Downstream Campground

We had driven a long day and just wanted to get a hot shower and get to bed quick. Had Stopped at Great Falls Lewis and Clark Center so we were beat. I was so surprised by the activities from the advertising. Theatre, fishing, touring the dam. Lots to see and do but we needed to get down the road. Will probably stop by next year on the weekend to see more.

Spent the afternoon and night here in an electric site (no water or sewer). Dump and potable water available on the way out. Rate reflects 1/2 price for Senior Pass.

The Fort Peck Dam is the highest of six major dams along the Missouri River, located in northeast Montana in the United States, near Glasgow, and adjacent to the community of Fort Peck. At 21,026 feet (6,409 m) in length and over 250 feet (76 m) in height, it is the largest hydraulically filled dam in the United States, and creates Fort Peck Lake, the fifth largest man-made lake in the U.S., more than 130 miles (210 km) long, 200 feet (61 m) deep, and it has a 1,520-mile (2,450 km) shoreline which is longer than the state of California's coastline.

Originally booked at Downstrean Campground simply as a stopping point on our way home from a great Rocky Mountain trip. Delightfully surprised with the campground and area. Friendly host and staff, clean sites, relatively clean bathrooms with free hot showers, great playgrounds for the kids, lots of walking trails for the dog and kids on bikes. Well spaced sites, with plenty of cottonwood cover (during the summer).

Plan to actually spend the day here and do the Dam Powerhouse tour!

This is a wonderful place to camp!
The park was practically empty after Labor Day weekend the we were able to get a nice level pull-thru site with a view of the bass pond. Downstream Campground and Kiwanis Park is a beautiful campground with 86 sites, some electric hookups, near the dam at Fort Peck Lake on the Missouri River. The dam was built in the early 1930's as a public works project. Lots of fishing (pallid sturgeon) in the lake, we heard loons, saw least tern, watched a fisherman land a huge bass, and observed deer browsing near the lake shore.
There is a paved bike/walking path around the entire park, boat launch, and we loved riding our bikes over the dam (4 miles each way).
Showers were clean though needed a little updating. We had power only, no water at the paved level site, concrete picnic table, fire pit (fires were discouraged). We were near the group site with playground and group picnic shelter but it was really quiet during the week.
We liked it so much we came back after we were forced back east by the forest fires at Glacier National Park. Construction on the Route 117 bridge in Nashua may cause a slight delay and a maximum 10 feet wide restriction makes the crossing a bit tenuous in the motorhome.
We would definitely come here again.

We stopped at Fort Peck to break up the long drive across Montana, but this is a legitimate destination in its own right. The interpretive center at the dam has very high quality displays about the construction of the dam, the wildlife in the nearby Charles Russell Wildlife Refuge, and dinosaur fossils found in the area. Many of the displays are interactive and geared specifically for kids and looked really fun! The ACOE also offers free tours of the powerhouses with the hydroelectric generation facilities at the dam, which were done 4 times per day during our visit in June. The powerhouse tour was one of the highlights of our visit. The lake is also a fishing destination for humans and animals alike, and we enjoyed seeing gulls and pelicans in the middle of Montana. However, note that gas and groceries require a trip to Glasgow (20 miles north).

The campground itself is a very nice ACOE facility. Sites are generously sized, paved, level, well spaced out, interspersed among cottonwood trees and surrounded by stocked fishing ponds. There are a number of short, paved trails that surround the campground and offer very nice biking or walking. The campsites are a mixture of dry camping, 30 amp, and 50 amp, so pay close attention when making a reservation. All of the sites are pretty nice, but as usual the best sites are along the outsides of the loops. I also really liked the pull-through sites in the northernmost loop (77-86 in the map; see photo) because they are some of the few with direct water views, but they might be prone to mosquitoes in the summer because of the marsh next door. Because the campground is below the dam (thus the name) it does NOT have views of the lake. There are other ACOE campgrounds right on the lake if that's what you prefer, but those are mostly dry camping.

The bathhouse in the southern loop was older but very clean, with hot showers. They operated normally (no push button) and worked great for us. Weirdly, the dump station and water are along the road outside the campground, but the two-way setup is convenient. We had great cell service on AT&T: Download 25.01 Mbps Upload 9.98 Mbps

As other reviewers have mentioned, the Downstream Campground is fantastic due to the wide array of things to do there, but also because the campground itself is very well maintained. The sites are nicely spaced, although there is not a lot of privacy due to lack of trees/bushes. However, the concrete pads are well leveled and our site had a beautiful open space behind it with nice big trees. The Interpretive Center is free and really interesting, as is the tour of the hydroelectric plant. There is a nice, 2 mile paved walking trail around the campground. They also have free kids spinner rods to try in a stocked kids' pond (although we were unsuccessful). Bring your own lures for this!

Price reflects Senior discount.

Overall we had a great stay and this is a fantastic campground. One note: If you are going to make a reservation after seeing any of these reviews BE SURE you are reserving *Downstream* COE in *Nashua MT* and NOT Downstream Campground in Hazen, ND! THIS one is is Fort Peck Lake, the other is on Lake Sakakawea. I made that mistake and called right away and was able to change with no penalty but had I not noticed we would have had a bit of a problem.

After my reservation screw up I made reservations here for 2 nights and then found there was a 3rd night available so we had two reservations. Arrived at our site and it was reserved for the first 2 nights in someone else's name. It too a hit of explaining and questioning of the camp host at the gate to finally straighten it out but in the end it appears someone simply wrote the wrong name. So, we did have the site we'd reserved for 3 nights and as with all the others we saw it was great. Level, spacious, nice picnic table and really nice fire ring (though we didn't use it) A few trees around us giving us shade though the weather was cooler than it had been. There is no water at sites but spigots located throughout the campground and at the dump station just before the entrance station where there is also a dump. The CG itself is very clean and neat but I was a bit disappointed in the showers. There is a new "comfort station" that seems to still be in the process of building and is still closed so the one that is opened is older. However, the shower stall were a bit gross. There was hair on the walls and the sides were black with grunge (which a good cleaning would remove) . I was told that there is a janitor responsible for cleaning but with one of the camp hosts parked right outside the building I was a bit surprised that they had not at least followed up with getting the place cleaned. It wasn't as gross as one park we saw in FL but still showed that it had not been cleaned in days. That was our ONLY negative though.

The CG is located right on the river and there are several excellent walking trails around, including over to the Interpretive Center which is well worth a visit. There are also (free) tours of the Power Station but you will have to take your car and the tours meet at the Interpretive Center where you sign up. If you're doing this take plenty of time before to see the displays as well as watch the excellent film about the building of the dam. The road past both these places continues up to several look outs or over the dam either or both are also worth exploring.

There is a group area at the far end of the CG where, it seems if there are spaces open individual campers may also stay.

The town of Glasgow (officially as of 2018 "The Middle of Nowhere," as they are 11 miles from the closest urban center of at least 75,000, in the US) has stores to stock up on supplies if you haven't and Fort Peck is worth visiting just for the theater.

A really interesting area as well as a nice pace to rest for a few days. Had the wind been calmer we would also have been able to get out on the lake or river with our kayaks.

We used our American The Beautiful card to get a great rate. We enjoyed our stay even though the cottonwood trees were dumping. The trails were the best part for me. We didn’t use the bathrooms or showers. This campground is well maintained!

We enjoyed our three nights here. The campground is well maintained and the sites are big and far apart, at least where we were. It’s fairly open, not private, but well spaced. Loved the walking path around the area. If you aren’t a boater in the nearby lake, not a ton to do (which we were looking for when there). Didn’t use the showers or bathrooms, but they looked pretty new. Tons of locals and some big groups, but it was a holiday week. And overall, still pretty quiet.

This a beautiful campground with some shade. Level site with a view of the dam and power plant. Quiet campground.