Riverside Campground
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 28All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Riverside Campground is located 30 miles east of Helena, Montana, below the dam at the northern end of Canyon Ferry Reservoir. Riverside Campground provides space for campers, day users, and large groups. 27 paved campsites, a group use area with a picnic pavilion, 6 pit toilets, an accessible fishing dock, a boat ramp and day use picnic area. This popular location below the dam attracts many families, boaters and fisherman. Keep reading
Recreation
Canyon Ferry Reservoir offers a wide range of year-round recreational opportunities. Water related activities include everything from swimming and fishing to sailing and motor-boating. Canoeists and kayakers explore the many quiet backwater bays. Jet skiers, windsurfers and water skiers skim the summer waves, while winter draws ice fishermen and ice skaters.
Facilities
Riverside Campground has 27 campsites , a group use camping area, a boat ramp, parking area for boat trailers and several day use picnic sites. Each campsite has a paved camping pad, a fire ring and picnic table. During the peak summer months services include vault toilets, potable water, dumpsters and campground hosts. Riverside Group Campsites include exclusive access to a picnic shelter, accessible vault toilets and 7 campsites . The picnic shelter is 30' X 45' with 8 picnic tables and a large fire ring. Each campsite has a picnic table and a fire ring. The group campsites and pavilion are set apart from the rest of the campground, providing adequate space and privacy for groups to enjoy.
Natural Features
Riverside Campground sits below Canyon Ferry Dam along the banks of Hauser Reservoir. The current is swift, and swimming is not advised. Ample fish in the water makes this a prime location for bird watching. Loons, cormorants and pelicans are often present patrolling the waters; while bald eagles and osprey make appearances to showcase their fish hunting skills.
Nearby Attractions
Riverside Campground is located halfway between Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. The city of Helena, Montana, the state capital, is 25 miles away. For up to date events visit, www.helenamt.com. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (406) 475-3920.
What the agency tells you
There is no power serving the group use shelter.
All campsites are to be considered single unit sites unless marked as a double site. Single campsites are limited to one camping / sleeping unit per campsite. An exception will be made for parents with young children; Parents may have one additional tent for children under the age of 18.
RVs, vehicles and trailers must be parked on the gravel/pavement and within designated areas of the campsite or established parking area provided.
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Pets must be physically constrained by a leash under 6' in length. Do not leave pets unattended. It is your responsibility to clean up after your own pet.
Quiet hours are from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Be considerate of other campers. Activities and noise should be kept to a level that does not disturb other campers. Generators are not allowed during quiet hours. The use of loud, profane, or abusive language or music is prohibited.
Camping is allowed at the shelter at designated campsites. Price of shelter includes seven designated campsites.
Personal property used to reserve campsites, including RVs and tents will be removed in accordance with 43 CFR Part 423.23.
No show reservations are subject to cancellation after the third night.
Check in time is 5pm. Check out time is 4pm.
While at Canyon Ferry Reservoir: CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that comes in contact with water. Never dump unwanted bait, worms, fish parts or other organisms into the water. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/ STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. REMOVE plants, seeds, animals and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicle. CLEAN your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. STAY on designated roads and trails and use local firewood. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 28 · 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Paved pads
- 5 of 28
- Accessible sites
- 5
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Pit Toilets
- ACCESSIBLE PIT TOILETS on 1 of 28 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 1 of 28 campsite records
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir
- Boating
- Fishing
- Kayaking
- Motor Boat
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 492nd darkest of 501 in MT
- Bortle 4
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
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 · 14
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
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
28 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 28 mapped sitesAll 28 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. 27 of the 28 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| 001 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 130 ft | 264 ft | $15 |
| 002 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 80 ft | 209 ft | $15 | |
| 003 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 80 ft | 192 ft | $15 | |
| 004 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 53 ft | 151 ft | $15 | |
| 005 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 96 ft | 51 ft | $15 | |
| 006 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 53 ft | 127 ft | $15 |
| 007 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 61 ft | 68 ft | $15 | |
| 008 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 58 ft | 175 ft | $15 | |
| 009 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 58 ft | 117 ft | $15 | |
| 010 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 78 ft | 29 ft | $15 |
| 011 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 78 ft | 102 ft | $15 | |
| 012 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 78 ft | 24 ft | $15 | |
| 013 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 76 ft | 100 ft | $15 | |
| 014 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 79 ft | 21 ft | $15 | |
| 015 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 53 ft | 30 ft | $15 | |
| 016 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 58 ft | 111 ft | $15 | |
| 017 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 58 ft | 111 ft | $15 | |
| 018 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 62 ft | 117 ft | $15 | |
| 019 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 53 ft | 31 ft | $15 | |
| 020 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 75 ft | 34 ft | $15 | |
| 021 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 64 ft | 113 ft | $15 | |
| 022 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 76 ft | 42 ft | $15 | |
| 023 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 93 ft | 52 ft | $15 | |
| 024 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 64 ft | 141 ft | $15 | |
| 025 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 70 ft | 204 ft | $15 |
| 026 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 70 ft | 263 ft | $15 | |
| 027 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 73 ft | 307 ft | $15 | |
| Riverside Group Use Campsites | group rv area nonelectric | yes | 127 ft | 322 ft |
25 of 28 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Court Sheriff Campground1.3 mi
Chinamen's Campground1.4 mi
Cave Point Group Use Area1.7 mi
Jo Bonner Campground2.6 miSpokane BayButte Field Office · 3.2 mi
Devil's Elbow CampgroundButte Field Office · 4.7 miFrom Helena, MT: Head east along Co Rd 430/Canyon Ferry Rd from Helena, MT, continue for 18 miles to Jim Town Road and turn left. Continue straight until you reach the campground.
From Townsend, MT: Head north on Hwy 284 for 34 miles and turn right at Jim Town Road. Continue straight until you reach the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for York, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 34°F, day 58°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
Riverside 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 →