Best Tent Camping near Lolo, MT

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.

Very nice campground across Hwy. 12 in Montana. Campground is ill defined so it feels more like camping out in the woods. Fire pits with picnic tables. 30 amp electric with water. Dump station on site. $38.50 per night or $25.50 with senior discount. Cabins are available and there is numerous tent sites. Pretty nice campground. Across the highway is Lo Lo Hot Springs. Very rustic with a $8.00 entry fee. Inside group tub and outside pool. There is a lodge and bar also on site. We spent 5 days in our 5th wheel at LoLo.

Beautiful spot with great views of Flathead Lake. The RV sites were nice and spacious and level with their own patio and chairs. They also offer cabins and tent sites. Some tent sites have water and electric. I was car camping and I had a strange campsite by the cabins for a tent but I couldn't park at the site. There was a small lot close by so that was fine but it also seemed pretty far from the bathrooms. The bathroom was very clean and I loved the private showers. The laundry area was spacious and clean. They also had several brochures on local activities. The wifi didn't seem to reach the tent sites though.

Great for tent camping, there are several spots with trails leading to Bass Creek. Recreational area, picnic tables, fire pits, bathrooms, and about 10 minutes from Florence MT.

This is a nice little campground. 5 RV/tent sites. Plus a 6th tent only site. Vault toilet. Right next to river with hiking trail. Good fishing for small trout. About 6 miles from main road.

The tent site was spacious and had outdoor lighting. Definitely had a lot more amenities than we are generally used to! Didn't get there in time to use the hot tub, but the people were really nice!

Funny, welcoming host, the best mountain and lake views you will find and a clear layout. The tent sites are just out in the open with no tree cover, but maybe they feel generous even offering them.

Only $12 a night if resident fishing license and $18 if not. Two lakes to swim or fish. And we had a decent size creek right by our campsite too. The majority of tent sites are literally huge. We had an amazing time staying here.

It is inner city. Not for everyone, but I liked everything about it— except it is slightly noisy due to planes, trains, and autos. Next to a janky trailer park, but I am not a remote camper. My tent site next to the showers and bathroom was perfect.

Nice sites, long gravel road to get to. Next to the river. Has bathrooms but down the road a bit. Saw a few people with RV's. We just tent camped at the end of the road where it dead ended for the night and it was nice flat land. Highly recommend. Just very limited availability. I think about 6 sites total.

Enjoyed my stay but it is in a very busy location. You either access the campground through a busy downtown area or a narrow residential area. The campground itself is very large but crowded. The RV sites have some space between them but not a lot. The tent sites are nicely surrounded by trees. The laundry area is spacious and well stocked. I really appreciated that the bathrooms had individual stalls and showers. I enjoyed my stay but this could be an extremely busy and crowded campground during peak season. The Camp store was well stocked and reasonably priced.

We were stuck a night in Missoula waiting for a new tire, so booked this place in town. We have a nice self converted camper van and were told we couldn’t stay due to their “no sleeping in vehicles rule” our options were to go buy a tent or cancel our reservation without refund. After some back and forth, the manager finally agreed to let us stay home night in the van. We had a tent site for an unheard of $80. The site was decent, as far as KOAs go but I wouldn’t stay here if you have other options. They had a foot truck and a decent hot tub but be prepared for tons of screaming kids too

This place is on my shortlist for favorites for my week long getaway with my daughter who is 5. To be honest I was a bit concerned after reading a couple reviews describing the place. But hey, we all have bad days, and if I can read 90% positive vibe from a review I will check it out. I will say This place is an oasis that is in a manufactured home area that is very nice. Once you are in, it is a pure KOA experience. So far no company consistently does better than OK always across the board.

Could not be happier with the customer service, and the staff that work here. Just simply top notch. They represent the true spirit of the KOA campgrounds. they lead you to your campsite, they will deliver wood for you, they monitor the pool at all times, make it easy to rent a little bike, and Wednesday through Saturday they have ice cream socials.

I was a bit surprised that I did not see more children here. They have all the amenities that they have in Billings. I think some of the other reviews do not paint a quality picture of this place from a child’s eye. This is my daughters favorite place. From the bike rental to the playground, putt putt golf, swimming pool (2 Adult hot tubs - very clean).

Of course as Tenters the big thing I look at is where I am pounding in my stakes :-) and the grass here in Missoula is perfect. They have several very creative approaches to tent sites. The one that I am staying at has a tent circle, five sites in the round, facing outward, fenced on each side with a picnic table, stand up barbecue, fire pit that is grated, picnic table, running water, electricity, and nice grass. I wish more campgrounds had this creative approach. Everything is well spread out and segregated between cabins, centers, and RV’s.

They even have two really nice teepees in the center of the campground. They are super deluxe and the next time I come here I will be staying in one of them. See the photos.

The campground store is the best stock store of all the KOA’s that I stayed in on this trip. They have everything from ice cream sandwiches to souvenirs.

The facilities are well-maintained and very clean. I’d like the cypher locks on the bathrooms/showers for safety. The driveways are well-maintained, they have a painted bike path for riders. Overall this was just wonderful!

If you have a couple days here I would suggest a 40 minute drive to the National Bison Range. The kids will love it!

PS - My daughter wanted me to add that they have three very large bunnies that roll around the campground. She loves them.

Despite how this site has it listed, the sign says Lolo Creek Campground . This is in Montana . https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lolo/recarea/?recid=10268

This this is a well-maintained forest service Campground right on Highway 12 about 15 minutes. (20 miles) north of Lolo the town. There is an adjacent day-use picnic area with about 3 or 4 picnic tables pretty well separated and in the woods. I believe they each have a grill with them. If the campsite is full and you are self-contained, the parking lot maybe a good pull off spot.

There are 17 camping sites about half are pull throughs. It is heavily forested and Lolo Creek is adjacent but not in the campground. However, two of the sites are very near the creek. Because it is beside Highway 12, you can hear the road noise but this quiets down substantially after dark. This also makes it super easy if you are traveling and need to pull off for the night.

There are 3 Wells with potable water( lift the handle ) and 2 well-maintained and stocked pit toilets. Each site has a metal fire ring and a picnic table. Some sites have really nice areas for tents , others the tent might be a little bumpy! There is a campground host and a dumpster for trash. Bear proofing regulations are in effect.

There Is No Reservations, no electricity. no services for RVs, no cell, and no firewood for sale.

I stayed the maximum amount of time which is 16 days. Most of that time I could have had a fire if I wanted but the last few days there was a fire ban due to very dry conditions. I was there in August.

The cost is $10 a night payable in cash or US Bank drawn checks. There is a $4 per night charge for a second vehicle at a site. This is for every night that you are there.

There are a few nice but not necessarily Stellar hikes in the area. None originate near the campground, you must drive to them. The campground host was very helpful in directing us to these. Lolo Creek Campground was spared in the Lolo forest fire of 2017. However some areas slightly South between the campground and the town are burnt out. But the new growth of bright green framing the black trees imakes for some visually beautiful hiking.

Lolo Creek itself is cold and I saw several guys fishing. If you can take the temperature it's a great wading Creek too!

There isn't any cell service at the campground and I have Verizon. In fact, you lose cell service shortly north of Lolo.

Up the road going north about three-quarters of a mile is Jack's Saloon. You have to drive about three-quarters of a mile back a very well-maintained dirt road. This is a bar , a restaurant with what looked like a very decent food even though I didn't have any , and music there one or two nights a week. The theme is lumberjacking and the bar is made out of a single giant log , many of the bar stools are carved out of single logs as well and there is a swinging log bar stool. There was a quite good blues band there the Saturday night I went. This bar was in the movie The Best Bar in America. This is your closest civilization if you want to get something to eat. Otherwise, you have to drive 15 or so minutes south to Lolo where there are several restaurants, a couple fast food places Quick Stop's, gasoline and a casino. Do try Florence coffee it's a drive-thru and yummy.

There may be a restaurant at Lolo Hot Springs about 5 miles north on Highway 12, past Jack's. Lolo Hot Springs is a large complex with hot springs pool, many buildings, camping, and cabins and a sign that proclaims a cafe. I assume it's open to the public and not just guests, but I personally did not verify that. Their rates for anything are not listed on their website , neither is availability if you want to camp. You must call. I called two different times and left messages. they didn't return my call either time . I called a third time and got a person who answered my questions. It's more than triple the cost at staying Lolo Creek but then there's all the amenities too. There's another dance Campground on the other side Lolo Creek Campground that has about the same prices as the hot springs.

Also, be careful, there is much wildlife along Highway 12, and I saw deer multiple times crossing the road at night. And though I didn't see any, between the campground and Jack's is a painted on the road moose Crossing.

This is a clean Campground and I was happy to stay there. I I can highly recommend this Campground if you can live without electricity and cell phone for the duration of your stay. And you're main activity is either leaving the campsite to go find something else to do, simply hanging out, or some trout fishing in the creek.