Best Dispersed Camping near Lincoln, MT

Bumped in to this disperse campsite while heading out for a hike.  This is one of three disperse campsite along the Little Blackfoot River in the Helena National Forest that have been marked by the Forest Service as a disperse camping area. This is a nice large flat right next to the creek with plenty of room for multiple tents or RVs.  The site has a large rock fire ring and the big bonus of having a picnic table.  A short trail leads to the river, but does require a little bit of scrambling.  The River (more of a creek at this point) has a nice spot if you need to cool off from the summer heat.  Another short trail goes up a small hill and leads to an area with lots of fallen trees which can be cut for firewood if fire restrictions are not in place.  The only bad thing about this disperse site is that it is right next to the road.

This is the second disperse camping sit along the Little Blackfoot River that has been marked as a disperse campsite by the Helena National Forest.  It is nice having these sits marked by the Forest Service as their are several parcels of private land along the road.  This site is small with only one small level area for a tent of mid sized RV.  The site has a large rock fire ring in the center.  Their is no easy trail access to the river.  Plenty of down trees in the area for firewood if you have a way to cut them, their is also plenty of small stuff that can be easily collected for a fire.   Site is right next to the road, but road noise should be little to none as a few curves will slow vehicles down and their isn't much more road left until the campground and trailhead at the end of the road.

This is the 3rd and final disperse site that the Helena National Forest has marked along the little Blackfoot River.  It is nice to be sure that you are on public land when in an area checker boarded with private land.  This is a large flat camping area with plenty of room for tents and several RV's.  Site has a large rock fire ring, and the river is only a few short flat feet away.  Plenty of wood can be found for making a fire.  Site is near the road, but very little traffic comes this way as you are almost at the roads end.  Water can be easily filtered from the river (more like a creek at this point)

Many states out west allow dispersed camping on select public lands owned by the Bureau of Land management. You need to pick up a map of exactly where you’re allowed to camp (there are no facilities, obviously). You can also rent “cabins” which are buildings from before the building became ghosted (but have been updated). Even if you don’t want to camp you can tour the town and have a surreal afternoon imagining what it’d be like to be a miner back in the day.

Camping is dispersed and a little eerie. This ghost town is complete with still stocked shops, empty hotels with beds left in and slowly aging buildings. It is an interesting look at the mining industry in Montana. There are numerous interpretive signs and information about the building throughout the town and rangers on site during the summer months to answer questions. During the winter two of the cabins (the larger of which is the old saloon) are available to rent through the forest service. Most of my recent trips have been during the winter months, where the town is only accessible by ski, snow shoe or feet. Then it is silent and strange but heart breakingly beautiful.

The dispersed campground near the start of Johnsrud Rd (Mile Marker 28 on Hwy 200) has been removed. However, 2 new campgrounds have been added, and the entire road is now paved making RV accessibility much easier. 

The three campgrounds are as follows: 

Thibodeau Campground- 5 mi in

Corrick River Bend - 11 mi in

Ninemile Prarie- 13 mi. in

We didn’t stay at this exact site as it was taken but there one more dispersed site about a mile or so down the road.

Was nice being close to the creek and there was lots of fallen trees we used for firewood.

Quiet spot with a small amount of traffic on the road.

Didn’t see any wildlife but the horseflies were a bit out of control this time of the year.

Camp beside one of Montana's best preserved ghost towns!! Garnet!! Learn rich history of pioneer days of Montana and visit cabins among the town. Not many amenities available here. Yes I believe in ghosts!!

Interesting and informative, though half of the buildings are locked upright. You can really interesting artifacts through the windows. Great potential. A little picnic area.

Great ghost town!

Just a ghost town no camping

This camp ground is less than a hundred yards from the Garnet Ghost Town! The ghost town was recently in the news because people from across the country applied to volunteer at it once a story about it went viral. No need to apply to volunteer -- just stay at the campground to get your fill of history and maybe a haunting!

This was a pretty spot on the river with quite a few sites and a day use area. Access to the river was a bit tight through the day use area. A small amount of road noise could be heard and the vault toilet was clean. Overall a great place.

Easy to find, road isn’t too rough, no service with t mobile, nice little fire ring. Definitely recommend getting there a little earlier to get the good spots

Long climb up the trail over Pyramid Pass to access the lake but its worth it. One of the shortest hikes to get in to a lake in the BobMarshall.
Spotty cell reception on shore of lake. Wonderful views, lots of wildlife (including bears...).

The river was running pretty fast when we were there. Couldn’t play in the water but it was still beautiful. Saw an eagle. Quiet.