Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Glendive, MT

wow, what a find! We had planned to travel through the area but hadn’t planned to stop—until we hit the Tourist Center at the Montana border and found a brochure for thus park. If you love geology and want a quieter less crowded and more accessible experience than the Theodore Roosevelt National Park nearby, then this place is for you! There are several campgrounds and dispersed campsites to choose from, the RV campground is small and packed and a bit barren, but the tent sites are magnificent. There are incredible canyon views from the “Pine on Rocks” campground close to the park amphitheater, but the campsites are kind of on the edge of a cliff so would not be good with kids or pets. The trails are magnificent, and you can hike to all kinds of geological wonders, even some dinosaur digs in action! However, don’t do like we did as we came in August and the heat is BRUTAL and we werent able to hike as much as we wanted. However, we were pleased that our dog was able to join us as we discovered dogs arent allowed on the hiking trails over at the National Park

We stayed in site 12, which was rated as an RV campsite, it was pull through, but the hosts said mainly they use that area of the campground for tents with the RVs across the street (RV sites 1 - 9).  If you are tent camping, the upper sites are really nice and secluded (20s - 30s).  RVs cannot make it to sites 20s - 30s because it is a narrow dirt road to the top.

It's dry camping - no RV hookups, but at the visitor's center they have a water fill station that is free.  You can pull in and fill up your RV water tank.  There is no dump station at the park, nor in Glendive, so you have to drive to Miles City or Wibaux to dump.  We found a Cenex in Miles City that had a good dump station and it was free.

The sites were spacious, clean and affordable.  Sites 11 & 13 had a nice view.  The bathrooms were pit toilets.  Very clean.  No running water.  Camp fires are permitted.

The camp hosts were really helpful and friendly.

We spent one day in Makoshika hiking the trails with our dog.  We felt that 1 day was sufficient, but you could easily spend more time to enjoy the park, take some longer hikes, or play disc golf.  The other day we took a drive to North Dakota to check out Theodore Roosevelt National Park, about an hour drive away.  Well worth the drive.  We stopped at Beaver Creek Brewery on the way back to the campsite and brought back a growler for around the campfire.

They said next year they plan on expanding the campsites and adding in some full hook-up RV sites and a dump station.  Even without that, we plan on coming back.

I'd book in advance if you are planning on going over a weekend.  The campsites were all booked when we arrived.  We reserved our spot about 3 weeks prior.

This is on of the coolest state parks this side of the Cenozoic Period! They found dinosaur fossils in this park. and you never know you just might find some too! Our campsites butted right up to a cool mountain and the peaks are small enough for you to scamper around on. PLUS the have the coolest frisbee golf course this side of the jurassic Period with embedded holes spread over the ancient cretaceous landscape! How cool is that.

Astronomy wise this is a Bortle Class 4 site SQM: 21.62 mag./arc sec2. I did not get to observe due to smoke and poor weather.

All sites are primitive but there is fresh water in each of the two campgrounds and vault toilets are nearby. Trash pickup id also available. There is no dump-station but one is close by at: Glendive Landfill City government office 801 E Brennan St. (406) 377-9839

Hiking at the park contains easy and tough trails but each one is sure to delight with wonder and discovery on each one.

Behind the Astoria hotel, the Glendive Campground feels like an afterthought. If you need a place to stay for the night and hook up to water, sewer, and electricity, this place will do. If you can drive another 50 minutes (east), you’ll find more options in Medora.

Even in August, when I called ahead the front desk said they never fill up and I don’t need a reservation. No fire pit, there are about 40 sites and several are next to about 6 or 7 dead and leafless trees - check the weather before parking your prize under one! No fire rings, and this year the restrooms and showers are closed “due to COVID”. Seems convenient... despite MT being a mandatory mask state, the front desk worker at the Astoria where you check in did not have a mask and there was no signage. However, there was a sign that the breakfast buffet at the hotel was cancelled.

Many of the pedestals need repair and the vent on our sewer was broken off. I removed a pile of dead branches in order to pull our trailer into position. However, the reality is that you don’t need much if you bring your own equipment. I just wonder how not offering bathroom facilities to tent campers helps slow the spread of coronavirus... gives me something to ponder as I don’t enjoy any amenities offered.

This park is so much fun with great easy dog and family friendly hikes. The camp spots and scattered throughout the park and really nice. Water and bathrooms available too.

This is a beautiful area of Montana that goes under visited and under appreciated. The campground is just as nice as you would find in one of the national parks. There are fire pits, tables, pit toilets, and the availability of firewood and water at each camping area. I was able to make my way down here in January and happened to be the only fool camping in the Montana winter when a wind storm rolled through. Regardless of the wind, this is a wonderful campground with plenty of hiking and biking extremely close to the campground.

One of Montana's hidden gems, plenty of hiking trails and don't forget your camera. So many majestic views. Camp grounds are basic with water and a very nice Disc golf course to try very skills at.

Slept by a shelter in the city park. Running water, supposedly you aren’t supposed to drink the water in most parts of east Montana. But the water didn’t taste/ seem bad. One bathroom, non- flushing wooden box style toilet. Horrible bathrooms. Pool nearby is a plus, the pool let me use their flushing toilets. Cheap entry fee to pool aswell. Park fairly close to grocery store.

This was a real gem.  Very close to the entrance to Teddy Roosevelt NP, it was perfect for our camper.  Big rigs would be fine there, but I did not see any drive through sites.

First we were amazed that it was open when nearly all state, local, and federal campgrounds were closed. Next we were impressed by the quality of the sites: clean, mowed, fire pits, nice picnic tables, paved road (and I think the slabs were paved?), but the OMG was the individual shower rooms with radiant heat that was motion activated.

There are no hookups, despite what other sites may claim.  But hydrants were plentiful and the clean flush toilets and hot free showers made this a perfect place for you if you don't need to be hooked up to water and power.  It was only $6 a night and that was not a discount, that was full price!!!

The interstate was just over the ridge, out of site but you knew it was there.  This is I-90 in Western ND, so traffic noise was not an issue at all.  The first night I was woke by a plane flying overhead, so you know that the Interstate was truly not an issue at all.

Actually, being close to the interstate meant being close to the park, which is fabulous.  We loved the Grand Canyon a few years ago, but meaning no disrespect, this was a far more enjoyable experience.  You have the color, the rugged creation, but you are going in it, and through it, and on top of it.  Buffalo, prairie dogs, Big Horn Sheep, 
wild horses, deer, eagles, warblers, jack rabbits, antelope, and that is just what we saw in a day and a half!

We stayed here for 2 nights just relaxing along the Yellowstone River. Price was $18 unless you had a Montana Fishing license. The sites were wide and spacious. We were there September 2020 and few people were there. The huge cottonwoods were turning gold. Yes, there is a dam but it was quiet. The sites are really spread out and several like ours were by the river. There were vault toilets scattered about and two water pump spigots with amazing water pressure. Garbage cans were also provided. There were also a fire ring and a picnic table. It was a quiet campground away from the highway that didn’t see much traffic.

This site is not open August 2023

The owners were very accommodating to our weary group.  We got in late, but they didn't have any problems with helping us get set up in the dark.  There was a water leak at our hookup, so we didn't fully trust the water as clean.

All in all, this was a nice, inexpensive spot to settle in for the night.

Brother and I crashed here late so we drove in in the dark. We were delighted in the morning to find a beautiful park and a super lucky campsite with a bathroom and some trees for hammocking and two tent pads! Would love to stay here again. The out of state fee is $28/night

What an amazing place! We arrived in the dark and woke up to the most amazing sunrise! Toilets. No electricity. Only $24 for non-residents

Amazing trails, stunning scenery, very cool disc golf course. Would absolutely go back.

Campsites in the main campground were lovely! They had a nice amount of privacy. Verizon service but only 2 bars, only good enough to send texts.

Amazing views all around, definitely worth the stop. Scenic drives & hikes. Absolutely loved this area.

Dry camping with potable water. You might get some generator noise, but during our 3 night stay only 1 camper violated the 8pm-8am quiet rule.

Groceries & gas a couple miles away. Like others noted, the road coming in is real rough, take it slow.

Small campground with vault toilets, and drinking water. a mile away from the campground are standalone sites you can drive into and park one vehicle you’re champion if you get site #22.

Easy to access main campground, a few miles from the Visitor Center on paved road. Clean pit toilet bathrooms. Grassy with great views. Super fun, nearly complete disc golf course with baskets.

Primitive sites available for less money (Main $18, Primitive $12). Primitive sites were accessed from the main road going through the park which turns from paved to gravel, some primitive sites are on roads that are a bit rough but they are worth the drive, very private sites. All seemed to have pit toilets.

Water available at the Visitor Center.

Words can’t describe the beauty of this place. You must get out of the car to see it.

We rented the tipi campsite and it was super cool! Campground host was very nice and gave us recommendations for hikes. We even saw a dinosaur spine fossil! Makoshika state park is truly a hidden gem.

The campground is non-electric, so remember that if you like to run your AC when it is 100+! Luckily, a rain shower cooled it off for us. There were only a handful of people staying there. The hosts were super nice and drove around to check on everyone often. Wish we would have booked the teepee spot so we could hang out in it. Luckily, we did not see any rattlesnakes, though I heard there are giant ones in the park. Lots of hiking trails. Overall, a gorgeous place to explore.

The RV area we camped in had 9 sites, we were on the end in site 9. We put our picnic table on the far side of the RV and felt like we were alone with a beautiful view of the landscape. The sunset and sunrise on the rocks was beautiful and there was a great view of the starry sky at night. It's rare that you get to be so close to nature in an RV site. There's also a disc golf course, and biking/hiking trails. The only negative was that the water was at the entrance, a bouncy mile long road from the site and we didn't know that until we got to the site.