Ken and Vicky Soderberg - Best Tent Camping: Montana: Your Car-Camping Guide to Scenic Beauty, the Sounds of Nature, and an Escape from Civilization

Best Tent Camping: Montana

Copyright 2017 by Jan and Christina Nesset

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Second edition, first printing

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Soderberg, Vicky, author. | Soderberg, Ken, author. | Nesset, Jan, author. | Nesset, Christina, author.

Title: Best tent camping : Montana / Ken and Vicky Soderberg ; updated by Jan and Christina Nesset.

Description: Second edition. | Birmingham, Alabama : Menasha Ridge Press, [2017] | First edition: 2005. | Distributed by Publishers Group WestT.p. verso.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016057900 | ISBN 978-1-63404-002-0 (paperback) | ISBN 978-1-63404-003-7 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: CampingMontanaGuidebooks. | Camp sites, facilities, etc.MontanaGuidebooks. | Outdoor recreation. | MontanaGuidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV191.42.M9 S63 2017 | DDC 917.86/068dc23

LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/2016057900

Project editor: Ritchey Halphen

Cover design: Scott McGrew

Maps: Steve Jones, Jan and Christina Nesset

Book design: Jonathan Norberg

Photos: Jan and Christina Nesset, except where noted

Editors: Susan Roberts McWilliams (copy) , Dan Downing (research)

Proofreader: Scott Alexander Jones

MENASHA RIDGE PRESS
An imprint of AdventureKEEN
2204 First Ave. S., Ste. 102
Birmingham, Alabama 35233
800-443-7227, fax 205-326-1012

Visit menasharidge.com for a complete listing of our books and for ordering information. Contact us at our website, at facebook.com/menasharidge, or at twitter.com/menasharidge with questions or comments. To find out more about who we are and what were doing, visit blog.menasharidge.com.

Front cover: Reynolds Creek and Reynolds Mountain in Glacier National Park are located near the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which takes you to . Photo: Kerrick James/Alamy Stock Photo

To Silva and Aleksia, our beloved daughters, whose love, precious spirits, and inspiration make every journey fun and memorable.

Jan and Christina Nesset

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank the following people:

The busy, hardworking state and federal employees who volunteered their precious time to provide feedback, dredge up resources, and respond to countless inquiries to support the revision of this book.

The Covington family, who enthusiastically took on assignments to visit campgrounds, take photographs, and review information.

The crews of the Montana Conservation Corps, who toiled in the mountains to reduce forest fuel hazards, restore and build trails, and enhance wildlife habitat while graciously fact-checking details and maps at and near campgrounds featured in this book, many of which were their temporary homes for the summer.

Silva and Aleksia, our amazing daughters, for their encouragement, support, love, and patience while Mom and Dad steered them toward visits to on-the-way and out-of-the-way campgrounds and fun spots nearby.

Jan and Christina Nesset

PREFACE

This book is simply a new layer put to the excellent work of the original authors, Ken and Vicky Soderberg, who traveled all over Montana for the singular purpose of seeking the states best tent camping. In digging into the material for this revision, and after spinning off some miles to explore the first of many campgrounds, we quickly learned that the original book was more than a spilling of the beansit was a labor of love. Our hats are off to the Soderbergs for turning us on to some terrific campgrounds, many previously unknown to us!

We went about revising the book in a far different way: we built upon our years of tent camping across this amazing state by exploring new-to-us territory, with the hope of verifying or updating original information and finding enchanted campgrounds for tenters. We did both, and we loved every minute of it!

Jan was raised in eastern Montana and moved continually westward across the state to get his education. His father was fond of fishing, which meant that most family vacations were spent near bodies of water not far from either a camper or a small trailer. The kids, however, opted frequently for a pup tent. As a young adult, Jan reveled in outdoor pursuits, in particular climbing, paddling, bicycling, and adventure racing. His itch for travel took him around the planet, with either a backpack or bicycle panniers stuffed with gear. And always a tent!

Chris spent her childhood exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and frolicking along the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. Her first job out of college was in public-land conservation, which gave her the opportunity to take her outdoor interests and test them during an exploration of the West. Plus, her work and chosen lifestyle had her frequently living out of a tent.

Chris met Jan on a beach during a surfing weekend in Oregon, and they got married two years later on that same beach, after going surfing. For their honeymoon, they loaded bicycles and toured the Andes of South America for six months. They lived out of a tent the entire trip, with the exception of the occasional breaks for showers and clean clothes.

Our marriage is how this book materializedthrough the collective preferences, quirks, and biases of two people who not only love getting outdoors but who also prefer camping in tents over camping by means that are towed, carried, or driven.

We hope that you find some comfort in knowing that the people who wrote this book are biased in your favor, having accumulated decades of actual experiencecomplete with plenty of mistakes, serendipity, dumb luck, and doses of hard-won savvy (toot!) in the field.

BEST CAMPGROUNDS

BEST FOR MOUNTAIN BIKING

BEST FOR FISHING

BEST FOR FAMILIES WITH KIDS

BEST FOR HIKING

BEST FOR PADDLING

BEST FOR PRIVACY AND SOLITUDE

Holland Lake (see )

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDEBOOK

Menasha Ridge Press welcomes you to Best Tent Camping: Montana. Whether youre new to camping or youve been sleeping in your portable shelter over decades of outdoor adventures, please review the following information. It explains how we have worked with the author to organize this book and how you can make the best use of it.