Eldridge Guard Station
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 15:46 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
Eldridge Guard Station is a primitive, rustic, log structure open year-round for recreational enjoyment. It provides access to several trails for summer hiking and biking, and winter skiing and snowmobiling. The cabin can be accessed by vehicle in warmer weather, but snow conditions may require a two mile trek on skis, snowshoes, or by snowmobile. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and they must bring several of their own amenities. During the spring and fall, guests are encouraged to call the Hebgen Lake Ranger District at (406) 823-6961 for road conditions and access to the cabin. Keep reading
Recreation
The area surrounding Eldridge Guard Station offers many recreational opportunities, both motorized and non-motorized. In the summer, visitors can enjoy hiking and mountain biking on the nearby trails, riding 50” (or narrower) motorized vehicles on the motorized trails, stream fishing, or bird/wildlife watching. In the winter, visitors can enjoy snowmobiling, cross-country or back-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Please note: Fall hunting season brings big game hunters to this area (September 1-December 1).
Facilities
Eldridge Guard Station sleeps 6, with a maximum group size of 8 people for overnight use. 7-night maximum stay per group. This is a primitive cabin with limited seasonal access - There is no electricity or potable water available (water from nearby creek or snow in winter can be filtered for use). An outhouse is located outside, behind the cabin. A corral is available for stock. A wood stove is available for heat, and a propane gas stove for cooking. There is also a small propane powered refrigerator in the cabin. (Please carefully read the instructions for the propane stove and refrigerator!) The cabin is stocked with basic amenities: axe, shovel, bucket, 2 cots, 2 full-size futons with mattresses, table and chairs, and minimal cookware. A large stock pot is available for boiling water. It is strongly advised that renters bring their own backcountry cookware and dishes for use. Renters should also bring their own firewood, drinking water, flashlight/lantern, bedding, matches, extra toilet paper, garbage bags, dish soap, and other necessities. Please note: This rustic, uninsulated, high ceiling cabin can be very cold in winter, even with the wood stove burning. Firewood is not provided until Oct 1 (Oct 1 - May 31) – please bring or gather your own firewood from June 1 - Sep 30. When firewood is provided, it is is the woodshed near the cabin. There is additional firewood stored in the tack shed a little further from the cabin (lock combo same as cabin). Please be sure to clean the cabin and remove all trash prior to your departure!
Natural Features
Eldridge Guard Station is situated between the Madison Mountain Range and the Gallatin Mountain Range at an elevation of 7,030 feet. The cabin is at the edge of a meadow with Taylor Creek running across from the cabin. Eldridge Guard Station is located in high-population grizzly bear habitat. The area is also home to deer, elk, moose, and other wildlife. Please respect the wildlife and always keep a safe distance. Carry bear spray, and always securely store food and other attractants (March 1-December 1). Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (406) 823-6961.
Nearby Attractions
Eldridge Guard Station is within an hour’s drive south to West Yellowstone, Montana, home of the West Gate to Yellowstone National Park. It is also close to Hebgen and Earthquake lakes, as well as the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center. Eldridge Guard Station is also within an hour’s drive north to Big Sky, Montana.
What the agency tells you
• Please note: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service is not cleaning this rental cabin between user visits. To protect health and safety for all cabin visitors, we recommend you clean all "high touch surfaces" when you arrive and before you leave. Cleaning supplies are not provided; you are expected to bring your own. Leave nothing behind - pack it in, pack it out. Please take any garbage, food, books, and personal items with you. Immediately report any unsanitary conditions to the local Ranger Station. • Make sure to have the lock combination for the cabin gate and door; the combination code to the cabin is included in the confirmation e-mail. • No garbage service provided. Please bring garbage bags and pack out all trash and personal belongings. • Winter travel can be difficult due to deep snow, wind, low visibility, and trail signs/markers being obscured by snow. Always travel with others and familiarize yourself with the area as well as traveling in avalanche terrain. • Grizzly bears frequent the area. Be sure to store all attractants (coolers, food, beverages, stock feed, garbage, toiletries, etc.) inside the cabin. Hebgen Lake Ranger staff will be patrolling for compliance with the Food Storage Order in the cabin vicinity throughout the season. • Candles are prohibited inside the cabin. • Do not leave pets unattended – you will be charged for damages. • Weather conditions vary. Please check forecast and road conditions before your trip.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- “An outhouse is located outside, behind the cabin.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…should also bring their own firewood, drinking water, flashlight/lantern, bedding, matches, extra toilet…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Meadow
- Biking
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Hunting
- Off Road Vehicle Trails
- Skiing
- Snowmobile
- Snowmobile Trails
- Snowshoeing
- Wildlife viewing
Full this Saturdayread 15:46 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
The one site on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 19. read 15:46 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 12
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
recreation.gov availability, read 15:46 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.
| ELDRIDGE GUARD STATION | cabin nonelectric | 195 ft | $75 |
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
Wapiti CabinGallatin National Forest · 2.4 mi
Red Cliff CampgroundGallatin National Forest · 8.0 mi
Yellow Mule CabinGallatin National Forest · 9.4 mi
Beaver Creek Cabin (MT)Gallatin National Forest · 11 mi
Tom Miner CampgroundGallatin National Forest · 13 mi
Bear Creek Cabin (Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 13 miPlease note: warm weather access doesn't start until May when snow has melted out.
Summer Access: From West Yellowstone, Montana, proceed north on Highway 191 for approximately 33.5 miles. Turn left on Taylor Fork Road/Forest Service Road 134 and proceed for approximately 6.5 miles. The cabin will be on the left side of the road. Parking is in front of the cabin.
Winter Access: From West Yellowstone, Montana, proceed north on Highway 191 for approximately 33.5 miles. Turn left on Taylor Fork Road/Forest Service Road 134 and proceed for approximately 4 miles to the small, privately plowed parking area at the Albino Lake Trailhead. From here, it is a 2-mile ski along the road to the cabin (on the left side of the road). Please note: plowed driving access to the parking area at the Albino Lake Trailhead is not guaranteed. Parking for the cabin is not allowed past the trailhead - Do Not block private property.
Nearby snowmobile trail grooming occurs from approximately December 15 – March 31, depending on snow conditions. View trail grooming reports at destinationyellowstone.com/reports. Please note: Trails may be impassible due to weather conditions.
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 28°F, day 51°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 4°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 · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Eldridge Guard Station 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 →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyRyan K. ZinkeU.S. Representative · Montana’s 1st district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationSteve DainesU.S. Senator · Montana
- Your senator, on the same appropriationTim SheehyU.S. Senator · Montana
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Eldridge Guard Station, Gallatin National Forest, Montana
Dear Ryan K. Zinke, I’m a constituent in Montana’s 1st district. I tried to camp at Eldridge Guard Station, Gallatin National Forest, Montana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Eldridge Guard Station are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Eldridge Guard Station keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Eldridge Guard Station. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Eldridge Guard Station (Gallatin National Forest, Montana) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Eldridge Guard Station, Gallatin National Forest, Montana
Dear Steve Daines, I’m a constituent in Montana. I tried to camp at Eldridge Guard Station, Gallatin National Forest, Montana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Eldridge Guard Station are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Eldridge Guard Station keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Eldridge Guard Station. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Eldridge Guard Station (Gallatin National Forest, Montana) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Eldridge Guard Station, Gallatin National Forest, Montana
Dear Tim Sheehy, I’m a constituent in Montana. I tried to camp at Eldridge Guard Station, Gallatin National Forest, Montana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Eldridge Guard Station are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Eldridge Guard Station keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Eldridge Guard Station. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Eldridge Guard Station (Gallatin National Forest, Montana) via campanac.com