Lake Alva Campground
1Heads up1 fire 29 mi away
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $20From, per site
- Sites
- 4039 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
Lake Alva Campground is located on the North shore of Lake Alva, approximately 11 miles north of Seeley Lake, and offers visitors the chance to camp and enjoy activities such as swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, and wildlife viewing. The lake is home to a loon population and has protected nesting areas. The birds' mesmerizing calls can often be heard in the campground. All boats on Lake Alva must operate at a "no-wake" speed year-round. Keep reading
Recreation
The campground is a popular destination for swimming, boating, paddling, picnicking, and fishing. There are a variety of freshwater fish including Kokanee salmon, perch, pumpkinseed sunfish, and trout, among other species. Motorized boating is allowed on Lake Alva within the "No-Wake" regulation. Many non-motorized boaters find solace during the evening and morning hours on the lake. The Mission Mountain Wilderness Area is about 15 miles northwest of the campground. The area is popular for its scenic views and abundant wildlife. Active glaciers, alpine lakes, meadows and clear, icy streams, along with vertical cliffs and jagged peaks make up the area.
Facilities
19 individual RV/tent campsites within Loop 1 are available for reservation the Friday before Memorial Day to the Tuesday after Labor Day. These sites will transition to first-come/first-serve outside of these dates. 20 campsites within Loop 2 are available on a first-come/first-serve basis . These campsites can be paid for onsite by scanning a QR Code using the Recreation.gov mobile app. Visitors will need to download the free recreation.gov mobile app through Android or iOS. This is best done prior to arrival. All campsites are equipped with a picnic table, fire ring with grill, and a paved parking stall. Accessible vault toilets, drinking water and trash receptacles are available throughout the campground. Campground hosts are on site 24 hours a day. The campground also offers a spacious day use area that includes a swimming beach, a concrete boat ramp, paved parking for vehicles/boat trailers, and several picnic areas. Day use facilities are open year-round from 6:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Mountain Time. No fees or reservations are required for day use.
Natural Features
Lake Alva is a glacial-formed lake situated in a valley between the Swan and Mission mountain ranges. It is one of a half a dozen lakes within the valley known as the 'Chain of Lakes' through which the Clearwater River flows. At an elavation of approximately 4,200 feet, temperatures are relatively cool on summer days. The area contains a wide variety of wildlife and is home to white-tailed deer, elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, grizzly and black bears (learn about bear safety ). Both the bald and golden eagle reside in the forest, along with trumpeter swan, herons and dozens of varieties of ducks. The lake is home to a loon population and has protected nesting areas. The birds' mesmerizing calls can often be heard in the campground.
Nearby Attractions
The town of Seeley Lake, MT is about 11 miles south of the campground. A variety of recreation services such as boat, canoe, and kayak rentals as well as guide services and resorts are offered there. Services like gas, groceries, restaurants, and lodging can also be found in town. Access to a variety of forests, sweeping views, mountain lakes, and rugged peaks can be discovered just a short drive up any of the nearby Forest Service roads. Just a day trip away, Glacier National Park is known for a variety of opportunities to explore alpine landscapes, active glaciers, and view unique wildlife. Contact the park for current conditions. Missoula, one of Western Montana’s outdoor recreation hubs is about an hour from Seeley Lake, MT. Missoula is a full-service city with 2 hospitals, an international airport, and access to services, hotels, and outdoor activities. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (406) 677-2233.
What the agency tells you
Notice: Beginning in 2024, check out time is at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Check-in is at 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Please check-out on time so that attendents may prepare the campsite for the next guest.
Bears frequent the area; please store all food and attractants in a locked vehicle, or in a certified bear resistant container. Click here for more information.
Bear resistant trash and food containers must be closed and secured by users after depositing items. Failure to secure containers could result in a citation.
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Lake Alva has a "No-Wake" regulation at all times.
Campfires must be completely extinguished before leaving campsite unattended.
Parking is allowed in the designated parking spur for each campsite only. Vehicles that do not fit will be charged an additional vehicle fee of $5.00 and must park in the day-use area. No parking along roadways.
Quiet hours are 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. This includes external and onboard gas-powered generators.
No utility hookups are avaliable.
Dogs must be leashed while in campground. No dogs allowed on swimming beach.
Access to the campground during winter is determined by snow level; road is not plowed.
Click here for more information on the Lolo National Forest.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 40
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 64 ft
- Paved pads
- 19 of 40
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…and a paved parking stall. Accessible vault toilets, drinking water and trash receptacles are available…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…parking stall. Accessible vault toilets, drinking water and trash receptacles are available throughout the…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 32 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek, Beach, Meadow
- Beachcombing
- Berry Picking
- Biking
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Mountain biking
- Non-Motorized Boating
- Paddle Boating
- Paddling
- Picnicking
- Night sky · 239th darkest of 501 in MT
- Bortle 2
- Fall color · reported 3 days ago, 37 km away
- No change
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 39 of the 40 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
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 · 18
What you actually pay
“Vehicles that do not fit must deposit an additional vehicle fee of $5.00 and must park in the day-use area.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $20 a night, 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 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
42 records
All 42 records
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 40 of the 42 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| 1 | LAS1 | standard nonelectric | 52 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS10 (Host Site) | host pad | $20 | |
| 1 | LAS11 (Host Site) | host pad | $20 | |
| 1 | LAS12 | standard nonelectric | 56 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS13 | standard nonelectric | 56 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS14 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS15 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS16 | standard nonelectric | 64 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS17 | standard nonelectric | 61 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS18 | standard nonelectric | 55 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS19 | standard nonelectric | 56 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS2 | standard nonelectric | 46 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS20 | standard nonelectric | 55 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS21 | standard nonelectric | 55 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS3 | standard nonelectric | 52 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS4 | standard nonelectric | 58 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS5 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS6 | standard nonelectric | 51 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS7 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS8 | standard nonelectric | 57 ft | $20 |
| 1 | LAS9 | standard nonelectric | 56 ft | $20 |
| 2 | LAS22 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS23 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS24 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS25 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS26 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS27 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS28 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS29 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS30 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS31 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS32 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS33 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS34 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS35 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS36 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS37 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS38 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS39 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS40 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| 2 | LAS41 | standard nonelectric | $20 | |
| S&P | Standard Campsite | type not stated | $20 |
The agency files 2 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It names them host pads. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
25 of 42 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Lakeside Lolo Campground (MT)Lolo National Forest · 0.4 mi
Rainy Lake CampgroundLolo National Forest · 0.9 mi
Lakeside Campground1.3 mi
Lake Inez Point 6 (Group Camp Site)Lolo National Forest · 2.4 mi
Owl Creek CorralFlathead National Forest · 8.0 miHolland Lake CampgroundFlathead National Forest · 8.1 miFrom I-90 take exit 109 for MT-200 E and travel for 32.3 mi. Turn left onto MT-83 N and travel 14 mi to the town of Seeley Lake, MT. Continue north on Montana Highway 83 for 26.1 mi and turn left into the entrance of Lake Alva Campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Seeley Lake, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 29°F, day 56°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 12°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
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Lake Alva 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 →