Planning a dispersed camping trip near Twin Bridges? Dispersed camping gets you off the grid so you can disconnect from the hecticness of everyday life. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campsite for your Montana camping adventure.
There are many opportunities for dispersed camping on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Forest-wide stay limit: Camping in an area, campsite, or developed campground is limited to 16 accumulated days within any 30 day period.
Guide
For a dispersed BLM camping area, this is lovely. Plenty of sites that each have a picnic table and long gravel spot to park an RV. There’s a cute little river and some interesting rock features. Close to the freeway so an excellent stop for a night spot.
GuideThis place looks like a paid campground, only free! All the spots have a picnic table, fire pit and bear box. The mountain views all all around you are gorgeous. Some other folks camping here went trout fishing - so that's an option. Only downside is that my dogs had some trouble walking on the gravel.
GPS: 45.702416, -112.736869
Scout
The road to this location is closed, the bridge is out. There is no access.
GuideBlm camping on the big hole river, montana, free up to 16 days. About 15 spots. Boat ramp, fishing hiking fire pits, no wood available.
Guide
As a single female tent camping I felt very safe here. One morning a bunch of cows came through my site, which was amazing.
GuideLots of open space and locations to pull out--beautiful views as well! To access this place we went towards Copper City Trail Head, and drove by the entrance onto BLM lands. Also, note that this place seems common for mountain bikers and trail bikers, so you'll likely run into a few of those. Also also, this place is DRY--so be sure to bring your own water (but on the plus side, no bugs!!)
ScoutPlenty of pull out sites with some scattered man made fire rings. Secluded quiet and great views
GuideGreat spot right on parts of the trial! It’s open and you can see miles in each direction. No shade, no bathrooms, but most have man made fire pits.
ScoutFew sites, best suited for smaller campers. Beautiful area. OHV and horseback riding.
ScoutOnly 5 min from highway on a smooth road, spacious with vistas and private. Best yet
ScoutIt is easy to get to and very nice views. We did have a creepy experience. Three trucks drove by our spot and parked just staring at us and would leave. They did this 3 times before we decided to pack up and go elsewhere. Also saw a bunch of bear poop. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back.
ScoutThe spot was close to the highway - lots of potential spots - some “locals” who seem to live out there and run generators 24/7 - we had no problem and got a good night sleep to carry on our journey.
There are MTB OHV and walking trails nearby.
Legend
This campsite is right off the exit, but not very noisy. There were several other campers and RVs and trucks there. Even just parts of cars. Kinda a weird vibe, but down the various 2 tracks, there are hidden sites that afford some shade and privacy. I got 3-4 bars LTE of Verizon here! Plenty of fire pits and access to a couple lakes. And it’s only about 8 miles from Butte!
Legend
Only 3 miles from the highway, this campsite is at the end of a well maintained, slightly rutted gravel road. It’s wide enough for trailers.
Along the road, there are a handful of pull offs that are big enough for an RV to pull into.
The coordinates bring you to an open gravel lot with nice clean pit toilets. There’s a creek nearby. Big beautiful rocks, some shade, pretty epic views on the way in. Beautiful!
No cell service, unfortunately. Another con is that there’s another road that goes in further, but it’s narrow and eroded. I attempted it in my campervan, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the hassle and parked in the open lot instead.
TravelerIt’s easy to get to and there aren’t bad potholes. No problem getting there without 4 wheel drive. I was able to find a pretty private campground by going a little further then the initial parking area.
ScoutWe pulled in for the night on a whim. Nice spot, the road was a little wash boarded. Just made a quick stop off the highway. Nice and quiet.
ScoutThere’s a big area that had a dozen RVs & tents, but it was late & we wanted space so we followed a rough dirt road 1/2 a mile to find a spot in the trees. The Homestake Trailhead down the road has a bathroom. We did have a weird experience: a truck camped near us with two people who openly watched us the entire morning & followed us to the trailhead before driving on.
ScoutThe dispersed camping is super easy to find, and it's right off the highway! It was perfect for a quick spot to camp on our way home to Colorado instead of getting a hotel room.
Scout
Hardly any water campsites. Rattlesnakes by the bathrooms. Almost impossible to level a camper. There are absolutely no trees so come with a bucket of sunscreen or a canopy.
GuideIt’s a wonderful spot for a weekend away. We had the place to ourselves except for Saturday afternoon in March. There’s over 10 spots, with places easy for groups. However, there isn’t a level place in sight. Be prepared for steep inclines in some situations. While it was quiet people wise, I’m pretty sure you can hear the dam because we had rumbling noise that woke both of us up. The vault toilets are in a good location for many of the spots, and some are in other driveways if you are self-contained.
Guide
The road was mildly bumpy getting here, but the campsite is very nice. There are toilets and clearly marked campsites with a fire ring and a picnic table. Definitely can’t complain considering the camping was free!
Legend
Cow Creek Disperse camping area is a large fairly flat grassy area just off the road. Area is in the wide open on a high spot above the Ruby River meaning less bugs as you are unprotected from any breeze that may be blowing. The site has great views of the surrounding mountains and of the Ruby River below. Site has on large rock fire ring. Plenty of room to fit a large group at this location, with no problem finding flat spots for your tents. Disperse camping along FS route 100 is only allowed in designated locations in this part of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. All forest service disperse camping rules are in affect. Stay is limited to 16 days. No facilities at this site(so come prepared. Site is at an elevation of 6428 feet.
Legend
A Outhouse!!!. Dispersed Camping Area 6100J is a large camping area a short distance off forest road 100 with four to six established sites depending on how you look at it. But the best thing of all is just across FS road 100 is a vault toilet. The camping area sits between FS 100 and the Ruby River, unfortunately none of the sites are along the river. I said 4-6 sites as a few of the rock fire rings are very close to another fire ring, could fit to groups of campers at these sites, but why would you want to be so close to someone else while disperse camping. Good size fire rings at nice flat locations with plenty of room to set up camp. The vault toilet did not have any paper in it when I visited, but it was after the usual camping season and the middle of hunting season. The site also has 3 tie up rails for horses at the entrance to the camping area. Disperse camping along FS route 100 is only allowed in designated locations in this part of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. All forest service disperse camping rules are in affect. Stay is limited to 16 days. No facilities at this site(except for the vault toilet) so come prepared. Site is at an elevation of 6472 feet
Legend
Dispersed Camping Area 6100M is a large camping area a short distance off forest road 100 with five established sites. Three of the sites are in the open and two are tucked in the trees along the edge of the Ruby River. The tree sites are very nice, sitting among large fir trees. Rock fire rings can be found at all sites, one of the treed sites along the river has a metal fire barrel. Disperse camping along FS route 100 is only allowed in designated locations in this part of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. All forest service disperse camping rules are in affect. Stay is limited to 16 days. No facilities at this site so come prepared. Site is at an elevation of 6567 feet
LegendDisperse campsite 6100N is located a short distance off of forest road 100. This camping area is a nice large flat grassy area to camp in, perfect for tents. Camping area sits along the Upper Ruby River. One large rock fire ring is available. Fir and Juniper trees surround this camping area. Disperse camping along FS route 100 is only allowed in designated locations in this part of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. All forest service disperse camping rules are in affect. Stay is limited to 16 days. No facilities at this site so come prepared. Site is at an elevation of 6621 feet
LegendThe BLM's Ruby Reservoir is a disperse camping area. The only facilities at this campground is a double vault toilet. There is no signage on the highway to indicated the campground. After passing the dam look for the first paved turn with a stop sign on the right side of the road, this is your turn, the pavement will stop after a couple hundred feet. Lots of campsite can be found by following the web of roads once the pavement ends. Off road travel is not allowed. Their are no metal fire rings, all the fire rings in the area are made of rocks. Being a primitive camping area this is a trash-in-trash-out site, and you will need to bring your own water. This is a nice area, and I have camped here several times during hunting season. The fishing is decent as well. If you want to find garnets just head to the lake shore and start digging. Small ones can be found on the surface, bring a shovel and dig deeper if you want something decent. If you use a gold pan shake the gravel around for several minutes then flip the pan is the easiest way to find them as the garnets are heavy and will settle to the bottom of the pan. Site is free with a 16 day stay limit.
GuideThis campsite has loads to offer ~ there is access to the reservoir, of course, and along with this comes the garnets lining the shores. It is a perfect adventure for beginners, as all you need is a shovel and some screens to begin your search. The garnets are beautiful, and keep the kids (college age or elementary!) entertained for hours. And if you need to cool off, you can hop right in! The campsite itself is a bit primitive, but the activities more than make up for it. Another bonus is that the way in leads you right through Virginia City which is a fun little ghost town. There’s also another little spot off the road about a mile and a half down the road from Virginia City where there’s a possibility of finding corundum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Twin Bridges, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Twin Bridges, MT is Homestake Pass Dispersed with a 3.9-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Twin Bridges, MT?
TheDyrt.com has all 17 dispersed camping locations near Twin Bridges, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
