Best Campgrounds near Helena, MT

Campground is in great location. Right on water just 6 miles off of main highway. It is a gravel road but super easy (no potholes) & big rig friendly. Sites right on water. Open sky for starlink and decent cell service. A little loud during day for day use area (boat ramp & beach area), but quiets down in evening. Picnic table and fire pits at campsites. No hookups but sites are relatively level. Beautiful 360 views. Can book easily on recreation site. Also pit toilets and water stations. Mosquitos are heavy in evening but that’s part of being around water.

This is a very nice place to stay. Very affordable, clean and well kept. The playgrounds are fun for the kiddos and the river walk is super close. There is lots of shade available from the trees, but our site was full sun. The wiring held up great, ran both AC’s at the same time with no issues. Right when you pull up, someone comes to greet you to make sure you know where you’re going and what direction to pull in. We even forgot our water hookup and Scott let us borrow a hose! Super nice. Would definitely come back. Only cons are the mosquitos, slight highway noise, and trains can be heard every now and then. The trains never woke me up though, so wasn’t loud to us. Definitely worth the visit!

Do not follow the directions in the other review, they are wrong. My review follows the directions.

Take the Clancy exit and turn towards clancy. The road looks like its an immediate left with a big arrow sign but its not, drive straight through. About 1/10 mile and you’ll see the brown forest service sign at the T intersection indicating Park Lake is 14 miles after turning right.

3.5 miles pavement becomes a well maintained wide gravel/dirt road the entire way. Soft shoulders though, beware.

If you pick the lake on a gps or follow the listing directions in Dyrt you will mistakenly turn left just shy of 8 miles and find a narrow road going down, no trespassing and dead end signs. If you have a trailer you’ll have to back out up hill.

Instead stay on the main road and don’t stop until you reach the T intersection which is approx. 11.5 miles from the sign that said 14 miles. You’ll see the forest toad sign 4009 and the forest service sign indicating you turn left and will reach the lake in 2 miles with the campground just at the opposite end

22 sites, all paved, all back-in for towable’s. Some are only large enough for a single vehicle with a tiny towable, a few will hold big trucks and 30+ footers. All have a table and fire pit. Hand pump water point, 3 pit toilets which are very clean and well stocked. Sites are a mix from full sun all day to full shade all day. Plenty of open sky in most sites for clear satellite lines.

Plenty of firewood just lying around. Chipmunks and rabbits run around. This is bear country, be prepared and read over the signage if you are inexperienced.

The lake is beautiful, plenty if shore fishing and large day use areas with tables and firepits. Dirt boat launch as this is a non motorized lake, manpower only.

No services or trash. Pack it in pack it out. Closest services are Montana city for minimal needs, Helena for most needs. Clancy has nothing

Be advised, there is only 1 USFS enforcement officer for the area. He was very clear that he doesn’t have the time to respond or investigate any claims of non paying guests, abandon sites, trash being left, quiet hours violations until 2am, dogs of leash, public drunkenness resulting in injury, belligerence or verbal assault. He will investigate violence and fireworks. This isn’t a manpower issue, he makes excuses on what he claims he cannot prove, despite multiple witnesses, and twists policy and law in order to avoid enforcement. Just be aware, on busy weekends its a free for all. Pay attention to your kids

My family and I cannot recommend this campground enough. It is immaculately clean with new everything(sinks, showers, buildings etc.). It is very quiet, and the owners are the nicest people. The views are so serene with the RV’s being in a meadow surrounded by beautiful mountains on all sides. The RV’s are spaced out a good distance apart where you aren’t on top of each other. Each site comes with a very large and sturdy fire pit and large picnic table! We stayed at many different campgrounds between Alabama and northern Montana on our out west trip, and we rate this one FAR superior to every other one we stayed at! The town of Lincoln is very small and secluded, but there are some very good restaurants in town and some different hikes to do. We highly recommend that you stay here if you are traveling through the area!