Best Cabin Camping near Livingston, MT

The Maxey Cabin, although sparse in its' appointments, is a magical destination that is accesible year round. With two sleeping cabins, a large sun deck, fire pit and outdoor swing, this forest service cabin offers the active ncabin camper a gateway to the many recreation opportunities available in the world famous Hyalite Canyon recreation area- Bozeman's backyard.

The main cabin offers a table and chairs, two double bunk beds, wood stove for heat and a small counter area for preparing your meals. Guests need to bring their own water supply and all cooking supplies including stove, pots and pans and utensils. The second cabin has two single bunk beds and a table.

Invite your friends because they will want to share in the quiet solitude of Maxey cabin and there is plenty of room. At approximately a 35 minute drive from Bozeman, the convenience of this retreat is unmatched.

Excellently maintained and kept clean throughout, visitors to Maxey cabin can survey the surrounding mountains from the large front deck. Once you've been, you'll wonder why you haven't been before and not want to tell your friends.

If you are planning a weekend excursion, be prepared to reserve your spot 6 months in advance as reservations typically are in high demand.

This is one of the best camping cabins for equestrians that I found so far in Montana. Getting from the main road into the cabin can be a bit tricky for vehicles over 30 feet. This cabin has plenty of room to sleep 6. There are Corrals for horses and pasture. And the trails into the forest service are endless in a couple different directions. There is also a vault toilet for day travelers. The cabin has electricity and running water a fire ring and it's also close to a creek. The only down holes are mosquitoes and you cannot overnight camp only rent the cabin so if you're planning a trip you need to plan and Reserve this cabin in advance as it goes really fast every year.

We rented the Ibex cabin the first week of June. The cabin was in great shape. The area is nice and open, however a few more trees closer to the cabin for hammock use would have been nice. If you want to hammock there are a couple trees behind the cabin that would work but it’s kind of away from everyone if they’re hanging out up front. The open field was perfect for letting the kiddos run around while being able to keep a close eye on them. The fields were covered in wildflowers, which is always awesome! Despite that, the views were lovely and there’s a nice babbling stream right behind the campfire pit which added a nice ambiance. Fire pit was in great shape, nice solid grate for grilling. The cabin porch had a few notches where we had the pleasure of bird watching some pretty cool wood peckers come and go. Picnic table was in good condition, solid and layed flat which is always convenient. Sometimes you get picnic tables which are kind of wobbly, but this one was great. The pit toilet was fairly clean, most likely because the road had recently opened to vehicles so it was probably cleaned fairly close to when we were there. There’s also a trailhead right before the gate that connects to the neighboring Porcupine Cabin which is cool to have so close. There were quite a bit of flies inside the cabin when we arrived but luckily there was a fly swatter hanging on the wall so that took care of that problem. Nice big table inside, good for playing cards/board games. The bunk beds were slightly questionable. Two of us slept on the bottom bunks and the other two slept on ground pads on the floor just because the wobbliness of the top bunks made us a wee bit nervous. The wood burning stove was pretty small. We lit it for heat about a half hour before bed, had to restart it about five hours later, but it wasn’t too chilly outside so it wasn’t uncomfortable when it cooled off. If it had been colder outside, one would maybe have to keep waking up to relight it. All in all, great area to get away for the weekend. Highly recommend!

About 20 minutes south of Bozeman, MT on scenic Hyalite Canyon Road sits Langohr Campground. There are 19 spacious single sites and the 20th site is a group picnic site for day use. Langohr Campground runs along Hyalite Creek and is tucked inside Custer Gallatin National Forest in a small open meadow with Douglas fir, Lodgepole pine, and Englemann Spruce. 

I was fortunate to find a campsite as a walk-in even after arriving mid-afternoon at the beginning of June 2019 because it was too late to reserve online. Each site does have a picnic table and fire ring, and electrical sites are available. Some are drive-in or back into sites, and a few are literally next to Hyalite Creek which is an added bonus. A heavy snowfall occurred a week before and remnants of it were scattered along the campground. Good thing I brought a snow scraper to clear the picnic table of snow. The fee is $20.00 per campsite for two vehicles and $8.00 for any additional vehicles. The group picnic site is $45.00 for day use. I paid cash for the site, but I believe you may also pay by credit card.

Many of the campers were settling in and had parked RVs and pop-ups. Pets are allowed but must be on a leash as wildlife such as bears, deers, moose, and elk frequent the area. Bear lockers should be used for food storage or properly stored in vehicles. There are huge bear safe trash and recycling containers near the entrance for campers to use. The bathroom is clean, free of odor and bugs, and it is a vault toilet. There are no showers, dump station, or camp store, but you are close to Bozeman.  The camp host was settled on site 11 and sells firewood for $6.00. You can take a walk along the Hyalite Creek or drive 3.5 miles south down to Hyalite Reservoir for other activities such as fishing, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, hiking, and boating. The night sky was pretty spectacular especially with the trees around on a clear day.

Drive towards Yellowstone and the head east. The road is nice and meanders through ranches and homes, even after turning to dirt. We saw deer as well as an eagle taking flight next to us. Way at the end of the road is Snowbank. The road through camp is narrow and two-way so exercise caution. We were lucky to find a site unreserved for one night. 

Sites have different feels to them. Ours stretches- car then teardrop then picnic table then fire pit and finally extra space for tents. We’re right by the creek and it’s loud enough so we don’t hear that generator down the way. Water is available and there are a number of vault toilets throughout. We got set up just before the thunderstorms. It rained hard and then the hail started. 

A trailhead is just outside the entrance. Tall grass was everywhere and we never saw anyone parked there. We’re assuming that it doesn’t get used as much. 

This is active bear territory and there are ample warnings. This is a beautiful, remote campground that we are enjoying.