Fish Creek Campground

We reserved our space in the B loop in February before COVID hit. Thankfully we were in Fish Creek since now the other campgrounds in the park are closed.

The camp is clean with plenty of water spickets, lots of trees and most sites are pull through. The bathrooms were kept clean but best of all they had a dump toilet for waste water. Most national park sites are close together so that was not surprising. Our trailer is 28ft including the hitch so a little tight but no problem. Warning though some sites are not very level and up against a hill that you are not aware of from the picture of the site.

It is unfortunate that due to Covid many spaces were reserved but people didn’t show and never had the courtesy to cancel. The campground always had a FULL sign out but the place was half empty. The camp host said they turned 100 people a day away. So be respectful and cancel your reservation if your plans change.

We loved our stay and hope to return when the East side of the park is open.

After waking up every morning for weeks and looking at Recreation.gov I finally scored a 2 night cancellation at the only campground open in Glacier NP. I’m so happy I was persistent...staying in the park was incredible and affordable at $23 per night. We arrived on Friday with a 2 night reservation and was able to book Sunday night at the gate, we just had to move. At this point we were pros at moving camp. The campground has several loops, we were in B and C. The sites in B seem to be a bit bigger, but farther from the lake. Keep in mind there are 300 sites at this campground so you are next to your neighbors, but most are pull through sites with some trees. I’ll take little privacy for convenience. It’s definitely better than the big rig RV parks. We ended up in site C106 for the 3rd night, what a treat. It’s very small for a 20ft trailer, but what it lacked in “indoor” space was made up for with the “backyard” space haha! The lake with a, nearly, private beach was about 50 yards from the site. We hiked down with my inflatable kayak, 6ft inflatable cactus, a cooler and made a day of it. The views were insane! There are nice bathhouses centrally located, a fresh water fill and dump station at the entrance, multiple water spigots in the campground and fire pits/picnic tables at each site. Going to the Sun Road and Avalanche Lake hike are very accessible, which are the two major attractions we hit since most of the park is closed. I look forward to going back when the East side is open.

The campground is nice. The spaces are a bit close together. The sites are back in and pull through, but it may be difficult to park a big rig in there. We had a back in and barely fit. When we left this morning, we had to back our van in at an angle to hook up our trailer, because there were trees in front of our site that were part of the site across from us. The rangers are very nice and helpful. If you have a junior ranger, have them meet Michelle at the campground entrance. She was wonderful in encouraging my 9 year old granddaughter to complete her ranger booklet. She gave her the pin for Glacier and had her say the oath.

The bathrooms were cleaned daily, but they were alright. Showers are free for campers. They had very warm water. They need shower curtains that fit better across the shower stall. The shower rooms are private rooms that lock, not in a multi-stall facility like some places.

As always, do not leave food, drink, or aromatic things outside. Bears live in the area.

If you've researched other campgrounds in/around Glacier National Park, you know this isn't the number one choice. I started my planning late, so Fish Creek had the only sites still available for reservations. I had to change campsites nearly every night, but it was still worthwhile to be inside the park for most of my trip.

Fish Creek Campground is located fairly close to the West Glacier entrance. This makes it a solid hour of driving to Logans Pass, where parking is very limited. West Glacier offers gas, supplies and restaurants (huck pie - yes!!), so it's not all bad. You're also close to the Apgar Visitor's Center. This is convenient if you plan to park and ride the shuttle. Remember that if your overall rig is longer than 21 feet, you are prohibited from driving the Going to the Sun Road. This road is not for nervous drivers, especially those who fear heights. Take the shuttle to avoid the nail-biting journey and associated parking hassles.

As others have noted, the campsites at Fish Creek are close together. Some are also small and not conducive to large RVs. On a positive note, there were adequate bathrooms with running water/flush toilets and numerous potable water spigots. Each has a picnic table and fire ring. There's also a free shower facility on the A Loop. Unlike others, I had only a short wait on any given evening and always had warm water. If you're staying on the B, C, or D Loops, park on the amphitheater loop for a 5-minute walk to the shower.

I'll also add that the staff at Fish Creek were very welcoming. They always had a cheerful smile for me when I checked into my new site. The campground is also on Lake McDonald and near Apgar Village, so water sports galore.

If planning another trip to Glacier National Park, I'd probably start earlier and split my stay between the east and west sides of the park to minimize driving. Fish Creek would definitely be on my list!

The sites are a little tight, we have a 24 foot trailer. Not too much privacy but the campground is quiet. Showers are located in the A loop which is ¼ mile walk. There is a dump station and water available to fill your rig at the entrance of the campground and some non threaded water spigots scattered throughout the campground.

No TMobile service in loop B. 1 bar by the lake in loop A. ATT had 2 bars and good data speeds.

Sites are well spaced but tight if you have slides. Loops are signed one-way, so get a site on the outside of the loop if you want your awning to face your campsite. Showers (4) are in loop A; you can park in the amphitheater lot and walk to them. Go right after daily cleaning (> 2PM) if you want a hot shower. Clean bathrooms, plentiful water spigots, strong ranger presence. Check out the bakery in Polebridge.

We were very happy with our stay at the Fish Creek Campground. The sites appeared to be mostly pull-through with plenty of separation between you and your neighbors. Roads are all paved with easy in and out of the campground, but the sites are all dirt. Tons of trees provide ample shade all over the campground.

The rangers are very present in this campground (more than I have seen anywhere else). They did a great job of enforcing campground rules like generator hours & parking. They are also keeping an eye out for un-attended campfires. Two sites away from us the people took off and left their campfire burning. The ranger filled up buckets of water and put it out properly. I hope the people get a fine.

One of the biggest features of the campground is the quick access to Lake McDonald. A quick walk and you are on the beach enjoying the view. There were several people there swimming, fishing and kayaking in the lake. While it didn't seem bad, if you book a site that backs against the lake there might be some noise.

We also had the opportunity to attend one of the nightly ranger programs and would recommend checking them out while there.

As a comparison to our experience camping in Yellowstone at the Canyon Campground this campground was a 5 star resort and we would highly recommend it.

We snagged an outside-loop campsite here and were very pleased with how spacious it was and how easy it was to walk down to Lake McDonald. No hookups, so we used the generator in the morning for an hour, then found a sunny patch for our suitcase solar panel for the rest of the day (it has to move around a bit because of the tree cover). Cell coverage was surprisingly good. Bathrooms are clean. Showers are available, but are solar powered and the hot water runs out quick. PRO TIP: grab a shower at 2pm -- right after they're done cleaning it. Hot water abounds!

We have a 34' fifth wheel that barely made it into the site. This was the hardest back-in we've done (probably a tie with Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone). I might not attempt it with anything this large. All of the other trailers in this loop are under 30'.

One downside: the Western part of the park is great, but after you exhaust your time at Lake McDonald, everything else is going to be a long drive away. We were originally thrilled to be able to stay here for 2 weeks straight, but wish we had spent half of that time on the Eastern side of the park as well.