Blackwell Flats Campground
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 7All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
Blackwell Flats campground, situated on the Kootenai River, offers visitors peace and quiet and plenty of space to enjoy the scenic surrounds. Keep reading
Recreation
Water sports are the most common activity at the lake, and a boat ramp is open year-round in Souse Gulch. Recreations can also access downstream of the dam at 4 river launches. The nearby Visitor Center offers short films, informational guides, interpretive materials, and a gift shop. Visitors can enjoy kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, fishing, water skiing and jet skiing. Day users are likely to spot wildlife in the area with bald eagles, osprey, and most commonly, deer. A frisbee golf course is available in Souse Gulch and a second course is located downstream of the dam. A hiking and biking trail downstream of the dam will take visitors along the Kootenai River. Basketball hoops, playgrounds, corn hole boards, picnic tables and more offer plenty of space and recreation opportunities for families, groups of friends or solo visitors looking to get outside.
Facilities
Blackwell Flats Campground offers 7 standard non-electric campsites near the water. Amenities include picnic tables, fire rings, a vault toilet, and boat ramp.
Natural Features
Libby Dam was built is 1975 for flood control and power production on the Kootenai River. Behind the dam, Lake Koocanusa stretches 90 miles, 48 miles in the USA and 42 miles in Canda. Today, the popular lake has the added benefit of providing visitors with countless year-round recreation activities.
Nearby Attractions
The Libby Dam Visitor Center features exhibits on the history of the dam and the natural features of the area, with tours of the dam given daily during the summer. Distance from Libby Dam to closest towns: Libby 20 miles Eureka 60 miles Bonners Ferry 70 miles Kalispell 110 miles
What the agency tells you
- Campsite reservation: You are responsible for the following all regulation posted under the “Need to Know” and “Site Details” section as well as Title 36 Rules & Regulations. - Campsite during “Peak Season” are reservation only. There are no First Come, First Serve sites. First Come, First Serve sites are only available during “Non-Peak Season”. - Failure to occupy site nightly may result in release of your site, and loss of reservation with no refund. - Campsites are for camping only. Reservation for day-use activities without intending to camp is prohibited. - All camping equipment must be located on the campsite impact areas, or if undefined, located 10-15 ft from the fire ring and off all vegetation. - Site Limits: - 2 motorized vehicles - 1 Camping unit (RV, motorhome, camper, van, etc) and 2 tents or 3 tents - 8 people - Campers must have the ability to transport their RV or Travel Trailer for the duration of their stay. Guests cannot drop off or leave unmotorized trailers if they are unable to remove them without delay. - Maximum Consecutive Stay Rule: You may stay up to 14 nights total at the Libby Dam project (Alexander, Dunn Creek, Blackwell and Downstream (non-reservation)) within rolling 30 days. - STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. Remove plants, seeds, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. Stay on designated roads and trails and follow local guidelines for firewood. CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that contacts water. Dispose of unwanted bait, worms, fish parts, or other organisms into the trash and not into the environment. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/rec
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 7
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 7 of 7 campsite records
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Playground
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Wildlife viewing
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 14:37 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
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.
Watch for a cancellation
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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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 10
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
recreation.gov availability, read 14:37 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this