Cascade Campground
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 35 mi
- Right now
- OpenInside the published season, our reading; a database flag says not open
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 2All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 7Opens May 7. No closing date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Scenic Byway Clark Fork River Iron Mountain Trailhead Cascade Falls Wildlife Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and western larch trees Recreation Camping Hiking Fishing Rafting Boating Facilities Cascade Campground has 11 sites plus 1 group site that are back in only and can accommodate RV's 27' to 35' in length depending on the site. All sites have a picnic table and a fire ring. A primitive boat ramp is available on Clark Fork River across the highway from the campground. Potable water, vault toilets and garbage service are available. Keep reading
This is a first come first served campground with a self-serve fee station with no host on site. It is 13 miles to groceries in Plains, Montana from this location Natural Features This campground is located in the canyon bottom along the Clark Fork River. The site is adjacent to the highway and across the road from the river, and forested with Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine and western larch providing abundant shade. Fishing opportunities are available at the river. The Iron Mountain Trailhead #242 also known as the historic Wagon Road Trail are located near the campground. The Cascade Falls overlook trail is also accessible from the Cascade Campground.
Nearby Attractions
Clark Fork River Quinns natural hot springs. The Iron Mountain Trail #242, historic wagon road. Cascade Falls Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (406) 210-5287.
What the agency tells you
Cascade Campground has 9 campsites and 1 group site.
The maximum stay limit is 16 days per reservation.
The campground is paved with 2 vault toilets located within the campground. Each site has a parking area, picnic table, and fire ring. Trash service is available and drinking water is on site.
Everything else this campground posts · 3
Learn more about the Lolo National Forest at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/lolo
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
Bear Safety and Food Storage Requirements Information
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 2 · 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Paved pads
- 1 of 2
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…from the campground. Potable water, vault toilets and garbage service are available. This is a first…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…across the highway from the campground. Potable water, vault toilets and garbage service are available.…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs, River
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Picnicking
- Rafting
- Stargazing
- Water access
- Night sky · 301st darkest of 501 in MT
- Bortle 2
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
“Extra vehicle not in tow $5.00.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the lowest per-night amount the agency’s fee record states ($15), plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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 · 6
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
2 sites
All 2 sites
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Thompson Peak Lookout TowerLolo National Forest · 9.6 mi
Sloway Campground (MT)Lolo National Forest · 11 mi
Trout Creek Campground (MT)Lolo National Forest · 13 miLittle Joe Campground - Lolo NFLolo National Forest · 15 mi
Quartz Flat Campground (MT)Lolo National Forest · 16 mi
Cabin City Campground (MT)Lolo National Forest · 21 mi- Off I-90 take Exit 33 at St. Regis, Montana and travel 18 miles northeast on state Highway 135. Campground entrance is on your right.
- From Plains Montana, take highway 200 east to Highway 135. Travel 13 miles southwest. Cascade Campground entrance is on your left.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Paradise, MT
Typical weather
Typical May night 40°F, day 71°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 40°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Cascade Campground 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 →