Big Rock Fishing Access Site

This is the best fishing access site I’ve seen. It feels more cared-for than many of the others — I saw a USFS truck cruise through and the additional notes on the entrance board made me feel like it’s got more eyes on it.

It’s right next to a residential house, which I don’t usually find appealing, but there was a woman out front re-painting her white picket fence and she gave me a friendly wave as I drove in. It’s quiet and most of the sites have fire pits; a few have picnic tables. There’s a pit toilet.

This is not a good spot for big rigs — even if you can fit into one of the six or so small-ish spots, the site is not really intended for that scale of vehicle.

The Boulder River is pretty and there are plenty of walking trails branching off from the site. I parked at the first site near the entrance and saw my first wild grizzly about .25 miles away in the adjacent field. 🐻

Big Timber is a cute town and I’d be happy to stay here at length. On 9/20/20 the usual road in was closed (if you’re coming from 90) so you have to go through town, take 298 S, and loop back north. It was worth it (and I doubt the construction will last long.)

Lovely little spot! Showed up around 5pm Friday and there was only 1 other camper. Had a third join by the end of the night but was super quiet the entire time. Beautiful scenery and river running through. Saw several deer and heard a few others mention seeing a grizzly every once in a while so keep items secured! Definitely would stay again. Vault toilet was clean and well stocked. 6 sites with rock fire rings. A couple sites had picnic tables too!

Three sites by the fishing access with fire pits and tables. Two can accommodate big rigs. Also a spot when you first come in (not on the water) works with a pull through.

Water was low for fishing, but really beautiful!

Finding a place for dispersed camping has seemed very difficult in Montana. We drove hours more than we wanted and maps were no help - all private land - and then I got data access and jumped onto Campendium and found this AWESOME location. We learned that most of the "Fishing Access Sites" in Montana also have a few camping spots. This place is as good and better than described. 6 spots, all but 1 close to the Yellowstone River. We saw a young couple come in with a string full of 14 inchers. Very quiet, except for awesome variety of birds singing. Extremely clean and feels very safe. Located on an old farm on the banks of the Yellowstone.The road is gravel coming in, a few minor potholes but just take it slow. The 1st spot is not near the river but is very large for a pull through rig. At least 2 other spots for big rigs if needed.

Arrived around 6:30 pm and there was one other couple in a tent on the site next to the river. Beautiful spot. River was high.

We camped parallel to the river and the sound was awesome. Good weather so no concern about flooding. Long road in on washboard gravel, but worth it.

This location is south of Big Timber and is right on the Boulder River.

The pit toilet was clean both nights we stayed (two separate nights).

The only real negative at this location was the plethora of bugs. We experienced a lot of ants, flys, mosquitos, and other bugs that made it somewhat uncomfortable. We have a pop up canopy for a picnic table so that made the bug situation more manageable.

The river was flowing quite hard when we were there in late July and early August. I wouldn't recommend wading into the middle of the river. The sound of the water too is pretty loud so if you have an aversion to noise, I'd steer clear of this site. I LOVED the river. You can put your feet in the sides of the river, and the sound, to me, was wonderful.