Itch-Kep-Pe Park

City sponsored free park for short termed RV and tent campers. Sites are dirt, unleveled mostly under very large cottonwood trees.

From time to time a local sawmill delivers a load of slabs that is available for free firewood.

A nice place to stop inexpensively. No, absolutely no facilities such as tables, water or dump station.

This is a nice city park located right on the Yellowstone River. The park has a upper campground (as soon as you turn into the camp) and a lower campground (past the upper campground and past the golf course). There are some very nice spots on the lower campground that are right on the river so I would check there first. There are bathrooms with flush toilets and city water available on the back of the upper bathrooms and there is a water spigot painted blue on the lower campground. While we where there we saw local police patrolling daily and then there was a city worker that comes by daily and hands out a rules list and a donation envelope. Each site is easily recognizable with a picnic table and fire ring. While we were there, the campground stayed about 1/4 to 1/2 full and we never had a problem with any of the other campers. There is also a big dumpster at the upper campgrounds to dump your trash in. I was also able to get very good prepaid Verizon service on my phone and mifi hotspot. We loved staying here and the river was so nice. I can't wait to go back and you can't beat the price!!

We rolled into town on a Thursday to find the farmers market happening and the upper campground full. The lower campground had a lot of availability, though, and the sites are nicely spaced. It filled up, too, but throughout the weekend most of the neighbors came and went in one night. When we made the trek out of the campground Saturday night, we noticed that the upper campground was even fuller and looked bustling. The lower part seemed to be the quieter side. Sites are varied from small back-ins/tents to crescent shaped pull-throughs. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring with grate. There is free firewood in the front.

There is a boat ramp in the lower campground. The day we chose to try our kayak on the river, the current was too strong to get upstream. It would be a great place if you could drop in farther up the river and paddle down to the campground.

You're about 45 minutes from Billings. Columbus has a nice IGA and some other services in town. The review below covers everything else. Both our Verizon and ATT were very good.

i really dig this spot. lots of space yet still very private. it is a free campground run by the city and accepts donations. it has vault toilets, fresh water and free firewood at the entrance. the first loop is a bit more open but if you keep driving, past the golf course, you can find some pretty private spots near the river. there is a gas station and grocery store nearby. i was here toward the end of august and the weather was beautiful. this was one of my favorite spots while in montana, not necessarily for the views but the conveniences at the park (toilets and water, all a boondocker needs) and necessities nearby. i highly recommend checking this spot out. its free and in town, you've got nothing to lose. also, cell service for AT&T was reliable and fast - another bonus.

Pros: 5minutes to: groceries, gas station, hardware store, truck stop with showers. Water and trash on site as well as flush toilets. Easy access with just about any size rig. Police patrols

Cons: This place is very noisy. Road noise, trains pass pretty close by, airplanes from nearby municipal airport, tons of traffic inside the park (locals come in and just drive around), local mining operation detonates explosives near by at random times.

Website is a little misleading:
Free firewood.....not while I was there
Swimming access, fishing, boating......not in this current. No way to measure the current but looking at the water I'm estimating that it is over 10 knots.

Nice grounds right on the Yellowstone River, amenities, views and mostly quiet atmosphere. Conviently located. We get full cell service here too. Stores and restaurants nearby...it is a city park. Good for tents and RVs.

The park is a little noisy, I stayed in the upper campground area. Sites are very spacious, there is alot of traffic with trucks going by doing boat tour pick ups and drop offs. At night, there are ALOT of bugs, no mosquitoes though.Train goes by but it is not too loud. Did not use toilets, but there is also potable water. Sites are level with dirt and lots of grass around. They do take a donation to run the park. It is clean and well kept with lots of mature shade trees. At night, this place is quiet except for the occasional train whistle.

The grounds themselves are very nice. We looked at the lower campgrounds and found a lovely spot by the river but unfortunately, whoever had camped there previously left a lot of trash (a whole garbage bag full) and there were ants everywhere. The lower campgrounds also seemed a little more wild, but it could've just been the crowd that happened to be there. We ended up staying in the upper campgrounds. The facilities were really nice and clean. The biggest con that would keep us from coming back is the noise. It was VERY loud, even around 10pm. People were driving in and out of the park throughout the night, someone had vocal dog, and I'm pretty sure we heard explosions. Also some people came through in a truck screaming and were throwing trash away or digging through the trash, not entirely sure which. All that being said, our stay was free, it had potable water, nice restrooms, dumpsters, and a flat space to put our tent. Lots of RVs but some tents too.

My husband and I found Itch Kep Pe on Campendium and are very happy we did!! It gets expensive traveling from East to West coast. I wish I had found this site before we left!

Itch Kep Pe is a city park that sits right along the Yellowstone River. Most free camps dont have camp host. But this one does. David and his wife Carin were AWESOME!!! Down to earth folks! I guess we didn't pick the best week to stay here, as the river was HUGE! Rain and warm temps are melting mountain snow and Yellowstone is flooding. They had to close Park yesterday (5/25/2018) for safety reasons.

Bathrooms and POTABLE WATER plus right down the street is a Cenex gas station (trading post) where you can dump for $5. Also have bulk propane.

The only negative is certain persons don't want to follow rules, but with David (camp host) there, it was all good. (Some always have to try and ruin a good thing for others!)

We were sad to see it’s closed but stayed nearby at firepoint.