Palisades Campground
This is how it should work.
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there
In the agency’s own words
Palisades Campground is a free campground, located at the end of Palisades Road #2010 near Red Lodge, just below Red Lodge Mountain Ski Resort and the palisades geological formation. The Willow Creek Trail (# 105) and the Palisades Trail (# 109) both leave from the western end of the campground. Camp sites: 6 Max Trailer Length : 16ft Host : No Accessible Facilities: Vault toilets Trash Pickup: No Firewood: No. Don't move firewood to other areas or bring in outside firewood.Prevent the spread of tree-killing insects by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it there. Keep reading
Reservations: No Reservations: This campground does not use a reservation system, it is managed on a first-come, first-served basis. Be aware the campground may fill up on weekends & holidays during the summer months and you should arrive in the early afternoon to ensure there is a space available for the night. There is a 16 day stay limit . Some sites equipped with bar resistant food storage lockers. Directions from Beartooth Ranger District office : Drive north on US Hwy 212 towards Red Lodge for 0.3 miles. Turn left (west) onto the West Fork Rd and drive 1.1 miles. Turn right onto Palisades Campground Rd (unpaved). Drive 1.5 miles to Palisades Campground. * Please be advised that dogs are allowed on Willow Creek year-round, but the Palisades Trail (#109), which intersects with the Willow Creek Trail a short distance up the trail, has restrictions on dogs. Due to wintering moose habitat, dogs are not allowed on the Palisades Trail between Dec. 1- July 1, except for dogs used for legal hunting purposes. Information: Beartooth Ranger District 6811 US Hwy 212 Red Lodge, MT 59068 (406) 446-2103
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…: 16ft Host : No Accessible Facilities: Vault toilets Trash Pickup: No Firewood: No. Don't move firewood…”
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek
- Biking
- Hiking
- Picnicking
Nothing to book, just show up
One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.
recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.
Every line of the receipt · 3
What you actually pay
How we know this receipt · 4
rules read Sep 7, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
Getting there
the map and the coordinate
Where it is
Basin Montana CampgroundCuster National Forest · 4.1 mi
SheridanCuster National Forest · 4.9 miRattin CampgroundCuster National Forest · 5.8 mi
Rattin CampgroundCuster National Forest · 6.1 mi
CascadeCuster National Forest · 7.0 miParkside Campground and Group CampsitesCuster National Forest · 9.0 miThe weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Red Lodge, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 31°F, day 56°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 14°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
Palisades Campground is in Montana’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Troy Downing (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →