Best Tent Camping near Hungry Horse, MT

We ended up at Lid Creek after the first few campgrounds along the lake were full.

Sites are on the small side, and most are not very flat. There is a good amount of distance between sites and lots of trees so privacy is good.

There are 2 clean vault toilets and trash dumpsters.

Bear boxes are spread throughout.

Each site has a fire ring and picnic table.

Host on site sells fire wood.

Lake access is a just short walk down a trail. There is a great rock beach with plenty of room for kids to play and splash.

We encountered 2 thunderstorms during our stay... Montana weather is always unpredictable.

We had a deer walk through our site early morning, so wildlife is definitely near by.

Lid Creek Campground is in the Hungry Horse Recreation area on the Hungry Horse Reservoir. The lake, Salish Mountains and Montana’s big sky are all front and center here. Lid Creek is 15 miles off U.S. 2 on a very winding but paved road. The road down to the campground is gravel, lots of tight turns but generally in good shape; we did just fine towing our 30 ft travel trailer. Double-check the campsite length when you reserve - some sites are very short and a smallish car would have trouble fitting.

The campsites include picnic table and fire pit, there are vault toilets throughout the campground and bear-proof food boxes - there are definitely bears in the area. Keep pets close by and please store food in the storage boxes. There is NO WATER available at the campground so bring your own or you’ll be frustrated. Camp host was terrific and has firewood at the host site right as you enter the campground. We had 5G of T-Mobile which was very surprising considering how far off the main highway the campground is. West Glacier is about 45 minutes away and a very easy drive from Lid Creek Campground. We loved it!

Be prepared for a dusty, bumpy, narrow, pot-holed drive in on the road. There's a sign at the beginning of the incline that indicates parking availability… pay attention to the sign, it will tell you if no parking is available. If the road is wet, it is treacherous! Remember to bring bug spray and bear spray, be aware of your surroundings. 

You'll be a high elevation so be ready for cooler nights. I used my 0-degree sleeping bag, and that worked great. Limited campsites so get there early on the weekend. Several trails lead into the mountains, one leads along the lakeshore. There is drinking water, pit toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, plus some bear-proof storage boxes.Highly recommend taking the time to explore and camp at this location.

Nice NPS campground within walking distance to Bowman Lake and several trailheads. This is a good spot to camp if you plan on hikeing or boating near/on the lake. Super clean, lots of shade and hammock trees, vault toilet, first come. I was surprised there was only one bear box for the whole campground to share instead of one at each site. Especially after seeing a leather deposit of bear scat on the Bowman Lake trail. No showers here but you can pay for a shower down at Polebridge Market Place, which you want to visitor anyway for their amazing baked goods (pizza after 3 pm too!). There was a ranger hanging out in the parking lot of the trail head area if you have any questions (though her job looked to be more traffic management than anything else).

I was in site 88 which was quite lovely with the stream behind it. I fly fished there and caught some trout! It's shallow so not for swimming but nice to stick your feet in to cool off. There was plenty of room to put my 4 person tent with an awning, though the awning was slightly outside the wooden tent pad markers. There was various shade throughout the day. I did have to pack up my tent and sleep in my car as there was grizzly activity after some folks weren't thinking and left some food unattended! The game wardens WILL fine you if you leave either food and/or fires unattended. If you're solo, like I was, you really need to think ahead before you prepare food or start a fire."I had to use the restroom" won't fly with the wardens! Grizzlies don't care and that fire could start a wild fire! 

The biggest drawback was that the dumpster was right in front of my site but mostly people were extra careful not to let the spring-loaded access door slam. There's plenty of space between sites so I didn't feel like I was crammed in there. I could barely see my neighbors through the trees/bushes. I assume they'd be easy to see in spring or late fall with little vegetation. If you need to be right next to a bathroom, this isn't the site for you. It was across the road, down a path. There isn't a bear box for food storage directly ON this site but there's one nearby to share with another site. This site was in the no-generator loop, yay! Camp host, Jane, was ridiculously wonderful! She keeps a lending library outside her RV and encourages children to go out and find "exciting things" to display on her table for all passersby to view. FUN!

From this site, you can walk to the Swiftcurrent Inn/deli/store which has basic necessities, a lot of junk food(very little produce in the park at all!), sandwiches, cold drinks, gift type things and where you get the tokens for showers. For those who are flying and can't bring bear spray, they have it there in the store. The Swiftcurrent Inn is also the parking lot for many of the trailheads nearby. TIP: seek out Fishercap Lake, just about a 10-minute easy walk from the parking lot. Moose are almost always seen there in the early mornings and early evenings.

 If I get lucky enough to go back, I will absolutely try and get this campsite (and just about anywhere in the campground) again! I far preferred the east side to the west. I stayed at the Sprague Creek campground on the west side which was a totally different experience. I'll write a review for that one too.

Really excellent location right inside Glacier National Park limits and walking distance to Lake McDonald. I had very limited cell phone service with Verizon at the campground but I had 4G at the lake. The sites were spacious enough. Most sites had a semi circle type parking so easy to get in and out for trailers. Bathroom was ok but there was no soap. No wifi. Trash receptacles were available. The showers were not great. Deer frequented the sites. Proper food storage is very important. It was nice and quiet while I was there but during peak summer months would likely be very busy and crowded.

Situated along the southwest side of Glacier National Park's Fish Creek Campground, I snagged two nights at site D173 - right on the lake! 

Follow the paved road to Loop D, and it's one of the last sites you come to. The site was extremely spacious and very clean (many of the sites at Fish Creek Campground are very small). It contained a fire pit, picnic table and outline for tent location. Plenty of close trees for hammocks. 

Just a short walk down the hill from the site and you're on the lake! Because of the trees, there's not a great view of the lake from the site. Site D174 has fewer trees with clearer views of the lake. 

The site was extremely close to the dumpsters (but not too close!), the bear vault was across the road and the bathrooms were maybe 100ft away (M/W - two stalls with flushing toilets and two sinks with a hand dryer). 

I'm not much of a campground person (I prefer backpacking to avoid screaming kids and the sounds of generators), but this was sufficed for my time exploring Glacier National Park. 

You'll see I had a tent/tarp set up the first night (I refused to be wet in my tent!), but the second night I slept in my car since I knew it would be pouring rain the next morning and I didn't want to break down camp in the rain. 

Beware! You cannot collect sticks from the area for your fire. You must purchase firewood at Apgar Village (around $6/bundle) or collect dead branches/wood from the road to Bowman or Kintla Lakes. 

The site host was at the start of Loop D, so she was close by for any issues (she's super nice!).

The campground is dog friendly (I had mine with me), but know that there are NO dog-friendly trails in Glacier NP.