Want to go dispersed camping near Virginia City? 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 excursion.
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
This 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!
Legend
Disperse 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
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
Legend
Coal Creek Disperse Camping Area is a large flat grassy parking area just barely off the main road. Site has a large rock fire ring with plenty of flat areas to set up a tent or park a camper. Site is right next to Coal Creek. Being so close to the road you will have no privacy, but the remoteness of the area should mean little to no traffic at night. 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 7000 feet
Legend
Dispersed Camping Area 6100X is not much to talk about. The location is just barely off the road in a bumpy grassy area along Forest Service route 100. This camping area is wide open, not much of a site, but does have a small rock fire ring. I would suggest not using the fire ring as small sage brush is growing along the edge of the ring, would build a new ring if you wanted a fire. While the ground is a little bumpy you should have no problem find a level enough spot for a tent and a camper should be no problem at all. 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 7024 feet.
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
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.
Scout
The 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.
Guide
Blm camping on the big hole river, montana, free up to 16 days. About 15 spots. Boat ramp, fishing hiking fire pits, no wood available.
GuideFor 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.
Scout
Followed this road up a few miles and found the perfect camp spot.
GuideThe 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!
ScoutHardly 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.
Traveler
This is a fantastic campground with lots of empty sites along Taylor Creek. The site I stayed at had a fire pit with lots of room to setup a tent or camper if you’re interested. Lots of distance between each campsite and again, a pretty valley view with a beautiful creek.
ScoutIt’s free! You can bring campers, motorhomes, or tent camp like we did! There is a bathroom available as well! Lots of neat agates in the parking lot! I highly recommend this area! This was our view each morning
Guide
Five sites along a 4.5 mile dirt Forest Service road. These sites are large with trails that run to the river. If you’re looking for a primitive and peaceful camp site, this place is beautiful! Definitely bear country, and we saw plenty of Elk tracks and sign. We arrived around 4:30 pm and had no problem finding a site. The sites themselves are spread out, we did not hear anyone.
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!
ScoutWe drove up this road early on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend and of the first 8 designated spots only about 3 were full. We took the last one (just after 2ish miles from the entrance at the road) and it was absolutely gorgeous. Our little site sat on small ridge with a somewhat steep but short trail down to the creek. No picnic tables, but there was a really cute fire ring. The trails up the road are popular, and over the course of the weekend there were pretty frequent cars and even a few folks walking. We didn't mind too much, but the site is right off the road so you're not secluded or especially private. The trade off feels worth it for the beautiful site and proximity to the creek.
Please be bear aware! There are bears in the area, so make sure to lock your food and other consumables in your truck's cab or in your car.
LegendNeeded a free site relatively close to town and this spot worked perfectly.
It was super easy to find, had a nice fire ring, and plenty of tent space.
Could've stayed here multiple nights and gone up to explore the reservoir if I had known about it sooner!
GuideThis spot is one of my favorite dispersed sites I’ve ever stayed at. We stayed for 3 nights but could stay up to 16. Next time, I may stay the whole time. There are probably 8 to 10 spots total but 4 miles down, there is a field for group parking if you can’t find a spot, you can throw up a tent or car camp comfortably. There is also a trailhead there as well as an outhouse.
We were able to find a spot about two miles in, huge area that would be perfect for a group. Lots of room for parking and if you go in the woods, there were many made fire rings and spots to throw up tents.
We had a fire every night and the stars were out of this world. Beaver creek river is magical. I spent a whole day by the river, collecting rocks and sunbathing. 30 minutes to the west Yellowstone entrance, there is also a cute town right before you go into the park.
Please pack in/pack out. This place is a hidden gem. I can’t wait to go back and enjoy it again. Also! Horse friendly!!!
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
LegendWe have a very large camper truck that’s top heavy, the road was very narrow but easy to drive up. Gravel and large rocks and small pot holes. When we first arrived we had to stay all the way at the top with the horse trailers because all spots were taken (8 spots) then on the 2nd day we stayed in spot 7 for 3 days. Very secluded and there are 2 spots at the mile 4 marker (hard to see from the road.) Then we walked down to see if any of the other spots were available come Monday and stayed in #4 at the mile 2 marker for fairly a week. We seen a lot of deer and pretty sure a couple of wolves one night. Squirrels! Lots of those guys and they are the most noise we heard. The road is kind of busy on the weekends but not too terrible. A Park Ranger stopped and talked to us to make sure we knew how to camp. He was nice.
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.
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.
ScoutFew sites, best suited for smaller campers. Beautiful area. OHV and horseback riding.
ScoutWe stayed one night on our way back from Yellowstone. My RTT was perfect for this. There was a small corral for horses and plenty of room for a horse trailer and truck.
Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Virginia City, Montana, where you can immerse yourself in nature without the constraints of traditional campgrounds. With stunning landscapes and a variety of outdoor activities, this area is perfect for adventurers seeking a more rustic experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Virginia City, MT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Virginia City, MT is Ruby Reservoir Recreation Area with a 3.4-star rating from 5 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Virginia City, MT?
TheDyrt.com has all 25 dispersed camping locations near Virginia City, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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