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Established Camping

Spire Rock Campground

About

National Forest

Custer Gallatin National Forest

Overview

Spire Rock Campground is located in scenic Gallatin Canyon on the Bozeman Ranger District of the Gallatin National Forest, in southwestern Montana. It is 26 miles south of Bozeman. The surrounding area offers many outdoor recreational opportunities, including fishing, rafting, hiking and viewing local wildlife.

Recreation

Great opportunities for hiking, fishing, scenic driving and wildlife viewing are available around the campground. Anglers cast for rainbow, brown, brook and cutthroat trout, whitefish and Arctic grayling on the Gallatin River. Rafting and kayaking are popular activities as well. The popular Storm Castle Trail begins nearby. This steep, 3-mile one-way trail climbs to Storm Castle Rock, with excellent views of the canyon below. Garnet Mountain Lookout Trail also begins near the campground. The 3.5-mile trail climbs 2,800 feet in elevation, to the lookout.

Facilities

The campground offers single-family campsites and an overnight, GROUP AREA (SITE 12), that can be used for overnight camping or day-use picnicking. Picnic tables and campfire rings are provided, as are vault toilets. No drinking water is available in the campground. Campers must bring their own water. Roads and parking spurs within the campground are gravel.

Natural Features

The campground sits next to Storm Castle Creek, a tributary of the Gallatin River, at an elevation of 5,600 feet. Most campsites are located along the creek and are surrounded by spruce and fir trees. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area. Visitors can often glimpse bald eagles, bighorn sheep, moose, elk, mountain goats, deer and coyotes. Black bears and grizzly bears also live in the canyon.

contact_info

For facility specific information, please call (623) 910-0170.

Fee Info

The first two vehicles are included in the reservation fee and a $8.00/night fee for each additional vehicle will be collected at the campground.

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Location

Spire Rock Campground is located in Montana

Detail location of campground

Directions

From Bozeman, travel south on Highway 191 for 23 miles to the Storm Castle turnoff. Turn left and go 3 miles to the campground. The last 3 miles are on a gravel road. From West Yellowstone, go 66 miles north on Highway 191 to the Storm Castle turnoff. Turn right at the intersection after the bridge and continue 3 miles to the campground.

Coordinates

45.4413889 N
111.2063889 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Unknown
  • Verizon
    Unknown
  • AT&T
    Unknown
  • T-Mobile
    Unknown

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Group
  • Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Firewood Available
  • Drinking Water
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Big Rig Friendly

Reviews

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4.5

out of 5

16 Reviews

Jonathan A.
Reviewed Jul. 22, 2023

Beautiful Area, worth it for trailers

Decent vault toilets and several of them. For the price the lack of water is not great but overall was worth it. One way road so keep that in mind if you have a large trailer.

We had a rooftop tent that worked well but tent users may find some sites a little close and overgrown

Site 18 I would not use if you have a tent. 17 backs into your site some and river access is limited between both sites

Site18
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Jonathan A., July 22, 2023
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Jonathan A., July 22, 2023
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Jonathan A., July 22, 2023
Angie B.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Jun. 2, 2023

Peaceful and beautiful!

My site was very secluded, peaceful, and beautiful! There were very few other campers (it was a Wednesday), so it was very quiet. The hostess was very helpful and informative. My stay was perfect! There are bear boxes at every site.

Sitesite 19
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Angie B., June 2, 2023
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Angie B., June 2, 2023
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Angie B., June 2, 2023
W
Reviewed Dec. 18, 2022

Close to 2 towns

Great location to explore big sky and Bozeman. Road not great to the dispersed camping. Will need 4x4 or awd

Sitedispersed
Month of VisitAugust
Donitza I.
Reviewed Jul. 17, 2022

Love this place. Healthy forest on creek

This place was magical. In a healthy Forest next to a beautiful Creek. Campsite was very well maintained with very friendly hosts. A little bit off the road but not too far about 3 miles. Took us 30 minutes to get into Bozeman. We were able to find spots the day of.

Site2 and 17
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Donitza I., July 17, 2022
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Donitza I., July 17, 2022
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Donitza I., July 17, 2022
  • (4) View All
Albert V.
Reviewed Jul. 11, 2022

Nice quiet spot btw Bozeman and Big Sky

This is a really nice spot next to the river. It makes a great base to explore Big Sky & Bozeman. The dispersed camping area is just passed the official campground. I counted at least 5 pullout spots, but didn't drive all the way up the road. Most already had fire rings made. There's several trailheads on that road (I'd recommend Garnet Mtn; great views at the top!), so that was great. The road is in great shape and you won't need AWD. I didn't get any signal in the area (or along US191). I had to drive to Big Sky or Bozeman for some signal; just fyi

Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Albert V., July 11, 2022
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Albert V., July 11, 2022
Jamie C.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Jun. 27, 2022

Scenic and Quiet

Small and quiet campground located in between Big Sky and Bozeman. Camp hosts were very nice and made sure to go over bear safety thoroughly. We stayed in site 10, which was a short walk to the vault toilets and the creek. It was a quiet and affordable stay.

Site10
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Jamie C., June 27, 2022
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Jamie C., June 27, 2022
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Jamie C., June 27, 2022
  • (4) View All
A
Reviewed Jun. 7, 2022

Would camp here again

We stayed two nights at site 13 and it was great. Bunch of sites open because of the weather. the potholes on the road to get there are pretty bad right now and add extra time. Very quiet campground overall, most of the sites had good privacy, and it was nice to be so close to the Storm Castle Peak trailhead.

Site13
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Ashli S., June 7, 2022
J
Reviewed May. 30, 2022

Great Spot, Terrible Road

The road was so bad that I don’t know if I’d come back again. Not great for RVs. Awesome campsite with great access to a creek.

Site14
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Justin , May 30, 2022
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Justin , May 30, 2022
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Justin , May 30, 2022
  • (6) View All
C
Reviewed Nov. 8, 2021

Beautiful! Great hosts

This is a really nice spot to camp! Definitely fills up quickly, but the hosts were very kind. Good bear safety protocols available. Lots of cool hiking, bouldering, very accessible to the campsite.

Site14
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Celine K., November 8, 2021
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Celine K., November 8, 2021
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Celine K., November 8, 2021
  • (4) View All
Tucker B.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Sep. 12, 2021

Super Nice Hosts and Quiet Campground!

Mike and Amy (camp hosts) could not have been nicer!

They took a real interest in their visitors, which is a rarity at national forest campgrounds (in my experience).

The site was about 30 minutes from both Big Sky and Bozeman and right on Storm Castle Creek.

Campground was quiet and nestled deep in the canyon, so there's minimal road noise unlike some of the other FS camps right on Highway 191!

Site6
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Tucker B., September 12, 2021
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Tucker B., September 12, 2021
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Tucker B., September 12, 2021
  • (8) View All
SThe Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Sep. 7, 2021

Sweet campground.

Great little campground about a 40 minute drive south of Bozeman. You need to drive down about 3 miles of a dusty gravel road but well worth it. 20 sites in total. Most along the river. $16 a night. The toilet. Highly recommend.

Site17
Month of VisitOctober
Katie J.
Reviewed May. 22, 2021

Gorgeous and private

All the sites are fairly private, nestled in the mountains among the trees and alongside a stream. We visited mid May 2021, it snowed overnight so it was a bit freezing, but otherwise such a beautiful stay.

Site16
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Katie J., May 22, 2021
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Katie J., May 22, 2021
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Katie J., May 22, 2021
  • (5) View All
Quinn Z.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Sep. 29, 2020

Great location on creek, some sites better than others, be bear aware!

Drove through this campground back in June, but ultimately decided not to stay there because most of the sites were full and the few available were quite small and had very little privacy.

That said, other sites sat further back from the little dirt road that winds through the campground, are larger, and definitely looked like good options. I think it is really a bit of luck as to which are reserved and which aren't. 

Standard simple campsite amenities: toilets, firepits, tables. There's a little creek that runs through the campsite, and then a pretty large rock spire overhead (hence the name). 

The area is near Big Sky so you'll have ample hiking and other activities to get up to if that's your thing.

Note - the camp host really stressed being bear aware, as this is grizzly country and he said they definitely do come through the camp on occasion. So have your bear spray ready and know how to handle your food to keep yourself safe.

Would definitely stay here if I could get one of the nicer, more private sites.

Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Quinn Z., September 29, 2020
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Quinn Z., September 29, 2020
Jeni W.
Reviewed Jul. 25, 2020

Great Family Camping Experience

We had a great experience! We took our whole family, multiple tents, and dogs. We were in one of the group sites (#2) with creek access in our site it was perfect. The views were stunning, the hosts were friendly, and the toilets were the cleanest we've ever seen.

Evan H.
Reviewed Jul. 10, 2017

Great spot

I showed up here late one night on my way to Big Sky and was lucky enough to get a spot. There are plenty of amenities such as toilets, fire pits, and tables. If you are looking to do some night photography there are some great spots just along the river, which the campground borders, that provide some breathtaking views. There can be a bit of noise in the morning with people heading up the road for off road fun but overall this is a great little spot tucked away just off the highway.

Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by Evan H., July 10, 2017
J W.
Reviewed Jun. 15, 2017

Spire Creek Campground

We stayed one night at Spire Rock in our camper. Would be great for camper or tent camping. This is a great campground if you have young kids, as there is a great hill across the bridge where they can look for rocks (geode, crystal type). There is also a hillside right next to the road that is perfect for exploring, making fairy houses, and spotting little troll houses. The sites are plenty big, have fire pits and picnic tables, and each one is next to the creek with easy access for wading. Outhouses are clean and well taken care of. The only reason I rated this 4 out of 5 stars is that there tend to be quite a few atv's driving past to explore the trails further up the road. They can be fast and noisy, but this would not deter me from staying here again.

Site29
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Spire Rock Campground by J W., June 15, 2017