Battle Ridge Cabin
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 15:26 UTC
- Sites
- 1In the agency’s record
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Battle Ridge Cabin is a rustic dwelling located north of Bozeman, in southwestern Montana. The cabin was built in 1938 and is open year-round. It can be reached by vehicle in the summer, but guests visiting during winter must hike or ski a quarter-mile from the highway to reach the cabin. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
This is a popular destination in winter for cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Hikers can find nearby trails. Hunting is a popular activity in the area. This is also an ideal spot for birding and watching other wildlife species.
Facilities
Battle Ridge Cabin is wheelchair accessible and has a capacity of up to four to five people. Two sets of bunk beds with mattresses and one cot are provided. A wood cook stove, propane lantern, table and chairs are also provided. A vault toilet is located in an outhouse nearby. A campfire ring is just outside the cabin. No electricity or running water is provided. A spring is located about 500 yards away, but the water should be treated or boiled prior to consumption. Guests need to bring garbage bags to pack out their trash, and they are expected to clean the cabin before leaving. Items such as bedding, dishes, dish soap, dish towels, lanterns or flashlights, extra toilet paper, extra propane and first aid supplies are not available.
Natural Features
The cabin sits in a meadow surrounded by the evergreen-forested slopes of the Bridger Mountains, including the 9,004-foot Ross Peak, one of the better-known mountains in the range. The Custer Gallatin National Forest provides habitat for species such as grizzly and black bear, gray wolf, mountain lion, deer, elk, moose, bighorn sheep and the Canada lynx. Birders may see a wide variety of bird species.
Nearby Attractions
Bozeman is approximately 20 miles away, offering various dining, shopping or opportunities to get necessary supplies.
What the agency tells you
The cabin remains locked; a combination lock code to the cabin is included in the confirmation email or letter
Directions and Access: Accessibility to this cabin is affected by seasonal conditions. While open year-round to highway vehicles, the road between the cabin and MT-86 (Bridger Canyon Road) is not maintained for winter conditions and is not plowed. When road is impassable to wheeled vehicles cabin users will park in the Battle Ridge Trailhead Parking lot, and access facility via 1/2 mi. hike, snowshoe, or ski. Parking on the highway is not allowed any time of the year (Directions below) Late spring, summer, and fall access by regular vehicle (May to November): From Bozeman, MT: Drive north on 19th Ave. to West Oak St. Turn right onto West Oak and drive east to N. Rouse Ave. Turn left onto MT-86 (Bridger canyon Rd.) and drive for 20 miles. Remain on MT-86 (Bridger canyon Rd.) towards Battle Ridge Pass by staying left at the Brackett Creek Y. The cabin access road is about 0.9 miles past this junction and is on the left (east) side of the highway 1/4 mile before the Battle Ridge Trailhead and Battle Ridge Pass. Open the gate using the cabin combination and drive another 1/2 mile to the cabin. Cabin access road between MT- 86 and cabin is NOT maintained for winter conditions, when road is not passable please refer to directions below: Winter Route, December to April (depending on snow conditions): Parking along Highway 86 is prohibited so that highway snow plows can work. Please park at the Battle Ridge Trailhead. You may ski, snowshoe, or walk, from the Battle Ridge Trailhead on a marked ski and snowmobile trail which begins on the south end of parking area. Look for the trail marker near the entrance to the parking lot. It is about a half mile to the cabin from the trailhead. Follow the orange and blue diamond trail markers. Cabin may be accessed by snowmobile December 2nd - October 14th per Custer-Gallatin National Forest Over Snow Vehicle Use Map - Tracked UTV's are not allowed. - Parking is not allowed on highway to facilitate State plowing operations. Refunds will not be issued for weather related issues, including weather related accessibility issues. It is your responsibility to think ahead and plan appropriately.
Water is not available in the cabin; water obtained from nearby natural water sources should be treated prior to use
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Please be aware; this facility is not cleaned between every user visit. Visitors are advised to clean high-touch surfaces upon arrival and prior to departure. Cleaning supplies will not be provided, so it is recommended that guests bring their own. - Hantavirus notice: Guests should be aware that there is a risk of exposure to hantavirus when visiting remote cabins; click here to learn more
No garbage service; please bring garbage bags and pack out all trash and belongings. Do not leave food, oil, tea, coffee, or canned items in the cabin.
Bears frequent the area; guests must carefully follow the food storage order for Custer Gallatin National Forest (Click here for more information)
Provided firewood is for indoor use only for indoor heating and cooking. Cabin users will bring or gather firewood for outdoor use. Provision of firewood is difficult at all times of year and impossible during the winter months. - Burning of Wood Pallets is prohibited. - Campfires must be contained within the fire ring adjacent to the facility; no other campfires are authorized. - Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Candles are not permitted inside the cabin
Federal regulations prohibit firing a gun or use of any other weapon in or within 150 yards of the developed recreation site, or across or on a road or body of water, or in any circumstance whereby any person may be injured or property damaged
Horses are not allowed within 100 yards of cabin. Hay and feed must be certified weed-free
Pets are not recommended at the cabin; solid pet wastes must be removed within 100 yards of cabin
Click here for more information about Custer-Gallatin National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…table and chairs are also provided. A vault toilet is located in an outhouse nearby. A campfire ring…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Meadow
- Cross Country Skiing
- Downhill Skiing
- Fire Lookouts/Cabins Overnight
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Mountain biking
- OHV riding
- Sledding
- Snowmobile Trails
- Snowshoeing
- Wildlife viewing
- Winter sports
- Fall color · reported 9 days ago, 31 km away
- Past peak
Nothing to book until it reopensread 15:26 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
OpenBookedClosed
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 · 11
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 Battle Ridge Cabin closed this Friday and Saturday night. The U.S. Forest Service 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 · 4
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- Battle Ridge CampgroundGallatin National Forest · 0.7 mi · walk-up
- Skidway CampgroundHelena National Forest · 35 mi
- Canyon CampgroundGallatin National Forest · 48 mi · walk-up
- Bear Creek Campground and Picnic AreaBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · 59 mi
recreation.gov availability, read 15:26 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.
| AREA BATTLE RIDGE CABIN | 001 | cabin nonelectric | 2,473 ft | $65 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the phone number
Where it is
Fairy Lake CampgroundGallatin National Forest · 4.0 mi
Trail Creek CabinGallatin National Forest · 21 miLower Madison Dispersed Camping Sites21 mi
Mystic Lake CabinMystic Lake Reservoir Water Reserve Withdrawal · 23 mi
Ibex CabinGallatin National Forest · 24 miThe weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Sedan, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 29°F, day 54°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 13°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 Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Battle Ridge 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 →