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Close to the Ninemile Ranger Station and Grand Menard Picnic Area, this campground has several sites and offers mountain biking opportunities.
Each campsite has a fire ring and picnic table.
This campground in a lodgepole and ponderosa pine forest is located near the Ninemile Ranger Station and Grand Menard Picnic Area adding to the fun things to do when camping here. And if that isn't enough, there are mountain biking trails too!
$10 / night
Quiet getaway in the pines!
Welcome to the Holmestead.. a Rustic dry cabin on 5 acres nestled between Mill Creek and a seasonal run off stream with easy access to the highway and only a 10 min drive to Missoula. Our property offers the peace and quiet of the outdoors while also allowing guests to make the easy 3 mile drive to the local grocery store. Attractions: walking distance to forestry service roads. 15 minutes to the Missoula airport and an additional 10 minutes to the heart of Missoula and all it has to offer. If you are looking for more adventure there is always an endless amount of recreation near, whether you want to drive 5 minutes to mountain bike or 3 hours to Glacier National Park, there is something for everyone! If you have questions about fun things to do please reach out to us! Family and pet friendly property with plenty of space to pitch a tent next to the cabin if you have more guests in your party (tents will be an additional fee, $10 per person in addition to the 4 person cabin max). Excellent cell service if you have Verizon or carriers that pull from those towers. Parking: reserved parking for guests in the main driveway, you will make a short walk to the cabin from your parking space. Water: Portable toilet onsite, no shower available. The property does have potable running water for easy refill of water containers if needed.
We look forward to sharing our piece of Montana with you!
Read reviews here: https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/montana/the-holmestead/the-holmestead#group_size=4&adults=4
$145 / night
In addition to the campgrounds and picnic areas in the Ninemile Area, there are several unique places to visit such as the delightful Ninemile Historic Remount Depot and Ranger Station, and the fun Grand Menard Discovery Trail which is adjacent to the Grand Menard Picnic Area. This is a great place to take the family.
$35 - $130 / night
Off the beaten path, this is a small campground with stock facilities and public corrals. The nearby trailhead is primarily used for horseback riding and hiking into the Great Burn area.
Cedars campground has five developed campsites situated alongside the North Fork of the Clearwater River and Long Creek. A loop of the Idaho Centennial Trail passes by the campground, and other hiking/horse riding trails are nearby. Anglers will also love this spot as trout are abundant.
Guide
Pretty campground. Saw lots of deer running around. Pit toilets were clean and sites were nice. Enjoyed having a fire and it was free in the off season.
Ranger
The campsites are big and spacious. Even though the sites are open, they still feel private thanks to the natural layout and surrounding trees. The lake is incredibly clear and beautiful. One of the highlights of our stay was the stunning sunrise over the water—waking up to those colors reflecting off the lake was absolutely breathtaking. There was only a few campers when we were there. Warning: there are bears in the area. We didn't see any, but saw some evidence of them.
ScoutCross the bridge at the exit and there is a wide turn around. I'd pull my teardrop down here, but unsure about longer trailers. Close to the interstate so a little noisy, but close to good fishing access.
GuideGreat camping spot. We camped over on a Friday night at the end of September. Free because it was out of the normal season, but because it was the last sliver of summer, it definitely filled up. However, they only had the first loop open (group and second loop of sites were closed). Being out of normal season, trash was all locked up but not a big deal.
Lake was spectacular and beautiful, would recommend!
ScoutNice and quite considering how close it is to town. There doesn't seem to be an official way to get from the camp sites to the river despite being only a few feet away. People have bushwacked their own trails through. We are here in mid September so not much in the way of bugs. The toilet is clean and well stocked for a pit toilet. Lots of bear warning signs around so be sure to bring your bear boxes and bear spray.
Guide
The Missoula KOA appears to be the only game in town. I guess that is why they can charge a premium price and leave you with two choices, take it or leave it. Only problem is we could not find another place so we "took it".
This is a big and busy campground. Lots of good things about it. For example, for a premium price, you can get a site with your own private dog run. Two older but OKay hot tubs and a heated swimming pool. Bicycle and other stuff rental. Everything from tent sites, cabins, small full hook-up sites to large spacious premium sites. Despite some of the bad reviews, the staff was very friendly to us and, because of no parking for our Tesla, they were able to move us to a better site. WARNING: You are not allowed to plug in any electric car. We were warned that if we plugged in our Tesla, we would be fined and asked to leave the park immediately. The Tesla supercharger was less than two miles away so no problem for us. Wifi was great. 34 mbs. AT&T was 2 bars 5G.
The BAD: Very busy. Many days in summer they are 100 per cent booked. Make reservations early and be specific what you need. Be ready to pay a premium price, even for tent camping. Camp is old but well kept. Bathrooms are clean but very old style and shower stalls are very small and not handicapped friendly. Surrounded by lots of older double-wide's. Some well kept and some not so well kept. Not friendly to electric cars (see warning above). Several times during our stay they paused their golf cart in front of our Tesla, I assume making sure we did not plug in.
Scout
I was surprised how nice this was since it's just about 5 minutes from the highway. You feel miles away - absolutely no noise. It's super clean and pretty. Very clean pit toilets and nice private spaces with plenty of room. We didn't stay long, but it was nice to be in the forest in the middle of a long drive across Montana.
Scout
So gorgeous! Tent camped along the river! Very spaced out campsites, nice for lots of privacy and quiet! Signs to be aware of bear country but took precautions. Rock fire pits at each site. Super easy for quick stop road tripping (0.5 miles off main road)! Stayed in early September on a road trip to Glacier, was able to find our site decently well in the dark! Verizon cell service 3-4 bars! Loved it!
The west is the only safe way to enter onto the road to the campsites. On the map, it looks like you can enter/exit either way from 135… but the east side of the road to get back onto 135 is impossible… so we just had to turn around and exit the same way we came in (from the west).
Traveler
The campground is fine. It has toilets and showers. Not much to write about. The sites are all different sizes, but had 30amp and water for $40 a night. The Hot Springs are $15 and worth the relaxation. This is old Montana so don’t expect fancy, but unique. The host was kind enough to keep be us to a spot not in between a bunch of RVs which was nice.
No cell service but the Hot Springs, the bar and the office all have wifi.
Traveler
As others have said, traveling down 90, this place is great. Stayed in Loop G, so under the tunnel. Flush toilets, clean sites, not on top of each other. You can scan the QR code and pay easily. Just needed a night and be able to set up Starlink to do some work. Found a more open spot and it was perfect.
Legend
We decided to stay here because we’ve seen this campground(CG) featured the last five year’s we’ve been on the road by CG review websites, travel forums, and big-name RV bloggers. So we thought we’d give Nugget a try. We followed our RV GPS to the CG that is near I-90, but far enough away that you don’t hear highway noise. There was another camper checking in when we arrived, but check-in was fairly quick and thorough. There was a sign about being a Good Sam Member and we had to ask to get the discount as that option was not available for the online reservation. We then had a very friendly escort to pull through site 63 with FHUs, which is supposedly a premium site. This gravel site has a little grass yard with a picnic table. The site is across from a community fire pit and couple of their little trail heads. When we were there in July, there was a fire ban so not having a site fire pit was no big deal. The utilities are nicely placed in the middle of the pad. Water pressure is good at about 50 psi. We got 2 to 3 bars on Verizon. As there are a lot of mature pine trees in this CG, satellite is iffy. Our campsite was at the north end of the CG facing the woods, so we used our Verizon MiFi versus Starlink. We probably could have gotten the Starlink to work if we put the antenna on our roof, but as we were only here for three nights, we didn’t try. There’s a nice trail system around the CG to walk with your kids and it is dog friendly. They offer a lot of amenities of which laundry was one that we did use. There’s a nice 9-hole golf course just down the road. They used to let veterans golf for free on Wednesdays, but now charges vets only$5. The CG also had a food truck one evening that was convenient. We wanted to see what all the hype was about and we got the chance. This CG has a lot to offer families or campers who desire a lot of comforts. Overall, its a nice and well run CG, but we are not compelled to repeat with all the other options in the area.
Traveler
Old lady was sweet to us, I saw the reviews about her being not so sweet but she was nice and got us in last minute. The gentleman brought us a whole tractor full of wood and was nice as well. Trees were down like other reviews stated, they mentioned they had a massive storm. Not something I feel they should be judged for, they were concerned about my kids and asked them to keep away from the left side because of that.
TravelerDispersed camping at the "Peninsula" Recreation Area. 6 day stay limit according to the sign. No potable water. Stone fire rings throughout.
We stayed mid week during August. Stayed in a medium sized site on the river. Small steep slope to the water.
Pros:
Plenty of space, both large and small sites.
Room for a 30' in a couple of the sites.
3 bars Tmobile.
Some sites on the water with a short steep slope down.
12 miles to gas station.
Beautiful views.
Cons: No pit toilets (edit: another camper said they are at the end of the campground) No potable water. Road/train noise. POISON IVY (found it... found all of it)
Overall we loved this spot. Being ok the water in a mostly private setting with such amazing views is our goal. Little bit of road noise but hardly noticeable over the wind in the trees.
Sites were clean but well used, so thank you to all the campers that took care of this place!
TravelerI was alone while camping, parked my car at the first fire pit I saw open and it was perfect. Absolutely beautiful river, beautiful spot. Great for fishing, swimming, etc.
Guide
Reserved this deamy site right on the water. Tent 1 is closest to parking but has the most traffic going by to the other sites.
Pit toilet nearby and a quick drive to flushable toilets. Showers available with tokens from the camphost ($3 for 6 minutes) but camphost weren't around when I was looking so no personal experience here.
Guide
Got a walk in site when I showed up in the afternoon. All that was left was an RV site and they let me tent there. Even though I wasn't on the water, still got a water view! Pit toilet bathroom was close by, and sometimes the smell wafted over when the wind changed.
SUP, kayak rentals on water, reasonably priced. The beach was rocky and perfect!
In the morning, I spotted a black bear on a hill. Follow bear protocol well.
Guide
Do not follow maps directions to this spot. Click the one a little south east next to the river titled “Dispersed Site - Lolo National Forest Recreation Area”. This is the right location. Good spot.
GuideTurn onto the road, once you reach end of that road, there’s more spots to the left. If you drive far enough you’ll find pit toilets. We had good service on Verizon and T-Mobile to work. River is beautiful. Would definitely come back
TravelerGreat customer service! Helped us set up, talked with us. Checked in with us. Quite. It’s definitely a resort. But it was a great spot for a one nighter.
Ranger
Very clean campground. The sites are flat and gravel. Small general store at office. There is also a pool that is small but clean. We were on our way home and decided to do one night with power hook up.
Scout
The further you drive on the road the closer you can get to the river! There are some pit toilets too! Absolutely beautiful!
Ranger
This was a great stay right on the river with night sites and a vault toilet. Only issues I had was the train across the river runs throughout the night and it sounds like it’s coming right through your tent
TravelerPulled off, quickly found decent dispersed site. A bit buggy, no mosquitoes though. Great night sleep until OHVers came screaming through early
Traveler
Not far from town but well hidden. Nice creek but REDNECK TRASHED. Tons of trash, shotgun shells, etc. I couldn’t pack all of it out. Pretty spot just trash.
TravelerGreat location. Road is in great shape. All the sights are great.
ScoutNice large tent sites. They also have a geodesic dome you can rent. Website was not set up yet.
GuideAbsolutely love this campground. They were so accommodating when we booked a site our unit wouldn’t fit on they gladly moved us.
If you aren’t right on the water, you’re definitely a short distance away.
The amenities are great and the camp hosts are always friendly. Definitely worth staying here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Lolo National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Lolo National Forest is Kreis Pond Campground with a 4-star rating from 6 reviews.
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