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Best Tent Camping near Pryor, MT

289 Reviews

Tent camping options near Pryor, Montana include both established campgrounds and primitive sites concentrated around the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Afterbay Campground offers several tent sites with basic amenities, while Mallards Landing provides riverside tent camping with natural surroundings. Most sites in the area require self-sufficiency, as they feature minimal infrastructure designed for traditional tent setups rather than developed camping.

Road conditions vary significantly across tent campgrounds in the Pryor area, with some requiring high-clearance vehicles to access remote locations. Most tent sites have fire rings and picnic tables, though fire restrictions are common during summer months. Vault toilets are available at several locations including Swinging Bridge and Rosebud Isle, but many primitive areas lack facilities entirely. Campers should bring adequate water supplies, as drinking water is not available at most tent campgrounds. Cell service is inconsistent throughout the region, with some fishing access sites offering limited coverage.

The tent camping experience near Pryor offers proximity to fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing opportunities. Shaded sites are limited but highly sought after during summer months when temperatures rise. Tent campers at Swinging Bridge appreciate the privacy between sites, with one visitor noting that "campsites are well spaced out with trees, vegetation or roads between each site." Big Horn Dispersed camping provides waterfront tent sites with mountain views, though these areas can become busy during peak season. Mallards Landing offers a quieter riverside experience that tent campers prefer for its seclusion and natural setting. A camper observed that compared to other riverside locations, this area had "no one else, right place for my dog to roam, nice breeze."

Best Tent Sites Near Pryor, Montana (12)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Pryor, MT

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Tent Camping Reviews near Pryor, MT

289 Reviews of 12 Pryor Campgrounds

  • NThe Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 28, 2021

    Parkside Campground

    Beautiful High

    Open:  Early May - Late Sep

    Fee area:  $19.25 extra vehicle $9.50

    Limit:  16 days

    Sites 28 with a camp host

    Reservations:  877-444-6777 or recreation.gov

    FCFS 20% of sites

    Amenities:  pit toilets, water, bear boxes, fire ring, picnic table, firewood for sale, trash

    Sites 10 and 12 are good for solar.  Sites are paved

    This campground has a wonderful creek running through it.  Well wooded with mature every green and leafed shade trees.  Sites have privacy and the backdrop of the surrounding mountains is amazing.

  • James D.
    Sep. 29, 2016

    Basin Campground

    Fun camping, kayaking and fishing!

    My wife and I were able to stay here for 3 nights. The grounds feature vault toilets, campfire rings, food storage lockers, and even a hand pump for water. There is someone who sells firewood at the camp which makes things easy on everyone. The tent site was level and large. There are some good hiking trails but they are open to mountain bikers so heads up! They may get pretty muddy. The kayaking was peaceful. I didn't catch much fishing but that's my fault not the campsites! We were on the Wild Bill Lake.

  • Tonya Y.
    Jun. 19, 2017

    Basin Campground

    Beautiful, Clean, Quiet and Natural Environment

    We came into this campground on a Wednesday and picked the best of three open sites. There were a lot of reserved sites, but they were mostly coming in on Friday.

    The site was beautiful and very close to the river (the sound was great). The vault toilets were very clean. The water was available through a easy to use hand pump. The camp hosts had firewood for $5.00 per bundle.

    We were tent camping and the site had a large pad, a place for my hammock, a nice wooden picnic table, and a GREAT fire ring. The sites were all very far apart from each other.

  • Jennifer K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 19, 2025

    Horseshoe Bend Campground — Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

    Beautiful area but people are loud

    This campground has really gorgeous scenery. The picnic tables, fire pits and sun/wind shades are all newer and well kept. Clearly states bear area and to keep all foods properly contained. However as far as I've seen there are only bear boxes in the picnic area by the marina and there's really no trees around. You would have to use a bear safe container or the sun/wind shades to hang your food if your in a tent but not all sites have them. A lot of sites have water and electric in loops A and B. There is a water fill and dump station on the road before the turn off of the campground. The potable water has a nozzle on it and you can not hook a hose to it. However the sites with water have a normal garden hose spigot. My only complaint would be the people are inconsiderate and quite loud all day and there's not many people here. It's not even half full but some are clearly quite drunk most of the day. There's a family that pulled in and set up right around 10 pm right next to us. Banging and screaming about for over an hour. Our neighbors just let their dog run loose. Ive found discarded fish carcasses that someone had filleted and just tossed behind a bush. Also a lot of trash all over the place. The first site in loop A is marked as the host...I've never seen them so clearly they dont care. So as long as you dont want peace and quiet then this place is fine. I cant imagine what it's like when it's mostly full on the weekend. We really wanted to see the canyon though so we opted to stay here for the night on the way to Custer national forest.

  • NThe Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 28, 2021

    Greenough Lake

    Quite Fetching

    Fee:  $19.95 additional vehicle $9.00

    2 accessible sites

    Reservations:  877-444-6777 or recreation.gov

    Camp host is at Parkside

    trash, pit toilets, picnic table, fire ring, paved sites, bear box, hand pump water

    This is a beautiful campground and some great hiking or fishing.  All sites are within ear shot of the creek and with the peace of the forest and the songs of the creek you have found peace.  The towering peaks of the Beartooth range is beautiful.  

    Bear Aware please

    LNT

    BTWYFT

    Travel safe

  • Annie C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 1, 2019

    Lovell Camper Park

    Not a destination, but excellent services

    What a gem this find was! Free camping with showers and bathrooms as clean as home, close to restaurants and a cute movie theater, and close to the Bighorn Canyon with great wildlife. I took advantage of its location to head towards Cody to visit the Heart Mountain Internment Camp interpretive center as well as to head up Bighorn Canyon to look for wild horses in the Pryor Range. There are about 8 RV pull through sites and about 5 or 6 tent sites, all with picnic tables available(although some tent sites share a table). The tent pads are not really dedicated pads, but they are covered in wood mulch, so they are nice and soft. You do get a little noise and dust from the nearby ballfields, and it was really windy the afternoon I showed up so I was glad I had extra tie downs for my tent. Once the sun set however, the wind died down. While the campground isn’t a destination site, it’s a great stop off while traveling.

  • DThe Dyrt PRO User
    May. 30, 2025

    Itch-Kep-Pe Park

    Beautiful Bird sounds. Fake sites.

    This is a widely dispersed campground. There is a launch for the river. Each site has varying types of picnic tables and fire ring and grill on it. When we came there were some young people partying but they left around 10:30. You can also hear train noises from here. The best part is it's free. Across from our site number 39 late into the night and early in the morning it sounded like there were gunshots going off.

  • Abby M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 5, 2021

    Itch-Kep-Pe Park

    Big campground right on the Yellowstone River

    This place was awesome! There’s 2 loops so be sure to check out the second one too! First loop has flush toilets and water outside the building. Second loop has a vault toilet. Over 30 spots between the two loops. Each site has a fire ring and a nice picnic table. Sites are spaced well and varies from shade to full sun. There’s trash bins in both loops and it’s all free! There’s a donation box at both loops. Met a lot of friendly folks during my stay. Just 5 minutes from town and I had 3 bars of LTE via AT&T. Definitely would stay here again!

Guide to Pryor

Tent camping near Pryor, Montana clusters around the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area with elevations ranging from 3,500 to 5,000 feet. Summer temperatures can reach the mid-90s while overnight temperatures drop into the 40s even in July. Access roads to many primitive camping areas require careful navigation during spring runoff when seasonal creeks can create challenging crossing points.

What to do

Fishing access year-round: Several fishing access sites near Pryor provide tent camping opportunities with riverside locations. Mallards Landing offers excellent fishing access with a small boat ramp, though as one visitor notes, "This WAS a campground. Now just dispersed camping with a pit toilet. Multiple sites dispersed around."

Wildlife viewing opportunities: The area around Swinging Bridge Fishing Access Site offers excellent wildlife viewing, with one camper mentioning they "woke to the geese nearby flying overhead." This site provides more seclusion than other local options.

Horseback riding terrain: For equestrians, the varied landscape offers excellent riding opportunities. A visitor to Pompeys Pillar FAS explained: "This is actually a fantastic place to ride Young Horses. There are huge Open Fields. There are also a lot of sandstone Cliffs and deep gullies a very big good assortment of varied Terrain to teach horses for trail riding."

What campers like

Water proximity: Tent camping directly alongside water features ranks highly with visitors. A camper at Big Horn NRC Dispersed SR appreciated the "Bighorn Camping next to the water" with "amazing views" of the surrounding landscape.

Site separation: Privacy between campsites is important in this region where campgrounds can become crowded during peak seasons. At Swinging Bridge, one visitor appreciated that "sites are really separated down along the river. There's lots of trees and bushes that separate sites."

Historical significance: Beyond natural features, the region offers historical sites worth exploring. A visitor to Pompeys Pillar noted, "Lewis and Clark signed the sandstone here and it's the only location of its kind. Not really a hot camping spot, but a really awesome piece of Americana."

What you should know

Limited facilities: Most tent sites near Pryor have minimal amenities. At Mallards Landing, campers should prepare for basic conditions with "vaulted toilet only no showers." The site has "great access to the river with a little boat ramp."

Road conditions: Access roads to many sites require careful navigation and sometimes high-clearance vehicles. One camper warned about Pompeys Pillar: "The road getting there is horrible it's very washboard and the going is very slow. I do not recommend it for any kind of RV or camp trailer."

Shade availability: Finding shaded sites can be challenging in this region. A visitor to Mallards Landing noted "There's only one campsite with shade and it looks like you need a 4x4 to get in there. The shaded spot is quite a distance from the toilet."

Tips for camping with families

Bathroom planning: Vault toilets are available at some locations but maintenance varies. A visitor to Swinging Bridge Fishing Access Site praised the "clean bathroom" as one of "the two best aspects about the campground."

Bug protection: Insect activity can be significant, particularly in summer months. One camper at Swinging Bridge warned that "there were A LOT of bugs here," suggesting families bring ample insect repellent.

Recreation areas: Some campgrounds feature open spaces for family activities. A visitor to Afterbay mentioned "Within the campground there is a large grass area where people were playing horseshoes, volleyball and spike ball. My family and I enjoyed hanging out in this area, throwing a frisbee around with our dog."

Tips from RVers

Size limitations: Most dispersed tent camping areas have significant restrictions for larger vehicles. At Swinging Bridge, one RVer advised that "roads are narrow and curved - would not be good for a trailer unless you really knew what you were doing."

Water access planning: No potable water exists at most sites, requiring preparation. An RVer at Afterbay suggested: "Bring your own fire wood because they don't have any for sale close by. Also bring water because they don't have any water hookups."

Seasonal considerations: Weather conditions affect accessibility for RVs significantly. One visitor to Two Leggins pointed out that while it's a "Great Fishing Spot with a toilet and boat ramp," a significant "downside is no fires or propane stove use" which can impact RV camping comfort.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Pryor, MT?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Pryor, MT is Afterbay with a 4-star rating from 2 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Pryor, MT?

TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Pryor, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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