Flathead County Fairgrounds

We stayed here after arriving in the Glacier area right before the fourth of July weekend. Even though it was early in the week, the forest service campgrounds and every private campground we tried were full. Flathead County Fairgrounds provided a good bailout spot somewhat close to the Glacier National Park as well as Flathead Lake.

The staff was very friendly compared to other Fairgrounds we've encountered that seem to not want RV guests. There was 30 amp service, garbage cans, and showers (not sure how the showers were, we didn't use them). It's right in the middle of Kalispell, not exactly a resort town, but it's ok. The Great Northern bike trail was pretty close, I went for a run on it and it would be nice to bike on also. There's also a small playground on site which was appreciated by our boys.

There's a large parking lot with 30 amp service distributed from light posts, as well as a grassy camping area with 15 amp service. No one was in the 15 amp area when we stayed. The area is large and supposedly never fills up, which makes it a good back-up plan when other options don't pan out. I felt safe the whole time, although I did have to yell at a kid shooting off firecrackers next to my RV :)

Anywhere else this would be a 3 but for partial hookups near Glacier National Park at such an affordable price bumps it to a 4.

No other options to camp, thought I'd give fairgrounds a try. Livestock competition this weekend. One RV played loud loud music other than that relatively quiet except for occasional lamb bleating or cow mooing. Restrooms, showers, however I didn't use. Most electric used by livestock folks. Grounds were clean and kept up. I stayed here because Walmart was packed full with RVs. All State parks and RV parks were full. Fairgrounds does not take reservations. Office closes at 5. Leave fee in Dropbox at office.

Okay I was going to write a pretty decent review, but .... we parked on the big grassy area at the Northeast corner of fairgrounds. There were some trailers, a few motorhomes and tents in the grassy area. Just north of the grassy area is surrounded by a chain linked fence. From what I could tell on the south side are 20 amp hook ups in a row and on the north side are 30 amp in a row. The area for the 30 amp was filled with trailers for the livestock show going on. So we parked on the grassy lawn south of the fence and did not hook up to anything. There are rest rooms a bit further into the fairgrounds, but they do have codes locks. I went to the office Monday morning to make sure we were okay parking were we were. Yes, we were. The gentleman informed my that the nightly fee is $25. I even double checked on not having any hook ups or using their facilities. The answer was they changed their policy: it is $25, no matter what. So I paid $25 for a parking spot in Kalispell, Montana. That bugs just a bit. We were going to stay longer, but not at those prices and with that brisk attitude of the employees..... the place is otherwise one of those older typical fairgrounds - not to pretty not horrible.... The guy did tell me that they do not enforce the payment rules on people coming in late at night or over the weekend since they are only there Monday ti Friday 8-5.....

I read the previous review but have a different experience so I thought I would post!

We needed a spot during the week before our reservations in glacier np. We also needed a place where we can get good cell coverage so my husband can work. We have Verizon LTE and get good speed with our hot spot.

We came during mid week when there were no events going on. They are only open Monday - Friday 9-5. You check in the office to pay and leave the receipt in your dash. I’m sure if you came over the weekend when there were no events you could maybe get away with parking for free.

We came when there were no events and the parking lot was pretty empty. We parked off in the grass near a light post to get power. There are a few places in the parking lot where you can get power. They have showers and bathrooms too although I have not seen them but the employee working at the office said they were nice.

Overall I would say it’s great for the price considering all the prices for all the rv parks and camp spots we’ve been too. We also got a spot with power. Great for passing through. I’m sure if there were events going on it wouldn’t be nearly as clean or quiet. I would recommend not staying here if there was an event and you want some sleep and power.

Stay here because you didn't make reservations elsewhere and you want to be near civilization in Kalispell. Stay here because you want 30A of electric. Stay here because you don't mind paying $25 for the convenience of pulling in without a reservation and having a spot.

Don't stay here if you are looking for scenery. Or a hard based parking area (the parking lot is this soft pavement situation).

We rolled in on a Friday afternoon in July and used this as a base camp to head into Glacier for hiking. We pulled up next to a light post and plugged into 30A and were able to run our AC so our cat didn't get pissed at us while we were out frolicking during the day.

Decently quiet at night.

Convenient to a grocery store and a post office. Not far from a smattering of box stores and chain restaurants. A few minutes from the downtown strip of Kalispell (1 mile).

Small playground and new, clean bathrooms with hot showers and flushing toilets. Bathroom is code locked.

This spot worked out perfectly for my wife and I. There were no events at the fairgrounds while we were there and the place was basically vacant. The main gate in is open and you can come in at any hour. There is a large gravel lot with a few trees for parking your rig. My wife and I were in a “camper civic”... we wheeled around behind the stables and had privacy and the benefit of offloading our gear under shelter in a couple of the stables to open our car bed up for a very restful and worry-free night.

Clean and modern bathrooms and showers. You will need a door code to enter the batrooms. There is a few 30 amp sites in the parking lot and a bunch of 20 amp sites along the fence and in the grassy field just to the north.

The primary purpose of this facility is 4-H activities so RV hosting is not the primary activity (as in RV parks). That said, no one answered the phone and we got a recording about an event 3 weeks past. When we drove up, a sign said "campground full space reserved for event". But in asking another RVer we found that the sign was from a prior weekend and just had not been taken down. You park beside a light post that had 30 Amp connections but I could run both of my A/Cs. Trash cans beside light posts. Bath house/ toilets were much better/cleaner than I expected. About 14 30/50 Amp spots that were half full and a whole lot of 20 Amp sites with only 1 trailer. Location is about 45 minutes from Glacier.

We enjoyed the quiet, though it seemed to have a lot of flies (maybe due to the stables). It has stables to keep your horses for $15 per night.

We paid $25 for electric hookups (which are available on the light poles) per night which in my opinion is a bit steep.

We stayed for week this year in October. Last year we were able to stay for three weeks. This year however, they informed us that we could only stay for one week. That is their policy now. Also if you want to use their restrooms (which by the way close mid October) you need to make sure to get the code from the office. If you need to dump, or get fresh water you can go to the gas station by Smith’s grocery. Don’t know about staying after November. We’ve always left before November.