Strawberry Cabin
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:53 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 14 notices
In the agency’s own words
Explore a magnificent recreation and wildlife resource at the doorstep of Montana's Capital City. From prairie to alpine, mayflies to mountain goats, and scenic driving to expert climbing routes -- the Elkhorns you will discover a diverse landscape! Built in 1941, Strawberry Cabin lies at the top of Strawberry Butte (6,100 feet) in the heart of the Elkhorn Mountains. The combination of lookout and log cabin are typical of this period. The cabin is an excellent example of a C-46 one room cabin plan, which was designed by William Fox. This cabin style is one of the standard building plans used for housing personnel working at intermediate stations and at lookouts. The C-46 design offers distinctive characteristics of ventral saddle notches and log ends finished in "chopper cut" style, which symbolizes rustic Forest Service log architecture of the second half of the 1930 and early 1940s. Keep reading
Recreation
The area offers great access to the north end of the Elkhorn Mountains with numerous hiking trails and roads leading to the Elkhorn's historical resources. Popular hikes include Strawberry Creek, Casey Peak, and Willard Creek. When snow allows, cross country skiing or snowshoeing gives visitors an up-close look at concentrations of wintering elk.
Facilities
Strawberry Cabin is designed for up to four guests. One portion of the cabin has two twin beds, all with mattresses. The kitchen is equipped with a small table and two chairs, dishes, utensils, cookware, with a Coleman stove and lights. The cabin has a wood stove. The cabin is not wired for electricity. Fuel is not provided for the propane stove or lanterns, so guests should bring a couple of small propane cylinders, as well as backup lighting. An outhouse with vault toilet is located on-site. A picnic table and campfire ring offer comfortable outdoor dining. Firewood may available, but it is not guaranteed. No firewood is provided from June 1st - August 31. An axe and snow shovel are provided. There is no water on site, so guests must bring a sufficient supply for drinking, cooking and washing. Guests should bring their own sleeping bags, lanterns or flashlights, towels, dish soap, matches, and garbage bags. All garbage must be packed out, and guests are expected to clean the cabin before leaving. A fire lookout tower sits next to the cabin. This is one of the few metal lookout structures in the area and was built in the 1940s. The lookout is not open to the public and is no longer an active lookout.
Natural Features
The Elkhorn Mountains span both Broadwater and Jefferson counties, with the nearest city being Helena, Montana. The Elkhorns are surrounded by the Divide Mountains and Boulder Batholith to the west, and the Missouri and Boulder River valleys on the north, east, and south. The form of the Elkhorn Mountains is rounded and furrowed from extensive weathering. Drainages have carved steep gulches and canyons. The majority of the Elkhorns (north, west, southwest) is a part of a batholith. This geologic history has left the area rich in minerals. Evidence of glaciation is localized with boulder strewn areas of granitic rocks. The remaining approximate quarter (southwest) of the geographic area is underlain by sedimentary rock that lacks the same mineralization as the batholith but is rich in calcareous rock. The landforms are rugged, low mountains with hogback ridges and dry valleys. The sedimentary geologic area in the east is a gradient of foothill prairie and partially forested low mountains. Grassland is a major component. Limber pine and juniper woodland ebb and flow through this prairie landscape. The plant communities on the batholith portion are mostly forested with conifers. Aspen stands and water-loving plants take advantage of riparian areas and wet seeps. Parks, rich with grasses and forbs, are frequent at lower elevations and break up the forest in montane elevations. A large expanse of this area burned in 1988. The Elkhorns have been occupied by human inhabitants for thousands of years. However, prehistoric occupation is less evident than the more recent Euro-American settlement. After the discovery of valuable mineral deposits, mines and associated settlements sprang up in portions of the geographic area and remnant tools and infrastructure of the mining era are still evident. Strawberry Lookout, Eagle and Tizer Guard Stations are living reminders of Forest Service history in the area. Fire has historically has been a major influence to plant communities. A large forest fire in 1988 burned almost 50,000 acres of the mountain range, leaving carpets of seedlings growing into new lodgepole pine forests. Due to the rich wildlife habitats throughout the mountain range, the Elkhorns were designated a Wildlife Management Unit in 1986, the first of its kind in the nation. Collaborative groups composed of federal, state, and private land holders work toward habitat restoration and interpretation of the area's history.
Nearby Attractions
The Elkhorn Mountains are an island mountain range that provide open space, clean water and diverse animal and plant communities. The Elkhorns also provide livelihoods and places to hunt and recreate for the citizens in the surrounding communities and beyond. About 160,000 acres within the Elkhorn Mountains is managed by both the Helena and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests as a Wildlife Management Unit, the only one of its kind in the entire National Forest System. In addition, there is another 75,000 acres of foothills that is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as an Area of Critical Environment Concern.
What the agency tells you
The cabin is directly accessible by vehicle annually from May 15th to October 14th.
Access to the cabin starting October 15th is by walking up a closed road one mile to the site.
Access to the cabin in winter is by snowshoeing, skiing, or dog sledding. Snow conditions only allow driving to within about a mile of the turn to Strawberry Lookout road, thus requiring 2-3 miles of snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.
Everything else this campground posts · 11
Snowmobiling is not allowed in this area.
Water is not available at this site. Please bring your own water.
Do not leave food or trash outside the cabin.
All garbage and food must be packed out.
The cabin is a no-smoking facility.
Please clean cabin upon departure.
Make sure cabin is locked upon departure.
Entry to the cabin is by combination lock, code provided in reservation email confirmation.
Please contact the Helena Ranger District prior to arriving at the cabin to check on any restrictions or conditions, such as fire or road closures, or storms that may affect the quality of your visit.
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
The area surrounding the cabin is also open to the general public.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…as backup lighting. An outhouse with vault toilet is located on-site. A picnic table and campfire…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…31. An axe and snow shovel are provided. There is no water on site, so guests must bring a sufficient supply…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
Full this Saturdayread 16:53 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
The one site on offer is taken this Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 19. read 16:53 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
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 16:53 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
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.
| STRAWBERRY CABIN | Strawberry Cabin | cabin nonelectric | 4,466 ft | $30–$50 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Park Lake CampgroundHelena National Forest · 12 mi
Eagle Guard StationHelena National Forest · 13 miSpokane BayButte Field Office · 14 mi
Riverside Campground15 mi
Cave Point Group Use Area16 mi
Chinamen's Campground16 miLocated about 15 miles south of Helena. From Interstate 15, take exit 187 for Montana City/MT-518. East on Jackson Creek road for 0.5 miles. Turn right/south onto Johns St (Papa Rays Pizza) and continue onto McClellan Creek road for four miles. Turn right/south onto Warm Springs Creek/Strawberry Lookout Rd and proceed 1.7 miles. Turn right/west onto the Strawberry Lookout Rd, proceed 1 mile to the cabin. NOTE: From October 15th through May 15th the road is closed to motorized vehicles for the last 1 mile so access is walk-in only. Snow conditions only allow driving to within about a mile of the turn to Strawberry Lookout road, thus requiring about 2-3 miles of snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. Snowmobiling is not allowed in this area.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Montana City, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 27°F, day 54°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 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 · a letter you can send
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
Strawberry Cabin 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 →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyTroy DowningU.S. Representative · Montana’s 2nd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationSteve DainesU.S. Senator · Montana
- Your senator, on the same appropriationTim SheehyU.S. Senator · Montana
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Strawberry Cabin, Helena National Forest, Montana
Dear Troy Downing, I’m a constituent in Montana’s 2nd district. I tried to camp at Strawberry Cabin, Helena National Forest, Montana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Strawberry Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Strawberry Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Strawberry Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Strawberry Cabin (Helena National Forest, Montana) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Strawberry Cabin, Helena National Forest, Montana
Dear Steve Daines, I’m a constituent in Montana. I tried to camp at Strawberry Cabin, Helena National Forest, Montana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Strawberry Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Strawberry Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Strawberry Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Strawberry Cabin (Helena National Forest, Montana) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Strawberry Cabin, Helena National Forest, Montana
Dear Tim Sheehy, I’m a constituent in Montana. I tried to camp at Strawberry Cabin, Helena National Forest, Montana, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Strawberry Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Strawberry Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Strawberry Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Strawberry Cabin (Helena National Forest, Montana) via campanac.com