Fallon Bridge Fishing Access Site

We stayed here as a “drove until we got sick of driving” free campsite. It was alright for that purpose. It’s right next to the old US Highway 10 Yellowstone River bridge, which was one of the few bridges in Montana to be built during WWII and is apparently the state’s longest bridge of its style. It was unique to drive over but I wouldn’t go out of the way for it (unless perhaps you’re an old bridge fanatic). The old bridge is next to the I-94 bridges, so it’s a very convenient location.

The good: It’s free. We stayed on a Saturday night. We were the only ones there. We were concerned it would be a local party spot. It was very surprisingly quiet. I was also concerned of extreme traffic noise from I-94. Although the noise is present, it’s also surprisingly mild for how close you are to it. It’s a relatively pretty location with the river, hills, and sparse area. The sign has something about camping but the first half is covered up with professional sign tape. Perhaps there used to be regulations about camping there, but the MT FWP website now says it’s legal camping for up to 7 days. I have Verizon and the coverage was good.

The bad: Space is very limited and would be full with just two campers. Even two would seem crowded. There may not even be space if people are parked there for fishing. There are no trees and no privacy. The ground is mostly dry dirt that quickly turns to mud if it rains. A small amount of litter was present, but it wasn’t horrible.

Conclusion: This site is essentially a boat launch with limited parking that happens to be legal for camping. Somewhere online it says there are 7 campsites. There aren’t any established campsites at all. It works for a quick and relatively quiet overnight stay if no one else is there, but don’t expect anything more than that. I consider it better than a business parking lot so I’d do it again, but there’s certainly better free campsites (like Far West by Forsyth).

I would not recommend this site for someone that is tent camping.