Deadman's Basin Fishing Access Site

We couldn’t quite make it to Billings and needed a place to stop so we picked this not knowing what to expect. What a great decision! Beautiful campsite with plenty of privacy right on the lake. No services but there are toilets. Warm enough to swim in the lake. Great spot if you need a break from the road. The road is gravel and a little bumpy down by the lake.

We got here on a Sunday evening and the campground was nearly empty. Gravel and very dusty road in. There are 2 camping areas: the one to the right (past the boat launch) had a few campers, the one to the left was empty. Lake is used heavily by local boaters/campers on the weekends. Empty by Monday. Spoke to the caregivers and they said that’s how it usually is. He mentioned winds can get pretty bad, but it was perfect when we were there. No cell service at site (only 1 bar 3G on top of hill) and we had mechanical issues with loss of 12 volt to house distribution panel. So we left out the next day to search for repair service. Would have liked to stay and swim in the lake. No hookups. Vault toilet was decent. Trash cans were full from weekend crowd. Some sites were short or not level.

We just happened to find this campground driving along Rt 12 on our way home east. We drove the dusty rough dirt road through the grasslands to find this hidden gem. We stayed in site 17 in the Willow Hollow loop right on the edge of the sand beach of Deadman's Basin Reservoir. We were the only campers on the 1st loop. There are beautiful views of grasslands, mountains and stunning blue-green water. The vault toilets are very clean. There is a 2nd loop down another road, the Bluebird loop, which had 2 campers. We took a walk on the hillside for a perfect view of the sunset. The only downside was the high wind which you had to lean into to keep from blowing over! It had to be 40 mph or more. This is one of my favorite campsites ever.

Location is managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Four different price tiers, depending on whether or not anyone in your party has a valid Montana fishing license, is a Montana resident or not, or is a senior or disabled. We paid $12 per night, not being residents but having a fishing license. Very pretty area although windy. Very quiet. The road in is dirt and a little bumpy and washboardey in places. We were all the way in Bluebird loop as Willow was closed. When we left two days later, just before Memorial day, that loop had been opened. Camping is very confusing as there are “Day Use Only” signs spread about the place, not sure if that is to preserve the area or for social distancing purposes. It appears that if there is a “fee site” sign with a number it’s OK to camp there, otherwise one is to heed the “Day Use Only” signs.

We were all by ourselves for the two nights we were there. Because of the wind and the cooler temperatures there were very few bugs and the fishing was good. There was adequate space in our loop to turn our 30’ trailer around for good positioning, but the sites are not very level so make sure you have enough blocks. Never went into the bathrooms. Trash cans in at least each loop and at each boat ramp. No hookups, no water, sewer or dump site, and very little cell signal. Occasional text messages would go through but not much else.