Glacier Park HipCamp

Come enjoy peace and quiet in the beautiful meadows near our home. We are located on 37 acres that include forested trails, a large pond, two small ponds, a creek, and frequent wildlife as well as spectacular stargazing at night. All sites have a campfire ring and picnic table.  We provide a unique eco-camping experience in contrast to the crowded campground/RV park, and we are only 6 miles away from Glacier National Park's entrance!

Getting into GNP:

***Glacier Park instated a new entry ticket reservation (Going to the Sun Road Pass) this last year to limit access to the park. You can buy an entry ticket online at recreation.gov - it's $2 per vehicle and is good for 3 days. If you are unable to purchase a ticket because they are unavailable, not released yet, or sold out, keep trying (they often stagger release). You can also try one day before you want to enter (at 8am Mountain Time) when they release the last 1/4 of available tickets. If you still can't get a ticket, you can enter after 4pm when they don't require one. Or you can book an activity in the Park like a guided hike or ferry boat ride or paddle board rental (from Glacier Outfitters in Apgar) and show your confirmation to get in that day. Note that they are doing construction this summer (2022) on Going to the Sun road between the times of 10PM-6AM and the road will be closed at those times.

Site Descriptions:

*If you look at our site map (located in the pictures) you will see that our sites are organized in groups/pods - if you are interested in having a larger group gathering, we recommend that you reserve several campsites within the same pod if possible. For example, if you have a group of 12 people, you reserve sites 7-9 which are loosely grouped together but share a vault toilet. We recommend 4-5 people to a site to keep the toilets in good order (cleaned every other day) and preserve the feeling of a private, secluded camping experience for all our campers.

 Sites 1-6:   RVs, Trailers & Tents...Located Front Meadow near pond (No size restriction)

No hookups are provided – dry camping only. We strive for a low-impact, eco-camping experience. We have an open, flat meadow with 6 sites that will fit RVs and trailers of all sizes. RVs park on one side of road and pond is on the opposite side of the road.  Tents are welcome in all sites; although, we recommend the back meadow sites (7 and up) for tent campers (especially in July) as it has less traffic and more privacy. All sites have access to a vault toilet, and all sites are back-in sites with partial shade - the size of the parking spots range as seen below.

Sites 7-9: Tents, Camper vans, small RVs (total vehicle length of 26' or less)... Located in the Upper Back Meadow

Sites 7-9 share one vault toilet and are located near the back meadow in small groves of pine and deciduous trees. All of these sites have partial shade, sandy areas for comfortable tenting, and access to a sandy bank (play area) which is popular with children that stay at these sites. It is only a few minutes walk across the creek and down the road to the large pond. 

Sites 10-12: Tents and Camper Vans (total length of vehicle 22' or less)... Located in the Pine Forest by the upper back meadow

These are all back-in sites (25'x15' or  a little larger) in the pines by the back meadow and will all share a vault toilet and have sandy pads for tents. All sites will have plentiful shade, and provide the quintessential Montana camping experience in the forest.  Bring your hammocks and binoculars to spot deer and elk in the nearby meadow!

Sites 13-15: Tents and Camper Vans (total length of vehicle 22' or less)... Located in the Pine Hills behind the Pond

Located on the very back corner of the property are three Tent/ Camper van sites nestled in a hilly grove of pines, which allow glimmers from the larger pond below to filter through in the morning and evening. These sites are some of our most private sites with plentiful shade and have a narrow road that access them (Not suitable for RVS or Camp Trailers). Good for cars, SUVs, Scaper Campers, Camper vans, Rooftop Tents.  These three sites share a Porta-toilet.  Bring your hammocks and be ready for bird-song to wake you in the morning!

Site 13 is a pull through loop

Sites 16-18: Tents and Camper Vans (total length of vehicle 24' or less)... located by two small, private ponds in the lower back meadow.

All these sites are new except site 16 (which was called site 7 last year).

All these sites share a vault toilet and access to two small ponds and the back side of the larger pond. Lots of wildlife come to this area: heron, geese, turtles, rabbits, deer, elk, moose (on occasion) to visit the water.  All sites have the partial shade of deciduous trees. These sites are the last ones we open for availability based on how much water we have from spring run-off. Because of the proximity to the ponds, they are only open once the parking areas are completely dry and stable. So some may not be listed as available to book until closer to the season.

Campfires/Firewood:

Each site has its own fire ring. Firewood is available in several locations around the property and is self serve with a donation box ($5 ).  Collection of wood such as dead branches or small fallen trees for small campfires is allowed. Campfires should be kept to a small, safe size - please put them fully out before turning in for the night and never scatter the cinders/partially burned logs outside of the pit. We will post if there is a local fire ban instated at any point - please feel free to message us and ask about fire updates.

Pond:

All sites have access to the large pond via the dirt road. We do allow fishing (they are sun-fish and can be caught from shore) and boating/paddle boards. Please wear life vests when out on the water. Swimming is not recommended since it has  lily pads for most of the summer. There is a good swimming hole just down the road near Hungry Horse Dam called Lion Lake and also good swimming at Lake McDonald in GNP.

Bears:

We ask our campers to be "bear aware" - keep your food and trash in enclosed vehicles. Never keep food or eat in your tents. We ask campers to "pack in and pack out" your trash - see closest dump in info below. We do provide limited (first come, first serve) bear spray rental (donation of $5 per spray, per day) located near the water hydrant on the road by sites 4-6. GNP also provides rental at $9 per hour located in Apgar by the paddle board rentals. If you want to buy a bear spray from us, or if you forget to put your rental back before you leave, please contact us and we can charge a credit card for $40. Yes, we do have bears that sometimes saunter by - usually we have a few black bears each summer. It is rare to spot one, but if you do, please message us and let us know!  We will also keep campers aware if a bear has been seen recently on the property. 

Cell Service:

Verizon and AT&T cell service is available here - phone calls and texts work well, but internet is very limited and sporadic especially in the peak season. We do not have WiFi. 

Location, Services, and Attractions:

The property is located 6 miles from Glacier Park entrance and is near HWY 2. Access is via the Old HWY 2.  Because of the proximity to Glacier National Park and the main HWY, traffic noise and train noise can be heard at the campsites. 

 Visitors are ask to keep their speed to a minimum to reduce dust on the dirt road.

 We are just a short bike ride away (two minutes by car) from attractions such as the Whiskey Barn, Josephine’s Speak Easy, Glacier Hi-Line Ropes Course, Glacier Grill Restaurant and the Amazing Fun Center, maze, and mini golf.  It is also easy access to the Gateway to Glacier Bike path. There are also E-bike rentals nearby.

There is a freshwater spring where you can fill up containers of water in Bad Rock Canyon (between Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse on the way here... 10 min away from us). Look for the large pull off areas between the river and the rock canyon walls and a white pipe coming out of the rock. We've personally filled up at this spring for years!

Closest Gas station is the Cenex in Coram (1.5 mi away).

Closest public (free) landfill dump is 2.2 miles toward Columbia Falls at 9626 Us HWY 2 E. Near Paul Bunyan Bar and Grill (which is also a good restaurant near us). Look for the gated entry and small sign marking Flathead Landfill.

Closest grocery is in Hungry Horse at Canyon Foods Grocery (3.5 miles away). They have a laundromat next to this store.

Closest dump and water fill up for a vehicle with a holding tank is Mikes Conoco at 1645 9th st W in Columbia Falls (8.9 mi away).

Closest town with wifi,  cafes, restaurants, urgent care and larger grocery stores is Columbia Falls (9 miles away).

Showers:

You can shower at Pinewood Park Outdoor Pool in Columbia Falls (next to Cedar Creek Lodge) - It is $2 per person to enter the pool during Public Swim (Mon-Sun 1:30-4:15pm and Mon-Fri 6:30 pm- 8:15pm) or during Lap Swim (Mon-Fri 12-1pm and 5-6pm). They have a private bathroom with a shower and also open showers in the changing rooms. The pool opens the second week of June and closes the first or second week of August.