Finding free camping near Glacier National Park is no easy task. However, today, we’re sharing an epic site with you that you’ll love!
Here’s the rundown:
Name: Blankenship Bridge SW or Middle Fork Flathead River
Location: Columbia Falls, MT
Cost: FREE
GPS: 48.4641, -114.0726
Accessibility: The road is narrow and has multiple dips (oftentimes, it’s muddy, too). We could navigate it without a problem, and in fact, there was a 30’ class-A that could make it, but we recommend walking the path first to view the conditions.
A travel trailer/truck combo or Class B RV should have the easiest time getting to the site.
Date/Temp: We camped at Blankenship Bridge for three nights in mid-August. The highs were in the low 90s, and the lows were in the mid-50s. Obviously, winter camping may be a little bit harder.
Amenities: This is dry camping with no amenities. There’s a vault toilet on the opposite side of the bridge in an adjacent county park. We filled up our 6-gallon water jug at a nearby gas station.
Noise: This area sees a lot of traffic and is noisy during the day. The noise isn’t unpleasant, though, and at night it becomes quiet very quickly.
Wifi/Cell: Our WeBoost OTR Cell Booster came in handy at this location. It was able to boost the T-Mobile Hotspot from no service to 4 bars of 4G LTE. Our AT&T service received a solid connection.
Grocery/Errands: Downtown Columbia Falls is 10 miles away. It has all the essential shopping we need – a grocery store, health food store, post office, multiple gas stations & restaurants.
Dog Friendly: This boondocking location is very dog-friendly. River loved playing in the water and roaming around the rocky terrain. There were many unleashed dogs here, but their owners seemed to have good control.
Entertainment: Glacier National Park is the main attraction in the area. We haven’t explored it yet, but plan to in the next few days. We really enjoyed the Farmer’s Market & Concert held every Thursday in Columbia Falls.
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Your info always hits on everything I need to know about a site! Thanks!