Axolotl Cabin
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 16:47 UTC
- Sites
- 1In the agency’s record
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Dillon Field Office is unable to make reservations for you. Please call Recreation.gov (877-444-6777) to book a reservation or book online. Axolotl Cabin is located approximately 14 miles southwest of Ennis, Montana, in the foothills of the Gravelly Range. The cabin provides access to a variety of outdoor recreational activities and breathtaking views as it peers over the Madison Valley. The cabin is at an elevation of about 7,000 feet and is adjacent to Axolotl Lakes Wilderness Study Area. Keep reading
Recreation
Recreation opportunities abound in the surrounding area including numerous small lakes for angling, paddling, and relaxation, and excellent areas for hiking, wildlife viewing, and horseback riding. The world famous Madison River winds through the valley below, with abundant scenery all around. The surrounding lands are primarily managed by the Bureau of Land Management and provide a variety of recreational opportunities, including within the Axolotl Lakes Wilderness Study Area (WSA). Certain restrictions are in place for WSA lands; please ensure your understanding of these rules and adhere to restrictions.
Facilities
The cabin sleeps a maximum of seven people. There is a full bed, a full-size fold out futon and two single bunkbeds. No bedding is provided. The cabin amenities run off of both solar and propane. The lights and refrigerator operate off solar power and can be subject to outages. The stove/oven operates off propane; please read directions of how to operate!! There is also a BBQ, wood stove, fireplace, and outdoor fire pit. Non-potable water available; please treat. One small corral near the cabin can accommodate two horses. You are required to bring your own certified weed seed-free feed; no grazing is allowed.
Natural Features
Tiger salamanders in their larval stage (axolotls) exist in a few of the nearby lakes; please observe only, DO NOT HANDLE. Grayling can be found in some lakes. THIS IS BEAR COUNTRY. Do NOT leave food (human, pet, livestock), toiletries, or ANY ATTRACTANTS (BBQ tools, empty beverage cans, smores sticks, etc.) out overnight. PROPERLY STORE all attractants in the cabin or in a HARD-SIDED LOCKED vehicle when not in use. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (406) 490-9044.
Nearby Attractions
Visitors to the area may like to explore nearby Virginia City and Nevada City historic districts, as well as access the Gravelly Road scenic drive.
What the agency tells you
Access to the cabin may be difficult, seasonally dependent. Heavy snow drifts may be present during early season, and roads may be impassable during or after heavy rains. THIS IS BEAR COUNTRY. Please store food, toiletries, and ALL ATTRACTANTS (including pet/livestock food/bowls) in cabin or LOCKED HARD-SIDED vehicle and remain bear aware. Carry bear spray and make noise when traveling through heavy brush. The cabin is NOT cleaned between every reservation. Please leave the cabin BETTER than you found it, and bring your own cleaning supplies should you wish to disinfect.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Stay limit
- 3 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Boating
- Fish Hatchery
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horseback riding
- Swimming
- Wildlife viewing
Nothing to book until it reopensread 16:47 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Tell me when it reopens
Watch for it to come back
One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 4
Why this page can’t say why
recreation.gov lists every site at Axolotl Cabin closed this Friday and Saturday night. The Bureau of Land Management has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.
There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.
Open within 60 miles · 2
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- Bear Creek Campground and Picnic AreaBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · 16 mi
- Canyon CampgroundGallatin National Forest · 48 mi · walk-up
recreation.gov availability, read 16:47 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Axolotl Cabin | Axolotl Cabin | cabin electric | 303 ft | $75 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Vigilante CabinBeaverhead National Forest · 16 miBear Creek Campground and Picnic Area16 mi
Bear Creek Bunkhouse (Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 17 miFrom Ennis (most direct route) - 4WD/High clearance Vehicle strongly recommended. Road may become impassable when wet!!
Take State Highway 287 towards Virginia City. About 1/4 mile east of MM11 (or 3/4 mile west of MM10) turn south into the paved parking area near the top of Virginia City Hill. Pass through the gate with the cattle guard at the west end of the parking area. Proceed 3.1 miles on the dirt road (blind corners exist). The road will descend a very steep hill and intersect with another road. Turn Left (east) at the intersection. Go 0.7 miles, and the cabin will be on the right (south) side of the road. There will be a locked gate to mark the 0.25 mile driveway. If you come to the Twin Lakes parking area and vault latrine, you've gone too far. Turn around and drive back up to the gate.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Virginia City, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 25°F, day 53°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 9°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Axolotl Cabin is in Montana’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Ryan Zinke (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →