Lost Johnny Point Campground

What a gem!

the campsites are spaced so far apart you forget you have neighbors. We had a spot "on the water" which meant there was a strip of aprox. 100-150 feet of trees between the campsite and the edge of the reservoir. Plenty of little pathways snaking back and forth through the woods and from one campsite to another to keep the kids entertained and provide lots of access to the water's edge.

We have a 4-meter diameter bell tent that requires a bit of space and this site had no problems accommodating the size. There are no official tent pads, but plenty of space around the site to place a tent (or several). We also had inflatable kayaks and lots of folding chairs around the fire pit and a tarp strung about the picnic table for shade. LOTS of space!

So, there is some tree cover but not tons at our particular site. I will not complain about that b/c we had clear skies and sunny weather and NO BUGS!! I think that had we been under more trees, the bugs could have been more protected, but realistically, I didn't encounter more than 10 mosquitoes on any given day while we were camping. It was awesome!

The reservoir - Hungry Horse Reservoir is a gem. crystal clear water that slopes gently and has a nice smooth-rock bottom. No gunk, no mud, just nice cool clear refreshing water. You don't get out feeling dirty, you get out feeling clean. I like that in a lake. Also, very little boat traffic during the mid-week (we were there monday-friday in mid-july). So not too many waves from boats etc.

the views across the reservoir are to die for. Simply gorgeous mountains all around the eastern shore of the lake so from our vantage the views and sunsets are spectacular. You can just make out the dam in the distance, which is pretty cool.

The road from Route 2 is paved and not very long - 6 miles past the dam and another 4 ish miles from the turnoff. We saw big class A campers in there, no problem getting them in, but I don't remember seeing any drive-through spots (but I wasn't really looking for those either). I think it's all dry camping but there is water and pit toilets.

Our camp host was awesome - from the perspective that he never said a single word to us until the fourth night when he was going around warning folks of a mountain lion spotted in the vicinity. but he made multiple inspections of the pit toilet to keep it clean and stocked, kept the boat ramp people flowing smoothly and generally kept to himself. cannot complain one bit.

It is a rustic campground for sure. The woods in/around the campground are very "natural" and not really picked over at all for firewood like you see in many campgrounds. I almost feel like there could stand to be a good picking over just to get some of the woody clutter out, but it's nice to have a more "natural" woods / wilderness feel to the place.

I highly recommend! ('ll post photos later - promise!)

-didn't bring a cell phone, so I can't comment on wireless.

This small national forest campground has excellent access (the road in, the entire campground loop, and all sites are paved) and sites are very nicely spread out to offer maximum privacy. We could only see two other campers in total from our site, even though the campground was full during our visit! Sites are also very level. However, the sites are quite narrow and some of them are very short so not all sites would work for big rigs. The very best sites are #11 and #12, which are long, level, have good angles of approach and great views of the reservoir. About 2/3 of the sites are reservable, and the first-come, first-serve sites are generally not the nicest sites. That being said, our non-reservable site was extremely private, but was open enough to allow for excellent solar power generation. We saw a ton of wildlife in the campground itself (deer, chipmunks, hummingbirds, and more) and had lovely dark skies at night to see the stars.

The campground is within reasonable distance of Glacier and also supplies in the town of Hungry Horse, but requires driving up the winding forest road and across the dam to get anywhere. My biggest issue with the campground is the lack of views and access to the reservoir. There is a boat ramp right in the campground, but no other easy water access, so families with kids were playing in the lake right where people were backing in their boats -- not the safest situation. It's a shame to have a great campground right on a huge lake, but where very few sites have any sort of water views.

Internet access on AT&T exists here, but it's spotty. We had 1 bar 4G unboosted, and could get up to 3 bars 4G with our little mimo antenna, but speeds were terrible. It was enough to do email and check weather, but not much more.

The trailhead for the Jimmies Ridge Trail is along Forest Road 895 directly across from the campground, so there is hiking available right from camp. The trail is a total grind uphill for the first mile but then levels out to run along the top of the ridge toward the west.

We visited but did not stay at the two other main campgrounds on the west side of the reservoir. Lid Creek definitely has the best internet service (multiple bars LTE on AT&T) but the sites in that campground are small, extremely unlevel, and generally quite shaded. It would work best for smaller rigs, though access is fine (the pavement on 895 ends just past this campground). Doris Creek is the best choice for very large rigs, with long, level gravel sites and few overhanging trees. It does not have any sort of internet, and there is a small number of sites so plan ahead to snag one.