Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Kootenai National Forest

This old Guard Station is in the perfect location. Easy to drive to and close to miles and miles of trails in the Kootenai National Forest. Plenty of beds for a full family - four upstairs and one downstairs. History galore in the building and surrounding areas. Some complaints of mice - but that’s to be expected from a building from 1908.

This USFS Cabin rental is perfect for families! The cabin is a former ranger house and is located right next to the river, with horse stalls and plenty of space for parking. Hiking trails, fishing, and great swimming holes are very close by. The cabin is along a road, but traffic isn't a concern as the USFS in the Kootenai aren't busy any time of the year. I believe you can only rent by calling the Kootenai National Forest (Troy District).

Arrived late with no reservation and office closed but kind cheery owner, David found a spot for us, bending the rules a bit. Our stay was lovely, couldn’t ask for more, was mostly quiet since 41 is toward back, away from road. The bathrooms/showers were seriously palatial and very tidy/clean, way better than many hotels I’ve stayed at. Also liked the dog park at the front.

this a very pleasant rv park but it is in the middle of town and very difficult to find. lots of trees and grass but spaces are close together. if you are not looking for anything close to actual camping but close to glacier and other attractions this is the place for you. wifi available but very slow.

i only gave it three stars because the pet area was disgusting. even though dog bags were available, there was poop everywhere. the area was very small.  there is as fencing and a gate but further down was wide open with no gate.

My wife and I stayed here while motorcycle camping with our cat in July 2019.  Loved the days we stayed.  Our campsite was situated so we had good solar reception.  Fire ring was good, as was the picnic table.  Discovered a spring just a few miles west of the campground where water was easily available.  The poor road condition was the only bad part.

Nearby Whitefish, MT has a growing reputation for fantastic trails, hikes and mountain bike areas, and this full-service oasis takes advantage of all of it.  The $50 per night fee (for the tent sites) comes with a sauna, bike repair and washing station, gift shop, hot showers, laundry, wi-fi, a bike skills area, trails for all levels…all intertwined with the Beaver Lake series of trails and small lakes.  Very kid and pet friendly, a community-building locale.  There's a large lodge for people wanting a roof over their heads.  As another example, if you bike in, they would usually try to make space for you (even if everything was full) and charge $15.  Plus, there are bike trails/easy routes to every other major biking area around Whitefish - Spencer Mountain, Lyon Mountain, Reservoir Lake and Big Mountain Nordic.  I could be nit-picky and say that the camping sites are a little on the small side and crammed together, but there's personality to each one and to the area in general.  Word of caution - reserve in advance!  😯  There was only one campground left on a Sunday evening in June.  The friendly attendant said they can make some exceptions for large groups.

We camped here and enjoyed being away from everywhere else. There were free range cattle everywhere ... which means a lot of cow pies that the dogs couldn't stay out of. That wasn't really terrible though. The lake itself was rather gross. Probably the dirtiest lake I've ever been to in Montana. It was disappointing because we were camping on a very hot weekend. We wanted to get in the water to cool off, but it was gross so we couldn't bring ourselves to get in.

This place was filled to the brim with permanents. I didnt even feel like I was camping I felt like I was invading someones home.

There was trash in out fire pit and that was gross.

The camp hosts were real nice. The first spot we got we didnt fit in so they accommodated and found us something that would work for our rig. They have a nice convenience store, easy boat access and a restaurant with full bar.

There were kids everywhere! at the bar, on atvs, riding bikes, jumping around us while we were fishing for no reason.

So many people had their dogs off leash with poor manners and no recall. I had 2 dogs approach me aggressively. I saw a dog go after someone walking their lil Pomeranian, the owner looked terrified. We did not feel comfortable walking our dogs cause of all the aggressive off leash dogs.

Full hookups worked as they should no complaints there.

Would not stay here again.

Maybe 20 minutes from whitefish, this area offers only a handful of rustic sites as well boat launch parking. First come first serve. Lovely trails nearby with lake access. My dogs and I enjoyed our stay. Highly suggested.

We were able to move to a lake view site. Our site was private and peaceful. Campground had bathroom, showers, boat docks and a boat launch. We didn’t use most of the amenities, but we enjoyed our stay immensely. Plenty of space, a nice trail to the middle Thompson. Great for dogs too.

You can choose ambiance in the first loop or river front in the second loop. Just be aware that the river is noisy. It’s pack it in and pack it out so, no garbage collection. Cell reception for T Mobile is a strong 1-2 bars. No trouble streaming. One of the best forest service campgrounds. $15 a night. $7.50 with senior discount. The only major problem is that dogs are not on leashes and no one is around to enforce the leash law.

2020 cost is $16 + $8 extra car, half off with Federal parks pass, & it's average for a Forest Service pay campground. There's water, & you can fill a holding tank, but no power or dump. The lower loops are very close together & less shade. The upper loop has more shade, bigger sites, but sound rises from below. You can hear the conversations and generators of your lower neighbors. Our site was next to a vault toilet - we could smell it. There was lots of noise, e.g., road, train, barking dogs, etc. The 2020 camp hosts were very intrusive. They stopped us in the middle of the road while they inspected our front license plate (we aren't required to have one), then interrogated us, without masks, about where we were from, what we were doing & how many dogs we had. We have a nice RV and look like average middle class folks. Maybe it was because we were in a Class B Van, but our van cost more than most class As. This is a self-pay campground so unless I need firewood I don't need to be forced to stop & be questioned by a volunteer. While we drove through looking at sites one host tailed us on foot through the CG. Five minutes after we began to set up they showed up, not wearing masks, wanting money. I didn't think volunteers were supposed to handle any money. We'd already paid at the iron ranger pay station & they seemed disappointed to not get the money directly from us. Then, within a minute, they returned, not wearing masks, & fussed because we hadn't gotten the tag on our campsite post yet - we were still setting up & hadn't had time yet. They weren't social distancing & we thought they were very peculiar and intimidating.

Great place to stay. Big grassy area in the middle of the RV park with picnic tables, great for walking dogs or just relaxing in the grass. There is also a small basketball court. Minimal bugs- just a few knats that would seek out the lights at night. Site was level and just enough space for trailer and truck(a bit crowded but worked), full sun, no shade and a picnic table. Splitter on the water spiket provided. Light road noise from hwy nearby, but not bad. Customer service was nice and accommodating.$2 wash/$2 dryer so a little high, but the laundry services were clean. Gravel back-in site, asphalt roads, great for strolling around in the evening. 

We stayed for 7 days so paid for 6 and the 7th was free. They also accept Good Sam members. 

The wifi was a tad slow, but for the most part worked pretty good. Hotspot on cell for video calls and Netflix though. 

Close to the grocery(Super 1 Foods) and 2 miles from the rodeo grounds and Blue Moon Nite Club where they have a weekly Thursday Rodeo in the summer. It was fun! Very accessible to Whitefish, Kalispell, downtown Columbia Falls, Hungry Horse, and Glacier National Park.*The cajun restaurant in Whitefish Tupelo Grille was awesome!!

Stopped by on my way through Montana in May. The campground was empty except for 3 other families since it was still the off season, so it was a very quiet stay and I got to fall asleep to the sound of the river right behind my spot.

Johnie and his staff are over the top to accommodate. We stayed in the cabin and it was clean, warm, comfortable. Located central to sights in Idaho as well as Montana. We will be back next year. Guided fishing tours available as well as great food.

Our friend's family has a campout here every year on Labor Day. The sites are large, and loop B has the most sites on the water. There is a boat launch and a dock, perfect for fishing. The bathrooms are SUPER clean and heated when it's chilly out. $18 for a Montana resident and $26 for out of staters. No cell service!!