Hellgate Campground

I camped here in my fifth wheel, enjoying a three day stay as I moved North in Montana. Great place to relax on the Canon Ferry Lake. This lake was created when the Missouri was dammed up here as a reservoir for water, electricity and to control flooding. Almost all of the campsites are right on the water. A few have trees, but in general not much shade is provided and it can get warm here during the Summer. If you have a boat, you could keep it in the water right next to most sites. Fishing is supposed to be good here, as well as water sports. It can get a little noisy due to the speed boats, but not bad.

The weekends fill up here as it's only 25 miles from Helena. Nearest small store and gas station is Townsend, Mt, about 20 miles. You can make reservations well in advance, but walk-ins prevail in numbers. They have several nice group areas you can reserve too.

Camp seems OK at first. Clean, grass had been mowed recently, bathrooms were clean, host was friendly. I didn't notice the ants until I had settled in for the night. The entire camp seems to be overrun with them. They swarm. They bite. Bug spray doesn't deter them. It was too hot to stay in the camper so I had to be outside. I ended up spending the entire evening sitting in my chair with my feet propped up on a step stool and constantly spraying the chair/stool legs and my shoes with vinegar to keep them from crawling all over me. I had originally planned to stay 2 nights but ended up leaving after 1 night. Some folks a few sites down from me had kids and dogs and I could hear them crying almost non stop due to the ants attacking them. Just thankful I had my camper to retreat to at night, can't imagine trying to sleep in a tent while being swarmed.
Also, during my stay camp was free and first come first served. I don't know how long that will last but there is usually a charge for this camp. The fees weren't being collected at the time due to concerns of staff being exposed to COVID while processing the payment envelopes. The Bureau of Reclamation isn't great about updating their website with this type of information and no one answers the phone if you call so there's no way to tell if/when the rules/fees will change.

Enjoyed my stay here, the campground has large sites that almost all have water access. The hosts were very nice and welcoming. Clean bathrooms (Pit toilet). Site 56 is out on a point and very exposed, stormy summer weather meant some high winds. Easy access to water just about 50 feet away made launching the kayak very easy, nice paddling in the sheltered cove right next door. T-Mobile hotspot had 4 bars of 5G coverage.