Best Tent Camping near Lakeside, 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.

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.

Nice little forest service campground with two small loops for a total of about 20 sites, reservable. I lucked out and was able to get a site last minute as a walk in, and my site was pretty good! Site 9 site on the river side and has water access (with a bit of walking), and is close to the vault toilet (which is in need of service). Quiet with a good number of trees (bring your hammock), you may need to kick some pine cones out of the way to pitch your tent. There is a nice picnic table and fire ring as well. I watched a doe nose around in the site opposite mine for a while.

This is a very busy campground in a stunningly beautiful park. We selected this campground because it is one of only 2 in Glacier National Park that accepts reservations, and its close proximity to Lake McDonald. We stayed in the D loop (loops are A-D). Of the four loops, this one was my favorite. The A loop had larger sites, but they were less private. The A loop is the only loop with showers as well, so a lot of campers come thru to hit the shower. We hit the shower mid-day and were lucky that there was no line and a little hot water. Our loop had a mix of sites, but mostly tent campers. Some have direct views to the lake, some are along Fish Creek, and many are little more than a driveway with a picnic table & fire pit. We had to put our tents, one medium size & one small, in the driveway due to no other space available. The ground was incredibly hard to put stakes into and the gravel drive put a hole in my sleeping pad. The bathroom was within a minute walk and there are several water spickets around each loop. Being “bear aware” is essential in this area, so all food & food prep items have to be stored in your vehicle or one of the communal bear boxes. The camp hosts offer wash basins for dishes and there is a grey water dump at the bathroom. For the most part, it is a relatively quiet campground, as most people are off exploring the park every day. We did have a large group of loud campers/partiers next to us one night that resulted in a small swarm of park rangers showing up, but I think this is probably unusual. Apgar Village is nearby where you can get everything you may need and more...gifts/souvenirs, ice cream, firewood, boat & bike rentals, coffee, etc. Glacier is amazing!...but very busy & with really only one road going thru the park for the most part. Be prepared for crowds but relax & take in the beauty of it all.

The campground offers many lakeside campsites complete with picnic table and fire rings. There were 3 yurts for those interested. all vehicles, including camping vehicles, park alongside road; there are few, if any, pull-in sites. There is room for a tent or two in the sIte. Most of the lakeside sites also have a small amount of slope.

The camp hosts were absolutely fantastic! There is firewood and ice for sale at the park. Polson is about 20-30 mInutes away and has grocery stores, etc. If you go to Polson, check out The Cove Deli for some really great ice-cream.

The showers were really awkward, but did the job. They take $ coins (available from host if needed) and quarters.

If you aren’t bringing your own boat, Boat Rentals and Rides is only 2 miles down the road. We rented 2 glass bottom kayaks. Warning: lake conditions change suddenly and we saw the waves blow in 2 dIfferent directions durIng the 2 days we were there. There were no bear boxes at the sites, only one by the bathroom.

Stayed here in late June. Rained everyday for 4 days but the site stayed nice and relatively mud free. Sites are a little close for my taste so it's a 4* instead of 5, but it's a national park not a backcountry hideaway. Short walk to the restrooms and water dump. Water/trash/food storage facilities are placed frequently throughout camp. Lots of families and tons of RVs. Our rooftop tend set up quite nicely in the pull through site. Buy your wood ahead of time as it is not available at this Campground but is sold in other areas of the park. We reserved online ahead of time but the board at the main gate showed open sites that weren't listed online. Would recommend. Also, all bear camping rules and regs in place, be smart. Sprint had service and internet, Verizon did not, wierd I know.