Lee Metcalf Wildlife-ELUV8 Complex

Woke up to beautiful views! Was a little unclear of where to set up camp at first, but the area boarding the wildlife refuge and behind the yurts is fair game! Couple of folks were there to help me figure it out!

We had a great stay! The views were beautiful, it was very quiet, and it was so close to wander around the Lee Metcalf refuge. We would definitely stay again. Thanks for having us!

A large field for tent camping that backs up to the wildlife preserve. There was a little creek at the back of the property which we enjoyed listening to and hearing all the birdsong. It is off a busy county highway so you definitely hear road noise as well. There were a couple of sites in shade - most are fairly exposed,

A very cute site located outside Missoula! The campsite looks directly onto a wildlife refugee. It’s essentially an open lot and you can setup wherever you want. There are portipotties on site. Another reviewer said that the street near the lot is loud, we didn’t have any issues or even hear the road.

Beautiful property in a very scenic location. The stars were unbeatable!

This site was a bit disappointing. I hope the host will work out the issues we had to ensure a better camping experience for others. That being said, I understand that there are things that are out of their control so I'd like other campers to realize that part of this review is aimed at informing them of what they can expect regardless of whether improvements are made by the host.

THINGS THAT CAN'T BE HELPED:
1. The site is right next to a main road so it's not very quiet. Nothing to be done about this but to wear earplugs or noise cancelling headphones if that bothers you.
2. Neighbors or bar somewhere close by was playing loud music pretty late and we found it hard to sleep the first night. (To be fair, we were there around the 4th of July)
3. This is not really a developed site. There is a yurt on the property and it looks like some other structures are going in, but those are listed separately. For people that are camping outside it's basically an untouched field. You may have to hunt for a good flat patch for your tent. We did fine one and it worked out just fine, but it really is undeveloped dispersed camping in field.

THINGS THAT COULD BE BETTER:
1. We picked a spot as far from the road as we could to avoid the noise but over a couple of days we found several of pieces of metal buried in the dirt - scratched myself a few times walking through the grass in sandals. Guess I could have worn shoes, but it's still not great to have to look out for something like that, especially at night.
2. We messaged the host to ask whether burning a fire was okay and never heard back. We actually never heard from the host at all which was a surprise given the positive reviews about communication.

CONCLUSION:
This was an okay place to sleep at night, but I didn't find it particularly relaxing with the road noise, loud neighbors, and metal trash buried in the dirt. I wish communication from the host was better. There was nothing that needed addressing urgently, but the other reviews suggested a positive interaction with a caring host. Since I never met them I can't comment about how the interaction would have been, but it still would have been nice to get a response to our message.

We actually left a couple of nights early for a place further up north, and we were happy to have moved on.

Very easy to find, lots of space and beautiful views. Was a great spot for a night outside Missoula.

Driving into the back of the property and seeing nothing but the expansive wildlife preserve was amazing. I pulled out my binoculars and gazed out there for hours - saw countless deer and birds! Watching the sunset set behind the Lolo mountains nearby was spectacular as well - prettiest sunset I have personally ever seen. The mosquitos are pretty intense due to being right next to the water at the wildlife preserve - one night we thought it was raining (hard), but the next morning everything was dry. We then figured out that at night, the bugs are just everywhere - my wife wasn't a huge fan of that but other than that, it was beautiful here.

Beautiful space! Very peaceful :)