Petrolia Reservoir

It's quite a ways off the highway. Expect about 15 minutes or so. When you get to the T in the road turn Right. There's a sign but it's difficult to read. I wouldn't recommend taking anything large down the hill to the campsites on the lake. The hill up is pretty steep and the sites are small. Van, very small trailers I'd say under 15ft will fit. Tents of course are perfect. Bigger rigs are best parking in  one of the dispersed places on the bluff. Two track roads to those. No cell service whatsoever. Starlink works great tho. Looks like a local party place tho glass all over. I did have a great sleep, it was quiet labor Day night.

Lots of spots but at the bottom of a big hill. Also very muddy after it rained all night. Place is a bit of a local spot, they were surprised we ended up there being from NY. Lake is at the end of 7 miles of dirt roads going through farm land. Campsite was nice but not quiet, generators were ran all night long. But hey it’s free and the scenery and people were nice!

We pulled in around midnight just to sleep. No toilet that we found but we could easily have missed it. The pull through spaces are private and far enough apart to feel like you have the place to yourself. No bugs, we woke up to cows mooing and a beautiful sunrise over the lake. The wind that came in over the lake helped cool us off as well. Great free find!

When it comes to campgrounds, it's hard to beat free. This one is located on a lake in the middle of the Montana badlands/prairie where you will feel secluded and isolated with nature. I was there early April and the lake still had some ice, but was only partially frozen over. Thus there were birds on the water. I fully expect this to be a hotspot as the season progresses.

There was only one other camper when I arrived, and he was there to photograph the birds. He has informed me that in previous visits, this campground has been equally empty. So if you're looking for a quiet place to just relax and get away, this is it.

Each site has a concrete picnic table and a fire ring. Half of the tables are under a shelter. The sites are flat and clean for pitching tents. There is a pit toilet, but no water source. The road in is well-maintained and driveable for most vehicles. There is not much protection from wind, so if you're tent camping, be mindful of that.

We were looking for a place between Devils Tower and glacier national park. Wasn’t thinking this would be anything special that was one of the better sites from our trip so far. They have four or five picnic tables a bathroom and a boat ramp and some cows that wonder around. If you don’t get here in time to get a picnic table you can kind of do camping wherever it seems good for you. Even took a bath in the lake to freshen up. Great site