Madison River (MT)
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 11All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 4 notices
In the agency’s own words
Madison River Campground is located in southwestern Montana just beyond the banks of it’s namesake river. It is approximately 34 miles south of Ennis and about 45 miles west of Yellowstone National Park. The ten site campground borders a Douglas Fir covered hillside to the back, with the Madison River just across the road, on the front side. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water taps are located near each site, along the one-way road. Visitors enjoy fishing, sight-seeing and nearby hiking and ATV trails. Keep reading
Riverview Campground is only about a quarter mile away and West Fork Campground is less than one mile and both are available on a “first come, first served” basis. Campsite 8 can only be reserved 2 weeks in advance. All other sites can be reserved 6 months ahead of your arrival date, with the next day becoming available for reservations at 8 A.M. mountain time.
Recreation
Just across the gravel road, and for about a 40 mile length, the world renowned Madison River offers blue ribbon flyfishing. Nearby Wade and Cliff Lakes also offer fishing opportunities as well as small craft boating, canoeing and swimming. Hebgen and Henry's Lakes are each about a 30 minute drive. There are many hiking trails in the area, including just beyond the highway in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. Off Road Vehicle trail riding is popular in the Gravelly range.
Facilities
There are two vault toilets and four drinking water spigots spread throughout the campground. Water is available May to September, exact dates being dependent upon weather. Picnic tables and fire rings are located in each site. “Bear proof” bins enable compliance with food storage regulations. The camp sites lie along a one way through road which parallels and reconnects with the access road. There is no garbage service. Cellular service is available.
Natural Features
At an elevation of 5910 feet, the campground is situated on the west side of the world renowned Madison River and at the southern end of the Gravelly Mountain range. The Lee Metcalf Wilderness is about two miles directly to the west. Wade and Cliff Lakes are about ten miles away. The campground is backed by a forest of predominantly Douglas Fir trees.
Nearby Attractions
Wade and Cliff Lakes are ten miles away. Riverview and West Fork Campgrounds are less than one mile away, and available on a first come, first served basis, while Wade, Cliff Point and Hilltop Campgrounds are ten miles. The west entrance to Yellowstone National Park is less than 40 miles east, at West Yellowstone. The Earthquake Lake Visitor Center and Geologic Site is only about a ten minute drive.
What the agency tells you
There is a food storage order in place. All food and attractants must be stored in a bear-proof manner when unattended.
There is a 16 day camping limit. Campers must move beyond a five mile radius for seven days before returning.
No garbage service is available. Pack It In, Pack It Out.
Everything else this campground posts · 1
Please cancel your reservation if you do not plan to use the campsite. Reservations may be forfeited, without refund, for failure to occupy campsite on first night and for absences exceeding 24 hours thereafter. Campsite will be made available to other campers at 2PM the following day, for the remainder of the reservation.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 11
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…with a picnic table and fire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water taps are located near each site,…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…table and fire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water taps are located near each site, along the one-way…”
- Bear boxes
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Birding
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Off Highway Vehicle Trails
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 186th darkest of 501 in MT
- Bortle 2
- Cell signal · Cell signal · Forest Service says
- Yes
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 16:43 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
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 · 15
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $15 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 · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:43 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
11 sites
All 11 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. 11 of the 11 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| A | 1 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 10 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 2 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 3 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 4 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 5 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 6 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 7 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 8 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| A | 9 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
| S&P | S&P Standard | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | $15 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
West Fork Madison CampgroundBeaverhead National Forest · 0.5 mi
Riverview CampgroundBeaverhead National Forest · 0.5 mi
Wade Lake (MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 5.0 miWade Lake Campground and Picnic AreasBeaverhead National Forest · 5.0 mi
Hilltop Campground (MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 5.4 mi
Cliff Point (MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 5.8 miTravel south from Ennis for 33 miles on US Highway 287. Approximately one mile beyond the Lyon Rest Area, turn west at signs indicating West Fork RV Camp. Cross the Old Kirby Bridge (maximum height 12’ 7”, maximum weight four tons) and turn left onto West Madison road #8381. Travel about one mile to campground. When travelling from south or east, turn to Old Kirby Bridge six miles northwest of US 287 and MT 87 junction.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Island Park, ID
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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Madison River (MT) 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 →
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
“…with the access road. There is no garbage service. Cellular service is available. Natural Features At an elevation of 5910 feet, the…”