• Home
  • The Airstream
    • Tow Vehicle
  • Destinations
    • Alabama
    • Idaho
    • Indiana
    • Florida
    • Louisiana
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Montana
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • South Dakota
    • Texas
    • Washington
    • Wisconsin
    • Wyoming
  • Homeschooling
  • Budget
  • RV Park Reviews
  • About Us
    • News
  • Contact Us

Take That Exit

Leaving the fast lane, to enjoy the view

  • Home
  • The Airstream
    • Tow Vehicle
  • Destinations
    • Alabama
    • Idaho
    • Indiana
    • Florida
    • Louisiana
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Montana
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • South Dakota
    • Texas
    • Washington
    • Wisconsin
    • Wyoming
  • Homeschooling
  • Budget
  • RV Park Reviews
  • About Us
    • News
  • Contact Us

Dry camping at Indian Fort Fishing Access campground {Montana}

Aug 52015



Montana-Fish-Access-Camping

After leaving Bozeman we headed east toward Billings. We try to drive no more than 2.5 – 3 hours between stops – both for our sanity and our kids. The drive all the way between Bozeman and Billings was a bit long, so we knew we wanted to stop somewhere in between. We had spent so much on expensive campgrounds the first part of July that we really wanted to try more boondocking – or camping without water and electricity – in more primitive spots. This has the advantage of being much cheaper, but also, the atmosphere far surpasses being in a private RV campground.

Montana-Fish-Access-Sites-Locate

Montana has something called Fishing Access Sites – and many of them offer overnight camping for a nominal fee – like $8-$15/night! At Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park we found a copy of this Montana Fishing Access Field Guide and it was incredibly useful for finding locations that allow overnight camping.

About halfway between Bozeman and Billings there is a sweet little spot on the Yellowstone River called Indian Fort Fishing Access point, near Reed, Montana. It’s right off I-90 and had very easy access with our trailer. Cost was $12/night (without a fishing license) and it’s first-come, first-serve spots. I admit – I was nervous driving into the campground, thinking the place would either be abandoned in a creepy way or filled with creepy people. I didn’t know what to expect, but we agreed to drive through and evaluate it before making the decision on whether to stay or not.

I was so pleasantly surprised. We found a sweet back-in spot right next to the river. The spots were predominantly filled with families. We found an open spot near the boat ramp with a fire pit and a picnic table, and a vault toilet not far away. Our campsite was primitive and so beautiful. I wish I had known earlier to look into these types of sites – and I was grateful that we were brave enough to check them out.

Indian-Fort-Fishing-Access-Point

Every fishing access site has different rules and they are likely posted at the entrance. Near this sign we found the payment station – which consists of envelopes and a place to drop your payment – easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Indian-Fort-Fish-Access-Point-view

Most of the spots in the area are on the outer rim, along the river. The view from our “bedroom” inside the trailer – that’s the Yellowstone river gurgling in the background.

Playing-Sequence-Indian-Fort-Access-point

When we stay at private RV parks there are usually things like swimming pools or playground to entertain us. When there are electricity hook-ups there can also be the distraction of the TV.   But when you’re boondocking we tend to do things like play board games. . .

Grasshoppers-Indian-Fort-Fish-Access

Catch grasshoppers. . . .

Roasting-Marshmallows-Indian-Fort-Fish-Access

Roast marshmallows. . . for s’mores. . .

 

Indian-Fort-Access-Fishing-Grasshoppers

Catch more grasshoppers. . .

Indian-Fort-Fish-Access-Reading

Read by the campfire. . .

Indian-Fort-Access-Beach

Explore. . .

Indian-Fort-Fish-Access-Reed-Monta

And enjoy the view. Ahh. This place was magical. It was just what we needed after spending a lot of time in crowded RV parks and in larger cities.

Indian-Fort-Fish-Access-Trains

Occasionally a big train would pass on the other side of the river. It would be noisy. And it would remind us of home, in an endearing way. Because our house back in Olympia, Washington was right near a busy train track, so loud trains were just part of being home.

Yellowstone-River-fish-access-Montana

I’m so grateful that we ventured off the main road and tried out a fishing access site in Montana. It was peaceful, it was inexpensive, it was a good place to take that exit, and enjoy the view.

Have you ever camped in a Montana fishing access spot? Do you have a favorite one? We’d love to hear about it – leave a comment! 

Don’t Miss the Latest

UPDATE – SOLD! :: 2015 Airstream Flying Cloud Bunk Model

Transitioning back into a house after fulltime travel. . .and our plans for future travel

We put an offer on a house and are now soaking up the sun at the lake. ..

What our life looks like as we transition back to a house

Should we travel another year or settle down!?! We made our decision. . . .

Today marks ONE year of living and traveling in our Airstream. . .and we are right back where we started!

Camping in Zion National Park {Utah}

Sand Hollow State Park and Hadley has surgery {St. George, Utah}

{ 5 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Destinations, Montana

Comments

  1. Rich Woods says

    August 5, 2015 at 10:30 am

    Really enjoy you posts. It’s almost like you’re doing the covered-wagon migration, only in the opposite direction. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Cheryl I says

    August 5, 2015 at 10:35 am

    I saw your post on the MOR. I was wondering if you signed up for an annual pass at one of the WA participating museums 1st. We had signed up for the Pacific Science Center one on a tip that visiting several participating membership museums in UT paid for our membership.

    Reply
  3. Cheryl I says

    August 5, 2015 at 10:42 am

    whoops. Nevermind.

    Reply
  4. Boyink says

    August 6, 2015 at 5:47 am

    We have the MT sticker filled in on our map…but the sad truth is we haven’t spent but an overnight there after visiting the Ticknor Tribe on their home turf of Helena. We intend to get back for more exploration of MT…and are investigating a mild investment into some solar panels and 12v Macbook chargers to extend out our battery life. I think we can last 4-5 days on our water tanks so it’d be nice for the battery life to match that.

    Reply
  5. Terry says

    August 6, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    Beautiful, thanks for sharing

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About-Us-Clarke-Family

Click the map to see our destinations

Map-of-travels-as-ofApril30 Currently in Utah!
RV-Accessories-fulltime-RV-side
Family-Friendly-travel-games

Follow us Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

Why-We-Travel-Full-Time-sidebar
Affording Full-time Travel
RV-appliances-products-recommended-side

Recent Comments

  • Marie on My favorite RV-friendly appliances and products :: Instant Pot, Dehumidifier, Electric Skillet, more
  • Debi Durkee on Transitioning back into a house after fulltime travel. . .and our plans for future travel
  • Helen in Meridian on Transitioning back into a house after fulltime travel. . .and our plans for future travel
  • Cathy Conner on Transitioning back into a house after fulltime travel. . .and our plans for future travel
  • Tracy on Transitioning back into a house after fulltime travel. . .and our plans for future travel

Find us on Pinterest

Visit Take That Exit's profile on Pinterest.

Like us on Facebook

Take That Exit

About Us

Family-map-photo-350 We're a family of four, ditching mainstream and hitching up our Airstream for a year of travel around the United States. Learn more about us
Copyright ©2023, Take That Exit. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs