Best Glamping near Martinsdale, MT

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!

Lewis and Clark National Forest Grasshopper Campground is a nice campground in the Castle Mountains. As you enter this campground you find a trail head to the left and then a picnic area to the right. The campsites start right after the first of two vault toilets for the campground. At the beginning of the campground loop, right behind the registration box you will find the hand pump for the campground. A creek runs right through the middle of the campground. One nice feature of this campground is once the campground gates are closed and locked, you can still drive to sites 1 and 2 as they are before the closure gate, so as long as you can still drive up the road you can camp. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. I did notice at least one site also had a BBQ grill in addition to the fire ring. Sites are $10 per night with a 16 day stay limit.

This campground is mentioned to only be free near the lake. We decided to take our chances on a slightly rainy night. I would highly not recommend unless you have 4 wheel drive and even then we saw a jeep wrangler sliding everywhere. We made it past the campsite and down a dirt road (it was extremely bumpy!), we saw a few other campers along the creek before climbing the slippery dirt road. We didn’t realize how bad it would be but we made it up the first stretch where there was a landing, after the landing there is another stretch of dirt road to climb and I’m not sure what was beyond that point. This campsite is located in the gallatin national forest and when we reached the landing there was a sign for no overnight camping within the forest. At this point the rain had picked back up so we decided to go back down the mountain and camp with everyone else along the creek. The mosquitos were heavy but didn’t bite. It was quiet and the spot was well kept with a rock fire pit!

Fairy Lake Campground is hands down my favorite campground I’ve ever visited. The views of the surrounding mountains and dense forest are absolutely magical—it truly feels like you’ve stepped into another world. The lake itself is stunning, with crystal clear water that looks almost unreal. It’s the perfect place to relax, hike, fish, or just sit back and take in the beauty of Montana.

Like other reviews mention, the 6-mile unmaintained road to get to the campground is definitely rough. The warnings are justified—it’s bumpy, rocky, and slow going. That said, I made it up just fine in my rear-wheel-drive Ranger, and we even saw some regular cars make it (though I’m sure they scraped a rock or two along the way). The drive might test your patience, but it’s 100% worth it once you arrive.

The campground itself is peaceful, not overly crowded, and surrounded by towering trees and mountain views in every direction. It felt remote and wild in the best way possible. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a true Montana mountain camping experience—just come prepared for the road in!