For those who want to experience Helena National Forest, but still want the creature comforts of home, consider glamping for your trip. The Dyrt lets you enjoy a unique, rustic Helena National Forest experience while glamping. Glamping offers quick access to one or more of Helena National Forest's most popular destinations.
Holter Lake Campground is situated on the picturesque Holter Lake in west central Montana. The site is located approximately 45 miles north of Helena, Montana, along the Missouri River. The area offers stunning views of the Sleeping Giant Wilderness Study Area. Gates of the Mountains Historic Site is in close proximity of the campground, which is accessible via a watercraft. The area is overflowing with outdoor adventure opportunities. Whether you're into fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing, hiking, boating, water skiing, or all of the above, all of these activities are in close proximity to Holter Lake Campground. There is surely an activity for everyone!
Holter Lake Campground offers excellent recreational opportunities. Activities in the area include camping, boating (motorized and non-motorized), fishing, water skiing, hiking, scenic/wildlife photography, wildlife viewing, and bird watching. There are trails within the general vicinity, as well as multiple fishing access sites and hunting access points. The recreation opportunities in the area are truly boundless.
Every campsite has a view of the lake and mountains. The campground and day-use area has poplar and green ash trees throughout the campground, which provide shade during the height of the summer. The site is situated in a shrub-steppe landscape, mostly comprised of sage brush and bunch grasses. The campground is surrounded by sparsely wooded hills.
Holter Lake Campground is located in a prime location to get out and recreate outdoors. There is access to public lands, where multiple recreation opportunities and experiences are available. The campground is adjacent to the Missouri River, which was also the historical travel corridor for The Lewis and Clark Trail. Holter Lake Campground is situated between Helena and Great Falls. In Helena, there are great restaurants, museums, the capitol building, old mining settlements, Last Chance Gulch, Reeder's Alley, and a vibrant downtown area. In or near Great Falls, there is the First People's Buffalo Jump and Interpretive Center, Charlie Russell museum, Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Giant Springs Fish Hatchery and State Park, and Tower Rock State Park. The Continental Divide Trail is nearby.
Reservation Cancellations & Changes Cancelling a Reservation: Customers may cancel their reservation prior to arrival both on-line and through the call center. A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Depending on when you cancel in relation to your arrival day, it may be considered a late cancellation (see below). Late Cancellations or Cancellations within the Cut-off Window Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. The recreation.gov cancellation policy can be found here: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies
$25 / night
Vigilante Campground is located approximately 24 miles northeast of Helena in the Big Belt Mountains. To access the campground travel northeast of Helena on Highway #280, across the Missouri River to the small community of York. At York continue driving straight on Road #4 to the campground. This 7 acre campground provides access to the Hanging Valley National Recreation Trail and the scenic Trout Creek Canyon Trail.
Log Gulch Campground is situated on the picturesque Holter Lake in west central Montana. All sites are reservation only. The site is located approximately 45 miles north of Helena, Montana, and 60 miles south of Great Falls, Montana, along the Missouri River. The area offers stunning views of the Sleeping Giant Wilderness Study Area. Gates of the Mountains Historic Site is in close proximity to the campground, which is accessible via watercraft. The area is overflowing with outdoor adventure opportunities. Whether you're into fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing, hiking, boating, water skiing, or all of the above, all of these activities are in close proximity to Log Gulch Campground. There is surely an activity for everyone!
Log Gulch Campground offers excellent recreational opportunities. Activities in the area include camping, boating (motorized and non-motorized), fishing, water skiing, hiking, scenic/wildlife photography, wildlife viewing, and bird watching. There are trails within the general vicinity, as well as multiple fishing access sites and hunting access points. The recreation opportunities in the area are truly boundless.
Every campsite is in close proximity to the lake and mountains. The campground and day-use area have poplar and green ash trees throughout the campground, which provide shade during the height of the summer. The site is situated in a shrub-steppe landscape, mostly comprised of ponderosa pine and bunch grasses. The campground is surrounded by sparsely wooded hills.
Log Gulch Campground is located in a prime location to get out and recreate outdoors. There is access to public lands, where multiple recreation opportunities and experiences are available. The campground is adjacent to the Missouri River, which was also the historical travel corridor for The Lewis and Clark Trail. Log Gulch Campground is situated between Helena and Great Falls. In Helena, there are great restaurants, museums, the capitol building, old mining settlements, Last Chance Gulch, Reeder's Alley, and a vibrant downtown area. In or near Great Falls, there is the First People's Buffalo Jump and Interpretive Center, Charlie Russell Museum, Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Giant Springs Fish Hatchery and State Park, and Tower Rock State Park. The Continental Divide Trail is nearby.
Reservation Cancellations & Changes Cancelling a Reservation: Customers may cancel their reservation prior to arrival both on-line and through the call center. A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Depending on when you cancel in relation to your arrival day, it may be considered a late cancellation (see below). The $8 reservation fee is non-refundable. Group Facility (including Cabins and Lookouts): Customers who cancel a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee. Late Cancellations or Cancellations within the Cut-off Window Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. The recreation.gov cancellation policy can be found here: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies
$25 - $80 / night
Whether you're exploring the Rocky Mountain beauty of Montana or you're on a longer journey traveling throughout the West, the new Helena North KOA provides a convenient base camp. It lies just half a mile off I-15, with plenty of Pull-Thru RV sites for larger rigs. All RV sites have 30 or 50 amp service, along with a patio area and picnic table. In Helena, Montana's state capital, you can hop aboard the Last Chance Tour Train for an engaging open-air ride around the capitol grounds, through the mansion district and past a restored miner's village. About 10 miles north, boat tours take visitors up the Missouri River through a canyon of towering limestone walls - a historic route traveled by Lewis and Clark, who dubbed it the Gates of the Mountains. You'll find other spectacular mountain scenery to the north and south; Helena lies midway between Glacier and Yellowstone national parks.
Beautiful Canyon Ferry Lake is the most used and enjoyed water playground in Montana. Summer recreation includes swimming, boating and some of the best walleye and trout fishing in the state (home of the Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival and Perch Ice Fishing Derby). Winter activities include hunting, ice fishing and ice sailing! This KOA offers 57 Pull-Thru RV Sites with both full hookups and water/electric. It has Camping Cabins, Tent Sites, showers and restroom facilities, and is close to the Canyon Ferry Lake Boat ramp and docks! Amenities include Wi-Fi and complete laundry facilities. You'll also find storage facilities for your boats, trailers and campers. What? You forgot your beer and marshmallows? The convenience store offers almost anything you may need for a pleasurable camping experience. Enjoy horseshoes, volleyball, a kids' playground and more! If you are out on the lake too late, the KOA store has Heat and Eat meals to choose from, or the Silo Bar and Grill is open most days year round. Our staff is friendly and well-informed on everything about fishing, boating, RVing, and storytelling!
ScoutGreat spot near Glacier National Park, quick to get to! Dog friendly, cabins and fun little round (yurt-like) metal buildings to stay in too! Plus over sized lawn chess!
Traveler
First camp we stayed at on a week long trip to Montana. We came on a weekday, so hardly any one there.
Ranger
Nice quiet secluded area. Multiple trailheads for popular hiking trails near campground (one is in the campground). Creek nearby to cool off in the heat. Camp sites arent hug but enough space to feel comfortable.
ScoutA bit hard to find but go past the Helicopter and keep going down the dirt road for a mile or two. All the campsites sit along a rocky canyon and a stream runs parallel to the road. All sites have a picnic table and fire pit. One of my fav camping spots I’ve visited
LegendRoad to this is pretty rough in spots. No accessible water, bathrooms, firewood must be found or brought in. Campground can get a bit crowded in the area with few spots, stake your campsite early, very small creek, but good hiking and wildlife to be seen on the cliffs.
RangerFree, drive-up, no permit needed. Primitive sites, very simple but clean and kept up well. Wooded by a creek. Pretty sure a bear came through camp one night so make sure to follow all the bear guidelines. Cute small town of York is nearby, got to see a cattle drive which was pretty neat.
GuideA cool camping spot, but often crowded. Come early to get your spot.
LegendA nice little campground. Two nice hiking trails, the fairly flat Trout Creek trail runs through the canyon a 6 miles round trip. A trail head in camp for Hanging Valley trail, 11+ mile round trip, lots of climbing to get to a hole in the wall that lets you look straight down into the canyon. Campground is very busy during the weekend, plenty of shade with lots of fir trees in the campground. A black bear is in the area this year.
TravelerGranted, It’ a busy weekend. The facility is full with campers and with boaters. Some sections of the of the facility have the campers parked willy-nilly. Other areas are filled with “nice” camp sites. It’s busy, crowded, but. . . ok.
Scout
It is now day use only. 5am-10pm
TravelerThis site is technically just a walk to your tent site. There are places to park, so if you have a van you can go stealth and park and sleep here. There area 6 parking spots and 1 handy capped spot. Of these really only the one right next to the ADA spot is level enough for van sleeping. (This is where we parked.). There was one other person sleeping in the lot near us. The other people were tent camping at the designated tent spots. There are 3 tent spots.
LegendBeautiful spot on the lake! The campsites are walk-in so be aware of that. There is a handicap spot that is next to the toilet you don't have to walk in to. Not a lot of privacy but there is a good distance between sites. Picnic tables and established fire rings here, dogs welcome!
LegendFish Hawk campground is a walk-in tent only campground. The only site that is not walk in is the ADA site at the Vault Toilet. Six total sites, five of which are walk in. Of those 5 sites three will have you walking down hill to reach. All are near but above the lake, but one can easily walk down to the lake. Site is listed as Pack-in, Pack-out but two trash cans were located at the vault toilet the day I visited. This campground is often busy.
GuideThis is a typical KOA. First the good:
Friendly helpful staff until their gone at closing time. Little mini store with a few essentials.
Clean bathrooms and showers and clean laundry room with several washers/dryers. $2.00 per load to wash. Can't remember how much to dry. Very cool pinball machine that costs 25 cents per game. Fun fun fun! Another bathroom/shower in middle of park but I never looked inside that one.
65 sites that most have full hook-up and pull-through. A few cool tent sites with gas BBQs. Some cool looking cabins but I never looked inside one. I'm here on 8/24/2024 and RV park is sold out except 3 pull-through sites. All tent sites were full. I don't know about the cabins.
Cool playground for kids and large mostly gravel dog run.
Edit added: AT&T has 5G and three bars. KOA has wifi but slow slow slow I got 3MPS so instead of KOA wifi I used my iPhone Personal Hotspot that worked great.
THE BAD (and reason for only 3 stars):
All gravel roads and sites throughout the park. Very close together. Some sites have a very narrow strip of grass. Some of the picknick tables need to be re-painted. Unfortunately while eating breakfast you could be 2 feet away from the next RV dumping their sewer. P.U. The luxury sites don't have that problem. They are at the end of each row and only have a neighbor on the drivers side. I think well worth the extra 17 bucks.
Not ADA friendly. Very hard for someone with a walker to get around because of gravel roads/sites. Someone with a wheel chair near impossible. Has a nice handicap shower in main office building. Only problem is that once I take my walker in with me it's very tight and no room to move around.
Not EV car friendly. There is a $250 fine and eviction if you plug in your car. The person at the front desk told me the $250 fine and eviction is because EVs overload the outdated system and cause a fire. This KOA is an older one and was wired before EVs. Each individual site has its own 30 amp and 50 amp circuit breaker.
Some trees but few and far between. No pool or hot tub.
Final thoughts: Make reservations well in advance if you can. This KOA is the best game in town and is mostly sold out in summer. I think (sorry I don't know for sure) there is only one other RV park in town and from what I can tell, it is a much older one. I would proceed with caution before I booked it. Good traveling. See you on the road.
GuideDid not visit. Passing along info that camp website is gone. Park is now a KOA Park.
RangerGood, level, graveled sites. Full hookup pull-thrus that have a decent amount of space between sites. Bathrooms and showers very clean. Friendly staff. We were here in mid-October so not many traveling campers, but a few long-term
GuideThis is a typical KOA. First the good: Friendly helpful staff until their gone at closing time. Little mini store with a few essentials. Clean bathrooms and showers and clean laundry room with several washers/dryers.$2.00 per load to wash. Can't remember how much to dry. Very cool pinball machine that costs 25 cents per game. Fun fun fun! Another bathroom/shower in middle of park but I never looked inside that one. 65 sites that most have full hook-up and pull-through. A few cool tent sites with gas BBQs. Some cool looking cabins but I never looked inside one. I'm here on 8/24/2024 and RV park is sold out except 3 pull-through sites. All tent sites were full. I don't know about the cabins. Cool playground for kids and large mostly gravel dog run. Edit added: AT&T has 5G and three bars. KOA has wifi but slow slow slow I got 3MPS so instead of KOA wifi I used my iPhone Personal Hotspot that worked great. THE BAD(and reason for only 3 stars): All gravel roads and sites throughout the park. Very close together. Some sites have a very narrow strip of grass. Some of the picknick tables need to be re-painted. Unfortunately while eating breakfast you could be 2 feet away from the next RV dumping their sewer. P.U. The luxury sites don't have that problem. They are at the end of each row and only have a neighbor on the drivers side. I think well worth the extra 17 bucks. Not ADA friendly. Very hard for someone with a walker to get around because of gravel roads/sites. Someone with a wheel chair near impossible. Has a nice handicap shower in main office building. Only problem is that once I take my walker in with me it's very tight and no room to move around. Not EV car friendly. There is a$250 fine and eviction if you plug in your car. The person at the front desk told me the$250 fine and eviction is because EVs overload the outdated system and cause a fire. This KOA is an older one and was wired before EVs. Each individual site has its own 30 amp and 50 amp circuit breaker. Some trees but few and far between. No pool or hot tub. Final thoughts: Make reservations well in advance if you can. This KOA is the best game in town and is mostly sold out in summer. I think(sorry I don't know for sure) there is only one other RV park in town and from what I can tell, it is a much older one. I would proceed with caution before I booked it. Good traveling. See you on the road.
TravelerOnly spent one night, but level sites, full hook ups, showers and laundry clean. An area to play games and we didn’t have our dogs this time but the dog zone looked good and clean.
Guide
I like this spot so do the kiddos
GuideFor scouts we had a huge campout here (like we do every year) and it still is one of my most memorable campground. The area is super clean, with the only trash I find way out in the mountain. Talking about that, there are cool “mountains” (basically steep hills with some rocks) you can climb or hike, that give you a great view of the area. The bathrooms are pretty clean and not too smelly as well. If you just want to go camping there are amazing places to pitch a tent and in ground fire pits. Also, if you happen to have a boat, you can park it next to your campsite and take it onto the lake during the day.
TravelerThis is a hidden gem near the west end of Holter Lake. Over 50 sites with views of the mountains, Holter Lake, and the sleeping giant from various points in the campground. Wildlife abound and fishing galore. Most sites are big enough for a camper and level enough for tents. There is a pavilion and group tent site at the back of the campground, too. Trails connect it to other points of interest nearby.
LegendLog Gulch Recreation site has two campgrounds for a total of 72 campsites, Log Gulch and Little Log. The main campground Log Gulch Campground has 60 sites, plus two tent walk in sites. This is a paved campground with gravel parking pads. A large day use area with boat ramp, marina, fish cleaning site, Ramada and beach are below the campground across the road. The campground features a ranger station, two vault toilets (a third one can be found in the day use area), running water, trash service and a Ramada located at the top of the campground. Sites 1-13 are best suited for RV's. Two of the sites in Log Gulch are walk in tent only campsites. After sites 1-13 all the other sites are very nice large sites with plenty of room for tents, however finding a flat place may be challenging as the campground is built on a hill. Grassy sites can be found in the center of the main loop. All sites have picnic tables with fire rings. A small creeks runs along the edge of the campground. Two trail heads are at the campground, one at each end which connect to 4 miles of hiking trails. Fishing appears to very good at the marina as I watch two very large trout be pulled out of the water in a short period of time.
Ranger Review of the Wenzel' Boulderdasche 33 Backpack
I took this pack on a 7.5 mile hike and found it to be a comfortable pack that held everything I needed for a day hike. Like to retro look of the pack. One of its features is a padded internal laptop sleeve, which works well holding a hydration bag. Another feature I liked was that the clips were metal not plastic so I won't have to worry about cracking them when putting the pack down on the ground. Two side pockets and a top pocket have plenty of room to hold frequently used items so you won't have to open up the whole pack each time you want something. A chest strap would have been a nice feature to have. Loops on the back, bottom and top of the pack make it possible to strap additional items to the outside of the pack if needed, which could allow this pack to be used for an single overnight trip if you are a lightweight backpacker. A pretty nice pack for the price.
Guide
Every thing was fine other than the campground host was mean
GuideAwesome night fishing.
GuideWe camp here at least monthly. Great boating and swimming and you can see some amazing sights.
LegendHolter Lake Recreation Area campground is a very nice campground with 52 camp sites. The entire campground including parking pads is paved. The site also has a swimming beach, boat ramp, docks, fish cleaning station, and accessible fishing walkway. The site has several vault toilets as well as water faucets through out the campground. This is a very busy campground with sites filling up fast, especially on the weekends. All sites are first come first serve, no reservations. If you want to avoid the crowd bring a tent and camp in the tent only area, when we visited no one was using the eight tent only sites, yet all the other sites in the camp ground were full. Each campsite has a fire-pit and picnic table.
TravelerClean. Had outhouses. Pet and family friendly drive to accessible. Tent and camper parking. Right on the water.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Helena National Forest is Holter Dam Rec. Site Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 15 reviews.
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