Best Tent Camping near Glendive, MT

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.

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

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 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.

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.

Arrived 9pm tired on motorcyle weeknight end of June slept on the bench without tent hiked at 5am and left well worth the ride on my way to Theodore Roosevelt park

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.

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

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 one of several sites up a winding steep but paved road where trailers are not allowed. We had a very private site #20 with our own clean private vault toilet and garbage can. It was down a single track rutted road but our 24’ pop up truck camper made it with ease. We could see some of the hoodoos if we walked around. There was lots of room to set up a tent and just wander around. Cost was $14. We had groupings of pine trees for shade as it can get hot there even in Late September.

There is a campground for larger RVs but they are on asphalt closer to the entrance. They were crowded and it looked hot there.

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.

Traveled about 35 miles on unpaved road in RAV4 AWD. Campsite was empty, so we had different sites to choose from. We were in a spot with some shade for our tent. Close to clean pit toilet. Hand pump was hard to pump which produced light brown water which wasn't something we wanted to drink, so bring in your own water. Site had large picnic table and fire ring. Nice view of landscape and Trailhead nearby. Nearby is Elkhorn Ranch Unit trail leading to Theodore Roosevelt Ranch site. No buildings but interpretive signage.

This campground is small, beautiful, well-maintained, and convenient to TRNP. We are tent campers. There are two small loops. There are two shower rooms in the Mandan loop (appears to be the RV loop) - one requires quarters and one does not and they are side-by-side). Water is hot. Flush toilets and sinks are available in a couple of locations in the loops. Showers and toilets are clean and all are individual rooms. Highly recommend this campground for the scenery (which is why I’m giving it 5-stars), however, although you cannot see the interstate, the campground is super close to I-94 and it’s loud. If you’re a light sleeper, this may not be the place for you. Sites are available on a first-come-first serve basis, but even by nightfall plenty of sites were still available in each loop.

First of all this campground is not $6 anymore. It is $20. There are no electric hook-ups and some of the parking areas are very unlevel.  Even though no hook-ups there were still a number of motorhomes and towables camping here, dominating the tent campers.  We were lucky enough to find a level site mid-week by arriving around 10 am. Sites were very clean and relatively spacious with asphalt paving. There isn't much to look at here.  Just kind of a prairie with a hill. There is a dump station. There is also a fill station by the picnic area with a threaded hose but we had to back our Class B up onto the sidewalk as we only carry a 25ft hose with us and the spigot was about 30 ft from the parking lot. We could hear traffic noise as you are right off I-94, but it wasn't obnoxious.

Makoshika State Park is beautiful camping and is about as good as it gets for primitive camping. There's quite a few hiking trials, a small museum and a gift shop at the Visitors Center. The photography options are just about endless. Also, don't let anyone fool you into believing the Diane Gabriel Trail is "easy." I mean, it's not bad … until you have to scale the hill. Beautiful views though.

If you're in a tent or a pop-up, there are some very cool primitive sites up the switchbacks that provide spectacular views of the park. If you have a camper or RV, camping in the coulee is wonderful. 

The only negative is the primitive camping angle when there exists the ability for each site to have both water and electric. They added water spigots on each side of the Cains Coulee Campground earlier this year, but if they were running lines, why not run to every site? I understand if it's a water pressure issue, but still. Electric as well. The Camp Hosts now have water, electric and sewer. It'd make sense to bring that to all the sites. Not only would it make camping at Makoshika a 5-star experience, it'd allow everyone to enjoy the peacefulness of the Cains Coulee valley without a bunch of generators running.

Our experience was awesome and we will be returning next year.

Pros: Beautiful grounds Isolated Some camp sites are real gems A variety of sites depending on what you want- camp on the hill in grassland if you want to watch sunset/sunrise- or get one of the camp sites that are nestled behind trees for more seclusion. There are toilets, one shower and a dumpster Hot water in the shower. We got site 22 on the second loop and loved the seclusion, the amount of space (enough space to set up two tents) and a short walk to the restrooms which were great since we were camping with kids. Highly recommend this site if you want a secluded spot. Short drive to Medora and TRNP

Cons: One shower on only one loop, if you’re on the other loop you’ll need to walk to the shower. But hey, at least they have a shower. Bathrooms were a bit messy when we were there (there was no camp host) but that’s due to fellow campers Highway noise was audible. Some sites are closer to the highway than others No cell service at all. You’d need to drive up to the top of the hill by the freeway entrance to get service. This could be a pro depending on what you want, but not within walking distance to Medora like the Medora camp grounds advertise.

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.

Nice stop or weekend. No power, water at visiors center. Verizon service limited to none. Great trails for hikes. Hosts helpful.

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.