Wade Lake (MT)
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 2925 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
Wade Lake Campground is located in southwestern Montana on the shore of it’s scenic namesake lake. It is approximately 43 miles south of Ennis and 35 miles west of Yellowstone National Park. The 25 site campground, including two group sites, is situated in a dense Douglas Fir forest on the hillside above the lake. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water taps are provided in each of the two camping loops. The campground is situated on a steep hillside. Keep reading
For many of the sites, particularly in the upper loop, the only flat space for a tent may be in the parking driveway. There is an undeveloped natural-surface boat launch and the lake has a no-wake speed limit. Visitors enjoy fishing, small craft boating, and nearby hiking and ATV trails in the Gravelly Range. Trailers longer than 24 feet are not recommended due to small campsites, narrow roads and tight curves within the campground. Check the driveway length and width before booking to make sure the entirety of your equipment will fit the site. Snow may hinder access in early or late seasons. Cellular service may be available at the top of the hill near the Forest boundary, about 1.5 miles away. All sites are only available through reservations. To provide reservation opportunities for those who are unable to plan six months in advance, site numbers 6, 13, 17, 20 and 25 may only be reserved two weeks prior to arrival date. Sites 2, 9, 14 and 22 may only be reserved four days prior to arrival. All other sites can be booked 6 months in advance. Each new day becomes available at 8 A.M. Mountain time.
Recreation
Wade Lake offers fishing for rainbow and brown trout, as well as boating, canoeing and swimming, despite the cold water. Boats can be rented at Wade Lake Resort. Just five miles away, the world renowned Madison River offers blue ribbon flyfishing. Hiking trails begin right at the campground , as well as, in the nearby Lee Metcalf Wilderness. Off Road Vehicle trails are abundant in the Gravelly range though there are no trails in the immediate campground area.
Facilities
There are five vault toilets and five drinking water spigots spread throughout the campground. Water is available May to September. Picnic tables and fire rings are located in each site. Two group camping sites and two walk-in tent camping sites are available. “Bear proof” bins enable compliance with food storage regulations. A natural surface boat launch, suitable for small boats and trailers, is provided. Day-use parking space for the lake is minimal. Garbage service is provided only from May 15 to September 15.
Natural Features
At an elevation of 6217 feet, the campground and lake lie in the bottom of a forested ravine at the southern end of the Gravelly mountain range. The spring fed 200 acre lake is known for its beautiful clear aquamarine water. The larger Cliff Lake is less than 1 mile away. Moose, deer, eagles, an occasional bear and a variety of waterfowl can be seen in the area .
Nearby Attractions
Cliff Lake, Cliff Point Campground and Hilltop Campground are within one mile. Hilltop is available on a “first come first served” basis. The west entrance to Yellowstone National Park is about 35 miles east at West Yellowstone. The Earthquake Lake Visitor Center and Geologic Site is about a ten mile drive. The Lee Metcalf designated wilderness begins about five miles to the northeast. A short drive will bring you to much larger Hebgen Lake to the east and Henry's Lake to the south. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (406) 682-4253.
What the agency tells you
Cellular service is not available at the campground but may be available at the top of the hill, about one and one half miles away.
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 consecutive day camping limit at a single site and 32 day cumulative limit, at multiple sites, within a calendar year.
Everything else this campground posts · 5
Garbage service is available from May 15 - September 15. Otherwise, it is Pack It In, Pack It Out.
For “First Come First Served” campsites - Pay by cash or check. Change is not available.
Unless designated as a group site, campsites are for a single camping unit only. No double camping is permitted.
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.
Campsites must be occupied the first night and may not be unattended for more than 24 hours
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 29 · 2 group
- 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 provided in each of the…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…table and fire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water taps are provided in each of the two camping loops.…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 7 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Motor Boat
- Non-Motorized Boating
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 127th darkest of 501 in MT
- Bortle 2
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:36 UTC
recreation.gov lists 25 of the 29 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
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 · 18
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 15:36 UTC · rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
29 sites
All 29 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. 29 of the 29 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Lower Loop | 1 | group standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| Lower Loop | 2 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Lower Loop | 3 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Lower Loop | 4 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Lower Loop | 5 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Main Loop | 10 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Main Loop | 6 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Main Loop | 7 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Main Loop | 8 | group standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $30 |
| Main Loop | 9 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Main Loop | T1 | type not stated | $15–$30 | |
| Main Loop | T2 | type not stated | $15–$30 | |
| Upper Loop | 11 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 12 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 13 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 14 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 15 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 16 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 17 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 18 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 19 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 20 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 21 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 22 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 23 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 24 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $15 |
| Upper Loop | 25 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $15 |
| Wade Lake (MT) | S&P Group | type not stated | 30 ft | $15–$30 |
| Wade Lake (MT) | S&P Standard | type not stated | 30 ft | $15–$30 |
25 of 29 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate
Where it is
Hilltop Campground (MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 0.6 mi
Cliff Point (MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 0.9 mi
Madison River (MT)Beaverhead National Forest · 5.0 mi
West Fork Madison CampgroundBeaverhead National Forest · 5.4 mi
Riverview CampgroundBeaverhead National Forest · 5.5 miThe agency publishes this point for 2 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
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
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
Wade Lake (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 →