Best Tent Camping near Kootenai National Forest, MT

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.

Less than five miles from the highway, this is a nice sized lake stocked with fish. There were a pair of white swans on the lake when I was there but no one else around. A large parking area, could accommodate a travel trailer or two in addition to a couple tent sites with fire rings. One picnic table with a fire pit and rock fire rings at the tent sites. There are two access roads, the first is more appropriate for van, truck or hike in to tent site. Not a lot of turn around room, wouldn't bring a trailer in. Second turn off goes to a much larger area, multiple sites and boat launch access to the lake.

Rough road going west from Polebridge not suitable for RvS. Much better road eastbound from Eureka side. Nice camp for a tent camp or camper. Creek close. Beautiful mountains getting there from Eureka

Ashley Lake never disappoints. The camp sites are a bit rough to get too but as long as you're tent camping or have a very small and agile pull behind you'll be okay. It can get a bit windy later in the day but it's still beautiful.

Moose Lake is a really small campground at the end of the road. Plenty of parking for day use but limited to only a few spots for dispersed tent camping. Lake was very calm and quiet. I would have rated this 3 stars if they had more camping spots.

There are a handful of tent sites here. Several are on a hill next to each other beside the parking lot. 4 sites sit right along the lake. Great spot if camping near lake is your interest, however, lacks privacy as sites are directly beside each other. Awkward sites.

Just about a mile from the highway, this site is right on the river with some nice deep pools. There are three separate fire rings with a vault toilet and picnic table. It's a short drive in but more suitable for truck camping, van, tent camping or very small trailer like 13' max due to narrow track and limited maneuvering area. High clearance required!

We enjoyed our time at this camp. Most sites are for RVs, but we got a tent site. Unfortunately, my two year old son didn’t settle for bed easily when camping. I ended up in hotels a couple nights, just because I didn’t want to bother the other campers. The time I did stay there was nice. The hosts are very helpful and kind as well.

Sure, I have a bias against tent camping in RV Land.  There's usually no tree coverage, all the spaces are the same, and you have to deal with fumes, motors and people who are, essentially, driving around large living rooms.  That said, there are some good folks to meet, colorful camphosts and extreme ease of setup.  This spot, while not the sexiest, checks off a lot of boxes.  You have lots of mountains, lakes, the glorious Glacier National Park nearby and some cute cabins.

A very nice small campground. About 2/3 of the sites are full hookups. Rest water and electric. Tent sites. Owners are great people. Very helpful for sure. They have a path you can walk down right to the Kootanie river with chairs and picnic tables to sit on. Very nice. Grounds are clean and tidy. Owners care a lot about their customers. Bathrooms are clean. Showers also clean. Would recommend staying here if your in the area.

This campground is operated by the US Forest Service and it is hosted from May to Sept. During thoes months it is $10 a night. HOWEVER, it is open year round wether and road closures considered. There are 18 campsites and the roads and site parking is paved. Other amenities include vault toilets, potable water spicgots and picnic tbles. And that is all, excepted for magnificent views. This is the Bull River Valley of western Montana after all. More to the point, just down the road a few miles is an Ancient Cedar Forest and there is a boat launch and dock nearby for Bull Lake access.

Drawbacks are the possibility that wildfires might limit access in late summer. Mosquitoes and the fact that the nearest camp store with ice, gasoline and provisions is 25 miles away in Troy. But seriously, an Ancient Cedar Forest…

We stayed here in early October. The days were short and cold and we were tent camping, but there was spectacular lake access for our canoe.

To start off, I rarely write reviews. We were in the area in August of 2019 and we stopped here to potentially tent camp. We went inside and asked if there was anything available for the night. We wanted a quiet campground with access to the Kootenay River in which they had both. So one of the owners let us check out the sites and trail to the river. However, we wanted something right on the river and it was a little bit of a walk to gain access to it.

We went back in and said we wanted something along the river and the owner recommended a different campground further down the road. (Which ended up being a great recommendation.) She didn't have to do that. She wasn't greedy whatsoever. That's how businesses should operate. That what makes people want to come back because of little stuff like this. I even offered to buy some firewood because she recommended a different campsite and she told us to get it at the camp in which we were staying.

That's why I'm writing this review because it's hard to find good service like that anymore. Although we didn't stay here, I highly recommend this campground. Great service, very clean, and nice atmosphere.

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 are normally tent campers. Bought an RV and tried it here first. Great little spot to spend a few days away from town. Pros: Awesome host, nice campsites, clean bathrooms, hiking trails nearby, firewood delivered to your site, fishing, boating, swimming is just a small walk away. The deepest or second deepest lake in Montana.

Cons: Some of the road is washboarded, but not to bad if you drive slow. No electric (not needed anyway, you are camping ;) )

All in all... a great place to go enjoy some nature.

Clean bathrooms and water close by. The tent pads are level and usually rock free. The park keeps the campgrounds clean and accessible. We spend a lot of our summer here. 🤙🏼

Picnic table and fire pit at most sites. Firewood available for sale. *No tent policy. Showers, restrooms, laundry available, and cleaned daily. On site hosts are friendly and helpful. Mcgregor lake lodge and restaurant across the street. There is a nice well maintained walking path that goes around the park. The exit road to the highway also goes behind the park to little Mcgregor lake. Pictures on the website

Back-In Rate Information: Daily – $48.00 Weekly – $288.00 Monthly – $925.00

Pull-Thru Rate Information: Daily – $52.00 Weekly – $312.00 Monthly – $989.00

The Bad? By the time you see this the onsite manager will have quit because of the owner. The manager was awesome but isn’t allowed to enforce policy or contact law enforcement. During my stay, and other said has happened many times, there were “visitors” parking in other sites of in the middle of the road, loud drunks, even s family that left a kid to young to speak outside after yelling at him. Unfortunately the manager can only say what will happen but can’t make it happen and the bad guests figure that out fast. Only because so many of us complained and decided we would contact the sheriff’s office did anything happen. So this is why it’s not 5 star.

Also, if you are not white or obviously white do not go to the restaurant across the street. They do not care and this is deep in Montana, just sayin

Details: Large bathrooms, cleaned daily Laundry available for a flat rate Most sites are flat Nice lawns and walking trails Room at most sites for very large RVs Long drive to Kalispell but an easy hwy drive Plenty of local lakes to fish Head to marion and eat at the bar and grill

A real gem of a find! Although the campsites are not lakefront, it's only a short walk to the day use area with a fishing dock, boat launch and dock, and a nice public area. Although the lake isn't particularly large, the people we saw fishing were catching. There appears to be 8 sites, one of which is outside of the gate which may be locked after the end of September. At least half of the sites have a nice sized tent area. Most people were tenting when we were there. We arrived at 2pm on a Wednesday and had 4 sites to choose from

We came here as all other campgrounds were packed. The tent area was strange (it was on a weird tiny hill) but hey I’m not complaining. Showers were free and warm.

If you like paved and well maintained camping this is a very nice spot. Lot of camping spaces, many along the river. Nice, clean facilities. They have firewood available for you. RV and tent spots. The Yaak is a beautiful area!