For those who want to get away from civilization for a weekend, but still want the comforts of home, consider renting a cabin for your Townsend camping trip. Find the best information on cabin camping near Townsend, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Find your own little secluded paradise in nature. The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect camping cabin rental.
Formerly Camp Three Forks: Perfect place to base camp while you visit Yellowstone National Park, Virginia City, Bozeman or fly fish one of the outstanding blueribbon trout fisheries that converge as the three forks of the Missouri. Hundreds of miles of bike trails, including the mountain terrain of Copper City BLM trails, are just minutes from the KOA. Welcome to Three Forks!
$58 - $70 / night
Beautiful Canyon Ferry Lake is the most used and enjoyed water playground in Montana. Summer recreation includes swimming, boating and some of the best walleye and trout fishing in the state (home of the Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival and Perch Ice Fishing Derby). Winter activities include hunting, ice fishing and ice sailing! This KOA offers 57 Pull-Thru RV Sites with both full hookups and water/electric. It has Camping Cabins, Tent Sites, showers and restroom facilities, and is close to the Canyon Ferry Lake Boat ramp and docks! Amenities include Wi-Fi and complete laundry facilities. You'll also find storage facilities for your boats, trailers and campers. What? You forgot your beer and marshmallows? The convenience store offers almost anything you may need for a pleasurable camping experience. Enjoy horseshoes, volleyball, a kids' playground and more! If you are out on the lake too late, the KOA store has Heat and Eat meals to choose from, or the Silo Bar and Grill is open most days year round. Our staff is friendly and well-informed on everything about fishing, boating, RVing, and storytelling!
Bozeman Campground is located in a peaceful setting, just five minutes from golfing as well as fly-fishing on the Gallatin River. Plan a day trip to Virginia City or Lewis and Clark Caverns. Visit the Museum of the Rockies, which boasts the world's largest T. Rex skull. Take a day trip to Yellowstone National Park from this campground. Just 40 minutes south, you'll find fishing access inside Yellowstone, and 82 miles south is the west entrance to the park. Relax at the campground and let the kids take part in gold panning or let them unwind in the pool and splash park.
Dump Station & showers for registered campground guests only
$45 - $100 / night
Eagle Guard Station is located in high grasslands and surrounded by a scattered forest in the Elkhorn Mountains in west-central Montana. The former Eagle Creek Ranger Station was built by miner Richard Owen in 1895. While his family lived there, the area was in a booming gold rush. In 1908, the cabin was taken over by the Forest Service for administrative use. It is the oldest administrative log structure on the Helena National Forest, predating the establishment of the Forest. Today the cabin is a rustic retreat for guests seeking relaxation and recreation. The cabin is accessible by car, but the last 4 miles are only open to foot, horseback and cross-country ski traffic from December 2nd through May 15th. Several amenities are provided, but guests should be prepared to pack in some of their own supplies and gear.
Eagle Guard Station provides guests with outstanding opportunities for photography, fishing, hunting, and hiking. The area offers centralized access to the Elkhorn Mountains with numerous hiking trails and roads leading to the Elkhorn's historical resources. Popular hikes include those to Crow Creek Falls and Poe Park. An interpretive trail is accessible just beyond the cabin. When snow allows, skiing gives visitors an up-close look at concentrations of wintering elk.
Eagle Guard Station is situated on the southeast flanks of the Elkhorn Mountains in a beautiful open grassland setting, an outstanding location for viewing elk. Crow Creek Falls, the largest waterfall in Helena National Forest, is located within hiking distance of the cabin and is a sanctuary for many wildlife species, including the threatened Canada lynx, the sensitive goshawk and westslope cutthroat trout. The area offers unique opportunities for viewing wildlife in their natural habitat. Bighorn sheep, mule and white-tailed deer, black bear, moose and a variety of birds are commonly seen. The more elusive badger, wolverine and mountain lion find habitat here as well.
Historic town sites and mining areas such as Elkhorn, Hassel, Ruddville and Diamond Hill mines are nearby for guests interested in the mining history of the Elkhorns.
$45 / night
Rillway Cabin is located 14 miles east of Townsend, Montana along scenic Deep Creek in Helena National Forest. Its history can be traced to Dr. A.C. Kelly, a physician who arrived in Townsend in 1915 and served as mayor from 1920-1924. In 1918, Dr. Kelly obtained a term permit from the Forest Service for the cabin site. The cabin was built between 1918 and 1922, then sold to Nellie Hale Averill and her son-in-law, Floyd L. Hollaway. By 1924, the cabin was known as "Rillway," a combination of the Averill and Hollaway family names. Today the cabin is a comfortable, rustic getaway for guests seeking relaxation and recreation in west-central Montana. It offers the easiest access of any cabins on the Helena National Forest, being accessible by vehicle year-round. Several amenities are offered, but guests will need to bring some of their own supplies.
The cabin offers nearby access to a number of trails and roads. A cross-country ski trail is just up the highway and snowmobiling areas are close by as well. Deep Creek flows adjacent to the cabin, providing anglers with a scenic backdrop for fishing. The creek provides habitat for a variety of trout.
The cabin is tucked back near a moss-covered canyon wall with Deep Creek splashing through the backyard. The area around the cabin offers a variety of landscapes, from river banks to subalpine terrain. Valley bottoms, dense forests, meadows and barren ridges are mixed with streams, rivers and lakes. Wildlife in the area abounds, including the more common elk, mule and white- tailed deer, squirrel, black bear, moose and a variety of birds. The more elusive badger, wolverine, mountain lion and lynx find habitat here as well.
$45 / night
The Miller Creek Cabin is located in the Townsend Ranger District and rests at the intersection of the Confederate Gulch Road (FS Road 287) and the Blacktail Road (FS Road 4171), surrounded by scattered forest in the Big Belt Mountains in west-central Montana. The cabin is accessible by high-clearance vehicle, but requires over-the-snow vehicle travel during winter months.____ Please use caution when accessing Miller cabin in the winter months, winter access will vary based on snow conditions. Do not count on wheeled vehicle access from November through April. You can get to Miller cabin in the winter months with snowmobile or cross country skiing. It is not recommended driving full size vehicle to the site during this time period.
During the summer months, enjoy a hike on local trails that will take you to high mountain lakes. During the fall, the cabin offers a wide array of recreation opportunities including hiking, hunting and off-highway vehicle access. The winter months provide for cross-country skiing and snowmobile opportunities.
During the summer months, enjoy a hike on local trails that will take you to high mountain lakes. During the fall, the cabin offers a wide array of recreation opportunities including hiking, hunting and off-highway vehicle access. The winter months provide for cross-country skiing and snowmobile opportunities.
The cabin sits at the confluence of two drainages, Confederate and Blacktail Creeks. The site is shaded for most of the day with mature trees and shrubs.
Confederate Gulch is a steeply incised valley on the west facing slopes of the Big Belt Mountains. Its small stream drains westward into Canyon Ferry Lake on the upper Missouri River Valley near present day Townsend, Montana. In 1864 Confederate soldiers on parole from the American Civil War made a minor gold discovery in the gulch, but in 1865 the discovery of the sensationally rich Montana Bar - one of the richest placer strikes per acre ever made - led to other rich gold strikes up and down the gulch, and touched off a frantic boom period of placer gold mining that extended through 1869. From 1866 to 1869 the gulch equaled or outstripped all other Montana Territory mining camps in gold production, producing an estimated $19 to $30 million in gold - late 1860s money. For a time, the gulch became the largest community in Montana. In 1866 Montana had a total population of 28,000, and of these, about 10,000 (35%) were working in Confederate Gulch. The main community was Diamond City while gold production was at its height; Diamond City roared along both night and day.
$45 / night
Explore a magnificent recreation and wildlife resource at the doorstep of Montana's Capital City. From prairie to alpine, mayflies to mountain goats, and scenic driving to expert climbing routes -- the Elkhorns you will discover a diverse landscape! Built in 1941, Strawberry Cabin lies at the top of Strawberry Butte (6,100 feet) in the heart of the Elkhorn Mountains. The combination of lookout and log cabin are typical of this period. The cabin is an excellent example of a C-46 one room cabin plan, which was designed by William Fox. This cabin style is one of the standard building plans used for housing personnel working at intermediate stations and at lookouts. The C-46 design offers distinctive characteristics of ventral saddle notches and log ends finished in "chopper cut" style, which symbolizes rustic Forest Service log architecture of the second half of the 1930 and early 1940s.
The area offers great access to the north end of the Elkhorn Mountains with numerous hiking trails and roads leading to the Elkhorn's historical resources. Popular hikes include Strawberry Creek, Casey Peak, and Willard Creek. When snow allows, cross country skiing or snowshoeing gives visitors an up-close look at concentrations of wintering elk.
The area offers great access to the north end of the Elkhorn Mountains with numerous hiking trails and roads leading to the Elkhorn's historical resources. Popular hikes include Strawberry Creek, Casey Peak, and Willard Creek. When snow allows, cross country skiing or snowshoeing gives visitors an up-close look at concentrations of wintering elk.
The Elkhorn Mountains span both Broadwater and Jefferson counties, with the nearest city being Helena, Montana. The Elkhorns are surrounded by the Divide Mountains and Boulder Batholith to the west, and the Missouri and Boulder River valleys on the north, east, and south. The form of the Elkhorn Mountains is rounded and furrowed from extensive weathering. Drainages have carved steep gulches and canyons. The majority of the Elkhorns (north, west, southwest) is a part of a batholith. This geologic history has left the area rich in minerals. Evidence of glaciation is localized with boulder strewn areas of granitic rocks. The remaining approximate quarter (southwest) of the geographic area is underlain by sedimentary rock that lacks the same mineralization as the batholith but is rich in calcareous rock. The landforms are rugged, low mountains with hogback ridges and dry valleys. The sedimentary geologic area in the east is a gradient of foothill prairie and partially forested low mountains. Grassland is a major component. Limber pine and juniper woodland ebb and flow through this prairie landscape. The plant communities on the batholith portion are mostly forested with conifers. Aspen stands and water-loving plants take advantage of riparian areas and wet seeps. Parks, rich with grasses and forbs, are frequent at lower elevations and break up the forest in montane elevations. A large expanse of this area burned in 1988. The Elkhorns have been occupied by human inhabitants for thousands of years. However, prehistoric occupation is less evident than the more recent Euro-American settlement. After the discovery of valuable mineral deposits, mines and associated settlements sprang up in portions of the geographic area and remnant tools and infrastructure of the mining era are still evident. Strawberry Lookout, Eagle and Tizer Guard Stations are living reminders of Forest Service history in the area. Fire has historically has been a major influence to plant communities. A large forest fire in 1988 burned almost 50,000 acres of the mountain range, leaving carpets of seedlings growing into new lodgepole pine forests. Due to the rich wildlife habitats throughout the mountain range, the Elkhorns were designated a Wildlife Management Unit in 1986, the first of its kind in the nation. Collaborative groups composed of federal, state, and private land holders work toward habitat restoration and interpretation of the area's history.
The Elkhorn Mountains are an island mountain range that provide open space, clean water and diverse animal and plant communities. The Elkhorns also provide livelihoods and places to hunt and recreate for the citizens in the surrounding communities and beyond. About 160,000 acres within the Elkhorn Mountains is managed by both the Helena and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests as a Wildlife Management Unit, the only one of its kind in the entire National Forest System. In addition, there is another 75,000 acres of foothills that is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as an Area of Critical Environment Concern.
$30 / night
Moose Creek Campground is located southwest of Helena, Montana.__ Travel west of Helena on Highway 12 (about 8 miles) and turn south on Rimini Road #695.__ This__9 unit campground is located near other Forest Service features including: rental cabin, picnic area and environmental education trail.__ Also located within a short distance is access to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
Guide
There was no sign for this campsite on the highway. I just pulled off the highway where it said access to National Forest, and it appeared fairly close to the highway. There were only half a dozen sites or so, and no amenities. And of course, no cost. I think the actual Moose Creek Campground is farther up the road and away from the highway. But this was perfect for someone who is caravaning and needed a quick place to stop. It's right on the creek and it was delightful. There was one other camper in there the evening I was there.
GuideThis is a typical KOA. First the good: Friendly helpful staff until their gone at closing time. Little mini store with a few essentials. Clean bathrooms and showers and clean laundry room with several washers/dryers.$2.00 per load to wash. Can't remember how much to dry. Very cool pinball machine that costs 25 cents per game. Fun fun fun! Another bathroom/shower in middle of park but I never looked inside that one. 65 sites that most have full hook-up and pull-through. A few cool tent sites with gas BBQs. Some cool looking cabins but I never looked inside one. I'm here on 8/24/2024 and RV park is sold out except 3 pull-through sites. All tent sites were full. I don't know about the cabins. Cool playground for kids and large mostly gravel dog run. Edit added: AT&T has 5G and three bars. KOA has wifi but slow slow slow I got 3MPS so instead of KOA wifi I used my iPhone Personal Hotspot that worked great. THE BAD(and reason for only 3 stars): All gravel roads and sites throughout the park. Very close together. Some sites have a very narrow strip of grass. Some of the picknick tables need to be re-painted. Unfortunately while eating breakfast you could be 2 feet away from the next RV dumping their sewer. P.U. The luxury sites don't have that problem. They are at the end of each row and only have a neighbor on the drivers side. I think well worth the extra 17 bucks. Not ADA friendly. Very hard for someone with a walker to get around because of gravel roads/sites. Someone with a wheel chair near impossible. Has a nice handicap shower in main office building. Only problem is that once I take my walker in with me it's very tight and no room to move around. Not EV car friendly. There is a$250 fine and eviction if you plug in your car. The person at the front desk told me the$250 fine and eviction is because EVs overload the outdated system and cause a fire. This KOA is an older one and was wired before EVs. Each individual site has its own 30 amp and 50 amp circuit breaker. Some trees but few and far between. No pool or hot tub. Final thoughts: Make reservations well in advance if you can. This KOA is the best game in town and is mostly sold out in summer. I think(sorry I don't know for sure) there is only one other RV park in town and from what I can tell, it is a much older one. I would proceed with caution before I booked it. Good traveling. See you on the road.
Scout
amazing campground
GuideThis is a typical KOA. First the good:
Friendly helpful staff until their gone at closing time. Little mini store with a few essentials.
Clean bathrooms and showers and clean laundry room with several washers/dryers. $2.00 per load to wash. Can't remember how much to dry. Very cool pinball machine that costs 25 cents per game. Fun fun fun! Another bathroom/shower in middle of park but I never looked inside that one.
65 sites that most have full hook-up and pull-through. A few cool tent sites with gas BBQs. Some cool looking cabins but I never looked inside one. I'm here on 8/24/2024 and RV park is sold out except 3 pull-through sites. All tent sites were full. I don't know about the cabins.
Cool playground for kids and large mostly gravel dog run.
Edit added: AT&T has 5G and three bars. KOA has wifi but slow slow slow I got 3MPS so instead of KOA wifi I used my iPhone Personal Hotspot that worked great.
THE BAD (and reason for only 3 stars):
All gravel roads and sites throughout the park. Very close together. Some sites have a very narrow strip of grass. Some of the picknick tables need to be re-painted. Unfortunately while eating breakfast you could be 2 feet away from the next RV dumping their sewer. P.U. The luxury sites don't have that problem. They are at the end of each row and only have a neighbor on the drivers side. I think well worth the extra 17 bucks.
Not ADA friendly. Very hard for someone with a walker to get around because of gravel roads/sites. Someone with a wheel chair near impossible. Has a nice handicap shower in main office building. Only problem is that once I take my walker in with me it's very tight and no room to move around.
Not EV car friendly. There is a $250 fine and eviction if you plug in your car. The person at the front desk told me the $250 fine and eviction is because EVs overload the outdated system and cause a fire. This KOA is an older one and was wired before EVs. Each individual site has its own 30 amp and 50 amp circuit breaker.
Some trees but few and far between. No pool or hot tub.
Final thoughts: Make reservations well in advance if you can. This KOA is the best game in town and is mostly sold out in summer. I think (sorry I don't know for sure) there is only one other RV park in town and from what I can tell, it is a much older one. I would proceed with caution before I booked it. Good traveling. See you on the road.
Legend
Was able to snag a primitive spot for one night. This campground isnt too far off I90 near 3 Forks, MT. No cell service (ATT) at the campground but 5g at the caverns. Hosts were super friendly and nice. I was in A7 which had a nice shade tree. Did not use the facilities so can’t speak to that. They had a guest speaker that night share about the bat population in MT. Very interesting!! Be sure to unhook and get to the caverns early in the morning to get a reservation to tour. We did the Paradise tour as my son is in a wheelchair. The classic tour looked super cool though!
TravelerOnly spent one night, but level sites, full hook ups, showers and laundry clean. An area to play games and we didn’t have our dogs this time but the dog zone looked good and clean.
GuideThe Paradise tour was really easy and it was spectacular!
ScoutCarter Lake south shore. NIce pull through sites with electric. Dump station with easy access. Many sites on the lake and more with lake view. Many shaded sites. Boats allowed. Very pleasant experience.
RangerGreat hosts, clean and well maintained. They do have drop in non reservation sites, but recommend getting reservations as well as cave tour reservations on line In Advance. Walk in for the cave tours without reservations best between 9 and 11 am. Beware, it's a 2mi hike uphill from the campground of you don't want to drive your rv up the caves! Deer visited camp at night! Check weather report, strong winds and we had thunderstorms. Warm showers $3. (Cave tours not included in camp fee, dump is $5 also). Some hiking in area, but .. bears!
Guide
LOVED this cabin. It was very accessible, with an easy road. You can drive right up to the cabin. There are two wood stoves, one in the sleeping area with two bunks. It got VERY toasty in there with the fire going (but with two adults and two large dogs shoved all on one bed together, what can you expect?) there was plenty of wood, the fire pit was perfect, and the area beautiful. 10/10
Scout
Beautiful facilities and friendly helpful staff. Lots of trees, minimal road noise
Traveler
Cleanest and nicest bathrooms I’ve seen in a long time!! We stayed in tent spaces which they were working to update with water and electricity, both of which worked for us! A storm came through and it was windy for a bit, but besides that beautiful skies and great weather. Respectful campers, and right by water access!
Traveler
Nice and quiet, with only the sound of the creek. It was nice to cool off in the water. There was a nice picnic table and fire ring. I hope to stay here again but it fills up fast. I edited this review because the se come time I stayed here the bathroom was disgusting. I wish people weren’t slobs.
Guide
Between the free coffee, breakfast, & hot spring access our stay was worth it. Tent sites were small, no privacy. I wish we would have had our RV. Not an ideal place to tent camp in my opinion. Near a busy (noisy) highway. Clean facilities. Staff were all friendly & helpful.
GuideCalled in last minute for a 1 night stay because my 1st option didn’t pan out. When they were escorting me to the campsite, they graciously upgraded me to a gravel pull through because it had been raining. I offered to pay extra but they said no worries. Bathrooms and shower house were very clean and private which was nice. Would highly recommend, especially with the Lewis and Clark caverns so close!
RangerThe staff were very friendly and as helpful as possible. The restrooms and showers were nice and clean. Small store, nice pavilion area and a huge dog area. I did not see a playground area. The sites are very small and very crowded. A small fire ring and picnic table at each site however to sit on our picnic table one of us would have to sit directly beside our neighbors sewer dump. At our site two lengths of sewer hose wouldn’t reach from our tank to the sewer dump, so even though we paid for full hookups we were only able to utilize water and electric. The roads in the park are also very tight and in my opinion not very big rig friendly.
TravelerSuper easy to book a spot here through the KOA website. Found the store stocked with some pretty good food that rotates weekly. Clean and well maintained bathrooms and campsite
ScoutQuiet in the off season
RangerGreat rv park with hotsprings great staff
GuideWe stayed here on our way to Glacier and Grand Tetons. It’s a great overnight stay, especially cause your get to use the hot springs. We probably wouldn’t stay here more than a couple nights just because it’s on a busy highway and it backs up to houses/trailers, but if you’re passing through and want to use the hot springs and need a place to stay overnight, this place is great! Clean bathrooms, too.
RangerThe campground itself is in a beautiful location framed by mountains along a river. I thought $44 for an electric only site was a bit high compared to other States campgrounds. No water hookup and a shower was $3.00 extra. The sites are decently dispersed. The Caverns are about 3 miles away and an additional $15 to tour.
Legend
This place is not a good choice. It is dirty and not maintained except for the bathhouse which is decent. This property caters mostly to long-term residents in older RVs and mobile homes. It is not a place for Dyrt campers wanting to get away from it all. I was the only short-term traveler, and I was charged$35 for a 20 amp electric only site. That was too much. I have been on the road full time for eight months and this is the least attractive campground yet. I don’t like to criticize other reviews, but the other rating of 4 stars is a joke. It is more like a 1. I gave it 2 because the people were very friendly and the bathhouse was a B-. There are huge pot holes in the entrance which are not RV friendly. There is no garbage dumpster and no sanitary dump. I had to drive a gas station in town to do this.
GuideNice dog park across the street, sites are a little tight but its perfect for a couple night stay. Awesome that its only 35 miles to Big Sky and its a gorgeous drive. Our sire only had electric/water but i know there are some with full hookups. Picnic tables and fire rings and sites are gravel.
RangerClean area, typical KOA restrooms. Not much shade. Pretty mount and lake views. Playground and store. $5 for showers if you are not staying.
GuideA little pricey RV Park, but the free entrance for 2 to the hot springs and free breakfast is well worth the stay
GuideDid not visit. Passing along info that camp website is gone. Park is now a KOA Park.
GuideWhat a nice, quiet little spot. Not much shade, but lots of space between campsites. Plenty of wildlife (rabbits, snakes, deer).
Experience the charm of cabin camping near Townsend, Montana, where stunning natural landscapes meet cozy accommodations. Whether you're seeking adventure or relaxation, these local spots offer a perfect getaway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Townsend, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Townsend, MT is Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park — Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park with a 4.1-star rating from 35 reviews.
What is the best site to find cabin camping near Townsend, MT?
TheDyrt.com has all 25 cabin camping locations near Townsend, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
