Pines Recreation Shelter
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 17 of the next 30 nights read 15:39 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Pines Recreation area is located on the Fort Peck Reservoir on the Missouri River in northeastern Montana. Recreation enthusiasts and sportsmen enjoy the beauty of Fort Peck Lake's 1,500 miles of shoreline. A variety of high quality outdoor activities are available, including camping, boating, fishing, hunting, sightseeing and wildlife viewing. Fort Peck Dam , which impounds Fort Peck Lake is the first dam built in the upper Missouri River Basin. Keep reading
The area surrounding Fort Peck was first charted by Lewis and Clark in 1804, and the pristine natural condition of the river and surrounding area awed the renowned explorers. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Fort Peck project in 1933, thousands of people from all over the country migrated to Montana during the midst of the Great Depression in hopes of earning a living. Today, Fort Peck Lake is a sportsman's paradise with excellent fishing, wildlife viewing and other countless outdoor recreation opportunities. For more information, visit the Fort Peck Project Website or call 406-526-3411.
Recreation
The vast size of Fort Peck Lake and its remoteness from major population centers provide a variety of high quality outdoor experiences. Popular recreation activities include camping, boating, fishing, hunting, sight-seeing, picnicking, biking, hiking, photography, watching wildlife and just relaxing. Fort Peck Lake: Fifteen hundred miles of pristine shoreline serve as a haven for those wishing to get away from the stresses of modern life. There are 27 recreation areas located around the reservoir. The areas near and around the dam offer paved roads, electricity, showers and playgrounds while facilities around the rest of the lake are more primitive with gravel roads, picnic tables and vault toilets. Access roads to many of the remote areas may be impassable in inclement weather. Fishing : Fort Peck Lake enjoys nationwide recognition as a hot spot for walleye fishing. Fort Peck Lake provides excellent boating and fishing opportunities. The lake also offers excellent fishing for sauger, smallmouth bass, lake trout, chinook salmon and northern pike. The introduction of cisco as a forage fish in 1983 proved successful and has increased both the size and number of game fish. Wildlife Viewing/Hunting: The Fort Peck Lake Area and the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge provide superb hunting of deer, elk, big horn sheep, and prong horn. The Missouri River Breaks are known for producing large elk and other game animals. Hunting is prohibited inside the Pines Recreation area. Interpretive Center & Museum: The Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum offers displays of wildlife dioramas, aquariums, dinosaur fossils and dam construction history. Open Friday through Monday 9am to 4pm.
Facilities
Facilities include two permanent and two temporary low water ramps, courtesy dock, safety lights, fish cleaning station, enclosed shelter with electric grill, playground, 28 campsites, parking areas and four vault toilets. Trash dumpster is located near fire station on Pine Cove Drive Road. No potable water is available.
Natural Features
The Pines recreation area is one of the most distinctly attractive on Fort Peck Reservoir. It is characterized by a mature Ponderosa Pine forest, a feature unique among the recreation areas at Fort Peck Project. Some trees are in excess of 200 years old, pre-dating the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The topography is gently rolling, with extensive gently sloping shorelines. The area is dominated by pines and junipers with mid-grasses and shrubs in the open areas. Nearby Attractions • Fort Peck Lake is a Montana treasure for its vast size and outdoor recreation opportunities. Six recreation areas within a few miles of the dam provide access for water sports, fishing and hunting. • The Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum, is located just downstream of Fort Peck Dam. For more information, call 406-526-3493. • The Leo B. Coleman Wildlife Pasture , located just outside the Town of Fort Peck and Downstream Campground is home to Fort Peck's Bison Herd and provides an excellent wildlife viewing auto route. • The Historic Fort Peck Theater is located in the town of Ft. Peck is a popular historic destination in summer months. • The 1.1 million acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge surrounds Fort Peck Lake and helps preserve the natural habitat for numerous wildlife species. • The Fort Peck State Fish Hatchery is located on Yellowstone Drive and is responsible for stocking Fort Peck Lake and other waterways with walleye, northern pike, chinook salmon and rainbow trout.
Charges & Cancellations
Reservation changes and cancellations can be made on Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. For more information on rules and policies regarding reservation cancellations and changes, please visit: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies .
What the agency tells you
Pines Recreation area entrance road is all-weather gravel, however interior circulation roads may be inaccessible when wet. No potable water is available here. Cell phone coverage for Verizon customers is limited.
Please make reservations at least 2 weeks in advance
Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
Everything else this campground posts · 2
All public-use of Ft. Peck Project lands and waters is governed by Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) .
STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. Remove plants, seeds, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. Stay on designated roads and trails, and follow local guidelines for firewood. CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that contacts water. Dispose of unwanted bait, worms, fish parts, or other organisms into the trash and not into the environment. For more information visit invasivespeciesinfo.gov/rec
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group, 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…with gravel roads, picnic tables and vault toilets. Access roads to many of the remote areas may be…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…fire station on Pine Cove Drive Road. No potable water is available. Natural Features The Pines recreation…”
- Playground
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, River, Beach
- Beach Camping
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Ice Fishing
- Jet Skiing
- Kayaking
- Mountain biking
- Picnicking
- Stargazing
- Swimming
Fully booked this Friday and Saturday, all 1 site-nights takenread 15:39 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBookedNot reservable
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
“Reservation changes and cancellations can be made on Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. For more information on rules and policies regarding reservation cancellations and changes, please visit: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies .” · 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 · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:39 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites
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.
| Pines Group Shelter | Pines Group Shelter | group shelter electric | $25 |