Lodgepole Campground (on Georgetown Lake, Montana)
1Heads up1 fire 30 mi away
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $17From, per site
- Sites
- 2119 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Lodgepole Campground is a large facility situated along a scenic highway in the Pintler Ranger District of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the largest national forest in Montana. Across the street is Georgetown Lake, a popular destination for fishing, boating and water sports. Please note, this campground IS NOT within Sequoia National Park. Once on-site, you may be able to pay for your campsite(s) by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app, and the Scan and Pay feature. If this option is available, you will need to first download the free Recreation.gov mobile app https://www.recreation.gov/mobile-app prior to your arrival as some remote areas have limited or no cellular service. Keep reading
Recreation
Postcard-perfect Georgetown Lake is a prime destination for fishing and fly fishing with kokanee salmon, rainbow and brook trout being the most sought-after species. Canoeing and boating are also popular activities. Hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers will find no shortage of trails within a few miles of the campground. It is illegal to target Bull Trout, if caught they must be released immediately with minimal handling. Participants must have Montana licenses to hunt or fish.
Facilities
This facility is one of the larger campgrounds in the lake area with 29 units available for tent and RV camping. 19 sites can be reserved in advance during the summer season and 10 sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The campground is conveniently located across the street from Georgetown Lake, though there is no direct lake access from the site but Red Bridge Boat Launch is walking distance away. If you camp at Lodgepole Campground there is no charge for using the boat launch/day use area. Once on-site, you may be able to pay for your campsite(s) by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app, and the Scan and Pay feature. If this option is available, you will need to first download the free Recreation.gov mobile app https://www.recreation.gov/mobile-app prior to your arrival as some remote areas have limited or no cellular service.
Natural Features
Georgetown Lake boasts more than 3,000 acres of cool mountain waters at an elevation of 6,000 feet. It is surrounded by the sometimes snow-covered Flint Creek Range to the north and the Pintlers to the south. Lodgepole Campground derives its name from the long and slender Lodgepole pines, which surround the area. The lake area is also home to abundant wildlife, including moose, elk, white-tailed deer and even bighorn sheep. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (406) 859-3211.
Charges & Cancellations
Must cancel 4 days in advance
What the agency tells you
There are 30 campsites. 19 sites are reservable and 11 sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please Note: Double occupancy will be charged for more than (1) camping unit in the site. Additional camping units are trailers, RVs, and other mobile sleeping quarters. Extra vehicle charge $5 per day (first 2 vehicles are free). See host or self serve fee station - cash or check only at the campground.
Bears are prevalent in the area. To reduce the likelihood of a human-to-bear conflict, Food Storage Order rules are enforced. All food, beverages, trash, and scented items must be properly stored when not attended. Proper storage methods include a bear hang, an enclosed hard sided vehicle, storage locker, or an IGBC certified bear resistant container – IGBC coolers must be locked. Bear resistant storage lockers are available at the campground. Learn more about bear safety and forest-wide Food Storage Order
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Quiet hours are 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Camping stay limit is 16 days.
Check in time is 2:00 PM. Check out time is 11:00 AM.
Site must be occupied the first night. The campsite cannot be left unattended for more than 24 hours without permission.
Dogs allowed - must be on leash at all times within the campground.
No dump station on site; closest facility is in Anaconda.
Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (11:00 AM) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests.
Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed.
Click Here for more information about Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 21
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 35 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- 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, Creek
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Swimming
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 413th darkest of 501 in MT
- Bortle 3
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 19 of the 21 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 · 13
What you actually pay
“Extra vehicle charge $5 per day (first 2 vehicles are free).” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $17 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.
“Must cancel 4 days in advance” · this campground’s own terms
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 · 7
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
21 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 19 mapped sitesAll 21 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. 21 of the 21 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 01 | standard nonelectric | 112 ft | 467 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 03 | standard nonelectric | 122 ft | 479 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 04 | standard nonelectric | 112 ft | 388 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 05 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 451 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 06 | standard nonelectric | 88 ft | 531 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 07 | standard nonelectric | 88 ft | 445 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 08 | standard nonelectric | 88 ft | 488 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 09 | standard nonelectric | 88 ft | 415 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 10 | standard nonelectric | 82 ft | 427 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 11 | standard nonelectric | 78 ft | 502 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 12 | standard nonelectric | 78 ft | 576 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 13 | standard nonelectric | 116 ft | 642 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 14 | standard nonelectric | 116 ft | 694 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 15 | standard nonelectric | 120 ft | 751 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 16 | standard nonelectric | 120 ft | 750 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 17 | standard nonelectric | 94 ft | 652 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 18 | standard nonelectric | 94 ft | 635 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 19 | standard nonelectric | 73 ft | 670 ft | $17 | |
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 2 | type not stated | 397 ft | $17 | ||
| AREA LODGEPOLE CAMPGROUND | 20 | standard nonelectric | 73 ft | 600 ft | $17 | |
| Scan and Pay | Standard S&P | type not stated | 35 ft | $17 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Philipsburg Bay CampgroundDeerlodge National Forest · 0.9 mi
Cable Mountain CampgroundDeerlodge National Forest · 1.4 mi
Piney Campground and Boat LaunchDeerlodge National Forest · 1.8 mi
Flint Creek CampgroundDeerlodge National Forest · 2.1 mi
Spring Hill CampgroundDeerlodge National Forest · 5.9 miEast Fork Group Picnic AreaDeerlodge National Forest · 7.6 miFrom Philipsburg travel 10.75 miles south on State Highway 1. The campground is directly across the highway from Georgetown Lake and Red Bridge Boat Launch.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 23°F, day 56°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 7°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 Augusts are colder than the August 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
Lodgepole Campground (on Georgetown Lake, Montana) 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 →