joydowe

This was our second stay at this campground. The first time was in May of this year at the beginning of our 6 month journey and it seemed fitting to visit again on our return home. The park is older and a bit worn but well cared for. As with our first visit the park rangers were very helpful and friendly. As has been mentioned previously it is an out of the way location but that is one of the things that we enjoy. We did not make use of the trails this time as it was very wet and rainy but we did enjoy the trails when we were here in May. Verizon Service was adequate for texting and phone but that was fine with us as well. Excellent little campground for getting away from the noise for a while.

In addition to ball parks, rodeo arena, picnic and playground, there are 5 camping pads. The pads are small but level. We camped with our 36 foot Seneca and toad, had no trouble navigating even though roads are a bit narrow. The only negative was the highway noise but even that does not detract.

So the site is a short drive off hwy 91, was a bit confused at the beginning because the entry to Stockton road looks like you are driving into someones front yard! There is no clear marker for the site - there is a flat(ish) place on the left side of the road with a burn pit and another site on the right with a burn pit and lovely shade trees next to a creek. That is the site we chose since it was a 90 degree afternoon. Sounds lovely yes! Well it is in the middle of an aggricultural area so the creek is a bit grey and frothy. The site was quiet until dusk an then became a speedway of sorts - mostly pick up trucks, ATV's, and a few campers. Once the traffic stopped, the sound of the creek was relaxing, we were treated to visits from a young buck and a muskrat, and the temperature was lovely overnight. This is not the place to be in high summer and not a site that we will look to return to but we were thankful for a place to rest for the night, and on a positive note there was very little trash in the area.

After reading previous reviews we decided to walk down Cow Lake Road to make sure our rig would fit. We travel in a Jayco Seneca 36 ft and a toad. It must be said that the area has not received rain recently so the roads were dry however, there are some rather obvious places that would be problematic in wet weather. We stayed in the area at the end where the creek empties into the lake. There were a few locals fishing but no one bothered us, one of them actually came and checked on us when he saw our rig parked on the farm road, said he wanted to make sure we were ok. The bird watching here is fantastic, we also saw coyote and mule deer. My husband enjoyed the fishing, all catch and release. We had a peaceful quiet night under a wide open star filled sky. If we had not already made a commitment to be somewhere else, we would have stayed longer. It has been said previously and it bares repeating, know your rig and your tolerance. The area is large enough for a sizable rig but you have to be able to tolerate the last 1/2 mile of bumps and ruts.
The only negative for us, and it is unfortunately not unique to this site, is the amount of trash and broken glass in the camping area. We filled a 13 gallon trash bag from the immediate vicinity of our site before settling down to enjoy the spectacular scenery.

As noted in previous reviews this campground is very close to the road however the sound of the creek is all that we heard and it was lovely. We were just traveling through on our way home but have already saved this to our favorites for future trips. Apparently just a few miles up the road are some lovely waterfalls which we plan to visit next time. The campground is a national forest site located 13 miles east of Montana Hwy 93 on 38 just north of Darby. Road leading to the site is a paved rural road which winds through some lovely countryside. There are vault toilets, no water or trash containers on site so plan to bring water and pack out your trash. There are tent sites as well as RV/trailer sites which are best suited to small rigs (20 feet or less).

As has been previously stated, there are actually only 3 sites that appear to be available to travelers, 2 full hook up sites are back-in sites facing Main St and another that they call a pull thru site which is more like a parallel park site facing the tiny little park on a side street (this is the site we were in). We stayed here in our 36 ft Seneca, so close to the fence that we could not open the living room slide and our bedroom slide was just barely off the street. There is no view to speak of, unless you count the neighboring trailer park which was colorful in a worn out, rundown sort of way. All that being said we were delighted. We arrived late in the day, tired and hungry and were greeted by the camp host immediately. She was a most delightful and accommodating woman. The actual park itself contains two historic buildings, s small fort and a jail, and a small museum containing stagecoach and fire wagon. There is a winery across the street and another within walking distance both were closed when we arrived/ left. The tiny little town is rich with history and it is obvious that efforts are being made to restore and beautify this quaint little gem. Would stay again and would highly recommend this park to anyone with an open mind and an interest in quaint little towns.

Sites are well spaced and for the most part there is a modicum of privacy and the surrounding area is simply beautiful. There are some lovely family friendly trails in the area and plenty of places to get off the beaten path for the more adventurous hiker. We tried fishing and assume it is likely better earlier in the season. We were delighted with the ability to watch the salmon come upstream. It is an excellent place to set up camp and then go explore Wittier for the day. We were fortunate enough to have a couple days of no rain, one of which was gloriously sunny with clear blue skies, breathtaking! All that being said, the road noise from big trucks is a definite detractor and the primary reason for not giving this lovely place a solid 5.