Court Sheriff Campground

We come from the Netherlands. Campendium is very helpfull for us. So we want to help others. (Sorry if my english is not perfect)

We were here on 23 september 2022. The season was closed so it was Free. See photocollage. No services, but the ladies toilet could still be used.

The firepit is empty and clean (but we never used a firering...)

The only negative thing for us is that there are no hiking options. We like walking very much, but the setting is very nice, with the view of the lake and the sun setting on the mountains.

We were able to book this lakefront site for two nights in August . Beautiful campground with paved roads and pads . Sites are not very private, but to be able to launch your kayak and SUP from your site is a bonus. It was pretty quiet during the week, however on Thursday night a lot of weekend campers showed up and they kept their generators going pretty much all day and night, which was pretty annoying. Maybe an idea to limit generator use to certain hours only ?

While this camp is fully booked during the summer months the off-season is much calmer and free. Once the camp hosts leave the water is turned off, trash service stops, and no fees are charged. There are still daily patrols by both the Bureau of Reclamation and the local Sheriff dept. to clean and keep an eye on things.
Overall it's a very nice camp with paved parking pads. Each site has a concrete table and fire ring (it looked like someone had come through and vacuumed out the fire rings, they were spotless!). There are 6 pit toilets spaced around the camp and they were still clean in the offseason. Water taps are also scattered around but the water was turned off for the season while I was there. Most of the sites in the left-hand loop are in full sun and the middle section and right-hand loop have partial shade. All but two sites are back in. Helena is approx. a 20-minute drive from camp. There is no boat dock/ramp and no dump station here. Access to the water was a bit difficult due to low water this late in the season but in the summer the lake is just a few steps from most of the sites along the shore. The camp is close to the highway and you do get a bit of noise from that but traffic does die down at night.
My only complaint about the camp is the awkward layout of the sites. I know they were trying to maximize the number of waterfront sites but the spacing/orientation leaves most of the sites overlooking the neighbor's camp. Some sites back into another site so closely that you end up just a step or two from your neighbor's table or fire or camper. Better hope everyone minds their manners and are polite campers. And that they keep their curtains closed - privacy is not something you're going to find here. The camp also has 5 walk-in tent sites but again, awkward layout. There is a central parking area for those sites so you have to haul your stuff in. And even though they are tent sites there is no dedicated tent pad at a couple of them.

It was a nice camp but I'll keep my visits limited to the offseason when it isn't so busy just so I can have a little elbow room between myself and the neighbors.

Our site was on the water and the view was beautiful. The campground has potable water at the front entrance which was great. There is not a dump station on site. Kim’s Marina, right around the corner from Court Sheriff campground, offers their dump station for $10. That was convenient. During our stay we noticed many dogs off their lashes and unfortunately, some dog owners are not diligent about picking up the dog’s dropping. Court Sheriff is a very busy campground and at times was a bit loud after quiet hours. Camp hosts were friendly and helpful. The roads and parking pads are paved. We used our Golden Age pass to get our site half price which made our stay very affordable.

I stayed one night right along the lake. There was only 1 other rig in the whole park. The camp host had left for the season and the box to put money in had a sign saying that they had quit charging for the rest of the season. The vault toilets were clean and there were many of them. The water faucets have been turned off, but those are abundant, also, if the camp host had still been there. I would definitely stay here again, if there were lots of other campers. The sites are large and well-spaced. I was van-camping.

This Bureau of Reclaimation campground is situated on Canyon Ferry Lake about 20 miles from Helena, MT. Nice clean park with friendly hosts and level blacktop site pads that include picnic table and a fire ring/grill. Sites are fairly roomy, not tight but not extremely spacious, some offer good shade. Drinking water faucets are easy to access for filling containers and/or RV tanks, pit toilets are very clean and well attended to. While we were there the lake had an algae issue which caused quite a stench certain times of day. Dry camping only and no dump station. The closest free one we found is in Helena at a Town Pump convenience store/gas station.

During the week it was not busy but on the weekends it fills up and people bring their boats and water toys. After the 10 P.M.quiet time things quiet down considerably.

We used our Golden Age pass to get our site half price which made our stay very affordable.