Best Campgrounds near Nashua, MT

This was the first place we tried in this area for a free spot to camp on the way from Banff/Jasper to Wisconsin. It was decently busy with a few spots left when we arrived at 2:30pm on a Saturday. By the end of the night all the spots were filled with people squeezing their rigs in between “sites”. There are numbered picnic tables and fire rings, but also campers dispersed throughout. You can walk right down to the water and there were plenty of people boating and swimming. Vault toilets were clean, no other amenities. Sunset was beautiful! There were some large groups with multiple RVs together and 5+ cars- it looked like they had been there for a while. I didn’t have any trouble sleeping but my boyfriend said there were generators running all night and some fireworks around 11:30p. Overall felt safe, worked for what we needed, and was free!

Our RV GPS and Waze wanted us to turn on 6th St in Glasgow, which has a 12’ 2” bridge under the railroad tracks. We had seen a review with this warning and seems they have mounted a sign right at the 6th St. turn that warns of the low bridge. We went two blocks further to 4th St. which is the truck route that took us to MT-24 for a 14 mile drive into Ft. Peck Marina. Once we got close, we followed the signs to Fort Peck Marina. We had tried to get reservations at a nearby COE with no luck and found this Campground(CG) via a Google Maps search. We saw the RV Park and pulled into the front of the CG area and took a 200 yard walk down to the tackle shop to check in. The road goes around by the tackle shop and boat ramp and we could have parked down there to check in, but as we are pulling a 40' rig and we couldn't actually see down there we didn't want to risk pulling down the road. Check in was quick. We were not given any kind of CG map or rules sheet. We then proceeded to the CG’s upper level to back-in site 33 with water and 50/30/20 AMP. The CG is essentially a large, well graveled parking lot. There was a ton of room in front of the site, so backing in was a breeze. The electric and water are at the back of the site, so we needed 25 feet of electric cord and water hose to reach the utilities. The site sloped to the driver’s side and we needed to place leveling blocks under that side’s tires. We had no issues with the electric, thankfully, as we were under a heat warning when we were there. Water was okay at about 40 PSI, but had a bad taste, even with our three filter system. There are no trees in the CG, so there was no problem getting a north shot for Starlink. We got 3 bars on Verizon. There’s no Wifi. The sites are long and just wide enough so you can park a boat. Most of the campers here are seasonal and for the most part, they keep their rigs and stuff around the site organized. But, be careful in the vegetated areas as most do not have their dogs on a leash and let them poop where ever. At first, we were wondering how the seasonals are doing their blackwater as the sign as you enter the marina states the nearest dump station is 3.5 miles, which is at Downstream COE CG. The man at the bait shop stated there’s a nice dump station in Glasgow at Scottie's Express Car Wash. He also said there’s a waste truck that will come out to the CG and pump you out, which is what the seasonal guests use. There are no shower facilities here but there is a vaulted restroom near the boat ramp that’s about 150 yards away. We checked out the Downstream COE we had tried to get into and it definiely would have been a better option, but this was our only option at the time.

General: 86-site US Army Corps of Engineers Campground located on the Missouri River in four loops, each with a different name: Lismas, New Deal, Wheeler, and Faranuf. Wheeler is for tent sites, the camper pads are gravel, and there are no electric hookups; the other three loops have mostly 30-amp but several 50-amp sites and the camper pads are paved. Faranuf has pull-thru sites that can accommodate larger RVs. 

Site Quality: All sites are level and are spaced a decent distance apart from each other. There are some trees for shade but still many are in full sun. 

Bath/Shower House: The New Deal and Wheeler loops have vault toilets and Lismas, and Faranuf have flush toilets and showers. The restroom in Faranuf is air-conditioned! The one in Lismas appears new (the old one is still standing but roped off) but points off for no soap! Also no hand sanitizer in the vault toilet in New Deal. 

Activities: There is a paved recreation path that circles the campground and is about 2.5 miles. Other recreation activities include basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, cornhole, disk golf, and two playgrounds (one in Faranuf and the other in the day-use area). Recreation equipment is available to borrow. There is also a wonderful interpretive center where you can learn about the history of the dam, as well as past and present wildlife. In the summer, it is open Friday– Monday, 9 am– 4 pm and the hours are less in other seasons. A must if you have kids! Many in the campground had boats. Kelly, the volunteer at the gatehouse, was effusive about all the area had to offer. 

We were only there for one night passing through, but we did visit the interpretive center, and run on the nature trail. The only bummer about this campground was the persistent wasps that made eating and sitting outside challenging.