Best Cabin Camping near Hamilton, MT

Spent 3 nights at Hogan Cabin, MT last summer (Aug 2018). I loved the isolation of the location. Up at 7200ft you get a little winded hiking around, but the incredible scenery is worth it. Found a primitive A-frame structure in the woods about a mile from the cabin. Saw several deer and elk feeding in the field near the cabin, as well as a moose in the marsh along the creek. 

The cabin itself is nothing to jump up and down about. With only 2 sets of bunk beds, my wife and I put the bedding on the floor and made a full sized bed. There's no running water so be sure to bring plenty. 

There's an vault toilet in the outhouse. 

There is also a HUGE fire pit with swinging grill for cooking.

I was camping at a nearby national park site that had a flyer for Camp Sula, saying that if you show the receipt from your stay you can use Camp Sulas shower, laundry facilities and wifi at no cost. I arrived there and the ladies working in the combination store/restaurant/gas and coffee station were so friendly and down to earth. I was given a towel and shampoo/conditioner for the shower, they had complimentary and coin washing machines, and coin dryers, all very efficient. After my shower and waiting for clothes to dry, I walked around the camp, the log cabins are adorable and cozy, each has its own porch, picnic table and adjacent fire pit. There is free put-put golf, horseshoes, tetherball and a small well stocked fishing pond with benches to watch the action or simply admire the beauty of the surroundings. It is close to the main highway but tucked back enough you feel "away" from the bustle. I enjoyed myself so much I inquired about camping there for the night & I would only need a parking space because I sleep in my truck bed canopy. They were full (accommodates RVs and tents) but offered a makeshift spot right by the creek. It was perfect. Because of COVID, they had limited reservations for dinner, and practiced social distancing and requested patrons wear masks. Not everyone participated with their request but were equally treated with kindness and respect. I highly recommend their breakfast, big fluffy pancakes and local meats. They kept the restaurant, showers & bathroom & store very very clean. The location is a landmark, the Lewis and Clark expedition camped there on their way to discover the west. I highly recommend them

This place is on my shortlist for favorites for my week long getaway with my daughter who is 5. To be honest I was a bit concerned after reading a couple reviews describing the place. But hey, we all have bad days, and if I can read 90% positive vibe from a review I will check it out. I will say This place is an oasis that is in a manufactured home area that is very nice. Once you are in, it is a pure KOA experience. So far no company consistently does better than OK always across the board.

Could not be happier with the customer service, and the staff that work here. Just simply top notch. They represent the true spirit of the KOA campgrounds. they lead you to your campsite, they will deliver wood for you, they monitor the pool at all times, make it easy to rent a little bike, and Wednesday through Saturday they have ice cream socials.

I was a bit surprised that I did not see more children here. They have all the amenities that they have in Billings. I think some of the other reviews do not paint a quality picture of this place from a child’s eye. This is my daughters favorite place. From the bike rental to the playground, putt putt golf, swimming pool (2 Adult hot tubs - very clean).

Of course as Tenters the big thing I look at is where I am pounding in my stakes :-) and the grass here in Missoula is perfect. They have several very creative approaches to tent sites. The one that I am staying at has a tent circle, five sites in the round, facing outward, fenced on each side with a picnic table, stand up barbecue, fire pit that is grated, picnic table, running water, electricity, and nice grass. I wish more campgrounds had this creative approach. Everything is well spread out and segregated between cabins, centers, and RV’s.

They even have two really nice teepees in the center of the campground. They are super deluxe and the next time I come here I will be staying in one of them. See the photos.

The campground store is the best stock store of all the KOA’s that I stayed in on this trip. They have everything from ice cream sandwiches to souvenirs.

The facilities are well-maintained and very clean. I’d like the cypher locks on the bathrooms/showers for safety. The driveways are well-maintained, they have a painted bike path for riders. Overall this was just wonderful!

If you have a couple days here I would suggest a 40 minute drive to the National Bison Range. The kids will love it!

PS - My daughter wanted me to add that they have three very large bunnies that roll around the campground. She loves them.

Gird Point Campground which is located in the Bitterroot National Forest is gorgeous. I love camping in Montana- I honestly have never had a bad experience camping anywhere in Montana. Gird Point is definitely no exception. My favorite part about this campsite is that it is located at the top of a peak. Camping on this peak definitely has gorgeous views, no doubt. There are three different mountain ranges that you are able to look out and see. Honestly, this is the best thing to wake up to. Talk about picturesque. You are able to stay in the lookout which has two beds that you are able to put your sleeping bags/pads on, and the lookout sleeps 4 people. When I went, we did have 4 people and it fit us pretty well. There is also a wood stove that works great for heating up water and cooking. The lookout also comes with some utensils and other amenities. Obviously, you do need to bring your own bathing supplies, sleeping supplies, food and drinks. You are able to drive to a certain point and then you do have to hike the remainder of the length to the lookout. The hike isn't too bad.

$42 for fire pit and picnic table! No privacy between the spots. That said, it’s a very beautiful setting with big trees, and very quiet. Nice playground for the kids . Showers and bathrooms looked like they had been clean to, but overall were in need of a deep cleaning. The shower curtains were on the toilet stalls… Not sure how you keep those clean thoroughly.

Restaurant was really nice and tasty. Nice people. But they are only open till 230 even though their website says they are open for dinner. I was hoping to stay one more day because it was so peaceful but we needed to get going on our trip.

We don't usually do RV parks but didn't want to fight for camp spots during the 4th of July long weekend. We ended up booking here on the 4th and 5th of July and had a great time camping along the river, going to the hot springs across the street and walking the area. This is a beautiful resort and a little more on the campy side which we liked.

The fireworks show was spectacular and from site 7 which sits right on the bend of the creek where there is a brush clearing. This was perfect for our golden retriever as we could tie her on a long lead and she could swim her heart out. Site seven also seemed really large compared to other as there was a large tree between the next site where we tied up a hammock.

One thing to mention on camp 7 is that its one of the few areas with the brush cleared wide open on the creek. If you don't put a camp chair or something to the side of the picnic table, we found other campers will come and hang out there in your campsite as they must think its an open space to get to the water. After putting a chair there, we were disturbed less.

The hot springs accross the highway are $12 a person and we took a hot soak in the 106 degree enclosed mineral bath/pool area and rotated to the 86 degree pool outside. Kids and families all seemed to stay in the pool area while adults in the mineral bath area. Its more rustic hot springs but we did find it nice and someone told me they drain the mineral bath nightly and pressure wash it for the next day (unconfirmed)

If you are coming on the 4th of July, I'll let you know the music starts around 4pm where the have a DJ playing music till about 10pm on the other side of the highway near the restaurant were the majority of people watched and shot off fireworks of their own. We enjoyed the camp site knowing that it was just for that day and planned it would be a loud night which it was. The fireworks started around 8/9pm and went to about 1 am. The show seemed to wrap up around 10:30 but was hard to tell what was the show vs people shooting off their own. We ended up going to bed around 11pm but booms and crackles kept us up till the crowd died down. We didn't mind but thought I'd mention if you plan to come for a quite evening over this holiday.