camp, Sylvia is just right.

Montana is absolutely gorgeous! I may be biased because I go to college in Montana, but there is so many great outdoor activities. The mountains and scenery are my favorite. Some college friends and I have done a lot of camping over the years together, and Glacier Campground was one of my favorites. The campground is awesome, and is a few exits down from the Glacier National Park. Trees surround you within the campground, which was great because my friends and I had hammocks so those were easy to hook up with all the trees! One thing we really enjoyed doing was we did some horse back riding! There is a place nearby where you can go and do this. We had a blast!! There are many lakes and rivers too that are great. We enjoyed swimming in the lake, and also rented some kayaks at a local shop a few miles away. The campground does offer spots for tents, RVs and they also have cabins. We chose to tent because we are poor college students :). Maybe at some point we would try renting a cabin because they looked pretty fun. We didn't reserve our spot ahead of time, but we were able to get a spot still. It was in the spring time, so I'm sure if it was in the summer months you might want to call and make a reservation. Each campsite does have a table and fire pit which came in handy for us. We only stayed for the weekend, but wish we could have stayed longer to do some hiking. Because Glacier National Park is right around the corner, I know they have great hikes. If you are into hiking, I would definitely research hikes in that area. I can't wait to come back!!