Bear Creek Bunkhouse (Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT)
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Bear Creek Bunkhouse allows visitors to experience southwestern Montana's vast wilderness areas, including wide open hills and the Lee Metcalf Widerness in the Madison mountain range . Situated on the Trail Fork of Bear Creek, the cabin offers a scenic location to enjoy nature. The cabin was constructed in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as crew quarters and a garage. A larger cabin is located about 100 feet to the east and is also on the rental progarm. The bunkhouse is used as an administrative site in the summer, but is open to the public between December and April. Keep reading
During the winter months, visitors can enjoy cross country skiing and snowshoeing, though the state lands to the north of the cabin are closed to entry, being a Wildlife Management Area. The site can be accessed by vehicle, however, a portion of the road may be muddy or snow-covered, as it is not always plowed. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities, including water for drinking and cleaning.
Recreation
Bear Creek is a very popular trailhead during all seasons but especially during hunting season. There are a variety of hiking and horseback riding trails in the area. This trailhead provides access to climb Sphinx Mountain, a must-do for many visitors. The trails are popular among visitors for cross country skiing and snowshoeing during the winter months. The nearby wilderness area does not allow motorized vehicles or bicycles. Camping and fishing in the backcountry is allowed, with the proper permits. The Bear Creek Wildlife Management Area immediately to the north of the cabin is closed to all off-trail access, including foot traffic, between Dec. 2 and May 15.
Facilities
This one room cabin has electricity and lights as well as two single beds with foam pads, which can accommodate up to two people. In addition to the beds, there is a table with chairs, refrigerator, stove, oven, basic cooking equipment and cleaning supplies. The cabin has a wood stove for heat and firewood is provided and stacked to the east of the cabin. A rustic outhouse is located 150 feet east of the bunkhouse, near the larger cabin. Two additional toilets are available at the adjacent campground. Visitors need to bring their own water, including for cleaning; the creek is the only source of water and may be difficult to access during the winter if the snow is deep. Sleeping bags and blankets are not supplied, and users will need to bring their own food, toilet paper and garbage bags. Garbage and cleaning services are not provided. There are no facilities for horses at the cabins or within the fenced cabin area. There are hitchrails and corrals in the adjacent campground but they may be occupied by the campsite users. Renters must clean the facility prior to departure, as well as replenish the supply of split wood and kindling. We do our best to keep the firewood stocked but the supply can not be guaranteed. Visitors may want to bring their own wood, especially by March and April, and must supply their own wood for campfires at all times.
Natural Features
The facility is located at the edge of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, at the foot of the Madison Range. The bunkhouse is situated at an elevation of 6,250 feet, amid open meadows that are surrounded by mature aspen and Douglas fir trees. Bear Creek runs just behind the bunkhouse and nearby cabin, and the Bear Creek Wildlife Management Area (closed December 2 - May 15) lies immediately to the north. The area is home to a variety of wildlife, including elk, mule deer, black bears and grizzly bears, mountain grouse, and other species (learn more about bear safety).
Nearby Attractions
Bear Creek is approximately 60 miles north of the west entrance to Yellowstone Park and about 60 miles south of Lewis and Clark caverns. The historic "old west" towns of Virginia City and Nevada City are about 30 miles to the west. The cabin is at the western edge of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness.
What the agency tells you
Entrance combination is available with your reservation confirmation. If you do not receive the combination, you must call the Madison Ranger District at 406-682-4253 Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm for the cabin combination. The office is NOT open on Federal Holidays.
This facility is located in a remote and wild area; before making a reservation, become aware of bear, water and weather safety (including avalanche danger)
Visitors must supply their own drinking water; Creek water must be properly filtered, treated or boiled for drinking or cooking purposes
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Cell phone coverage is extremely limited
All garbage and food must be packed out
When visiting a cabin, visitors should learn about the potential dangers of exposure to hantavirus
Hay and feed, including grain, must be certified weed, seed-free
Learn more about the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
Be aware this facility is not cleaned between user visits. Please bring cleaning supplies for your visit. Renters are required to clean facility before leaving. We are doing the best we can to keep facilities open and available to the public. Your cooperation is appreciated.
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.
Campfires are no longer permitted at this site.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- OUTHOUSE on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…adjacent campground. Visitors need to bring their own water, including for cleaning; the creek is the only…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
- Stay limit
- 7 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek, Meadow
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Winter sports
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
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.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
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 · 5
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 BEAR CREEK BUNKHOUSE | 001 | cabin electric | 42 ft | $55 |
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 agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Bear Creek Cabin (Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 0.0 miBear Creek Campground and Picnic Area0.5 mi
Yellow Mule CabinGallatin National Forest · 7.0 miRuby Creek CampgroundDillon Field Office · 8.6 miPalisades CampgroundDillon Field Office · 12 mi
Wall Creek CabinBeaverhead National Forest · 13 miFrom Ennis, take Highway 287 south for 11 miles, to Cameron, Montana. From Cameron, turn east on Bear Creek Loop and continue approximately 6 miles to the cabin. The last several miles is gravel or dirt, which may be muddy or snow-covered and may not always be plowed. Maps may be purchased by calling the Madison Ranger District.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Big Sky, 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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Bear Creek Bunkhouse (Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT) 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 →