McGinnis Creek Dispersed Camping

the GPS address will take you to the first dispersed camping spot that is where I stayed. There are two spots. One has a larger turnaround area but also has an abandoned camper. The person at the other spot said it had been there for years. The other spot has a beautiful view of the valley.

Rock fire rings were at both sites. just 20 miles to West Glacier and the Going to the Sun Road. Excellent Verizon coverage. Some traffic but not constant.

My shoes that I leave outside my camper door went missing in the night. Nothing else, just both my shoes.

In this video we provide a comprehensive review of 3 of the free boondocking (dispersed camping) sites near Glacier National Park and Columbia Falls, Montana. All locations are located in the Flathead National Forest and there is a 16 day stay limit.

https://youtu.be/0llxG33OdoQ

Free Camping Near Glacier National Park- North Fork Road, Canyon Creek and McGinnis Creek Dispersed

GPS Point for North Fork Road Dispersed Camping
48.499334, -114.131517

Natural Spring for drinking water etc.
48.447581, -114.165680

Conoco Station ($5 Dump and Water)
48.371583, -114.203917

Bonus Content GPS Info
Canyon Creek Dispersed 48.463612, -114.167320

McGinnis Creek Dispersed (start of road with North Fork Road Instersection)
48.52.3474, -114.128642

McGinnis Creek Large Boondocking Area from Video
48.531014, -114.157493

We didn't stay in the designated parking areas but there is plenty of space along the road to find a spot for the night. Really beautiful views the higher up the road you go. We stayed in different spots each night and both were great. Road is bumpy but manageable. I'd recommend hiking Standard Peak while in the area, the trailhead is on this road, too.

Reviewers are absolutely right! There is service once you drive a bit further down McGinnis road. We were really relying on staying somewhere with service and boondocking bc of work, and it worked out perfectly. We have t mobile. It’s beautiful and peaceful. Yes during the day ppl driving by but not too bad. Quiet at night. There are hunters out here as well. View is beautiful. Did see someone save their spot leaving their chairs and hammock for the 2 days but no one came back which I thought wasn’t fair bc it’s the best spot in the place.

The number of campsites that are big enough for an RV or travel trailer may be limited here but the amazing views are not.

We were lucky enough to get one of the two sites the GPS coordinates lead to and the view was unbelievable.
If you want to camp here and you have a big rig don’t worry if the first two campsites are taken because there is another one about a mile further up the road and a great big one about 4 miles past that. They are also good places to turn your RV around.

Once you get to the huge campsite 5 miles up the road you should turn around if you have a big RV or trailer because the road gets narrow and ends in a small area where a tent or van could camp but not an RV.

A lot of people just parked their RVs or vans in the many pull-outs along the road, which works as well but just be ready for lots of dust from passing vehicles.

The first sites have good cell service, but it gets worse the further up the road you go.

There’s a popular hike (Standard Peak) near the end of McGinnis Creek Road, that’s why there’s a decent amount of traffic every day. It’s a 6 mile hike that I highly recommend if you get tired of the crowds in Glacier National Park.

We were very excited to camp here...arrived to the beautiful views and remote spot. We went up past the RV sites and stayed in a pullout. There were 2 fire rings there already. I would love to recommend this spot, but to any of my friends I would warn against staying here. Unsafe-incident in the middle of the night around 330AM when someone tried opening the door of our vehicle (where we slept). It was locked. We checked our surroundings and drove away...couldn’t see anyone. Had to leave personal property behind due to our safety; when we returned in daylight to get it, it was gone. 0 out of 5 unfortunately :(

Did not camp in the original spot described because it was taken, but went up the road to 48.5215556°, -114.1525278°. There there's space for maybe up to a 20' vehicle, right next to the road. There're great views of the mountains and valley below. Good cellphone coverage. Like others said, there're delicious berries to be had in the summer, huckleberries and raspberries.

We got here 5-31-19 and will be staying here for at least a week more. This appeared to be the only spot up the road on the way in and it is small! There is definitely two spots available here as we took the second spot when we arrived the first night to see a truck camper here. The main spot is nice and is probably would fit a medium sized rig if you have the proper skills. Our truck and trailer seemed better fit for the secondary spot, so even after the other camper left we stayed put. The secondary spot could fit a rig a little bigger than mine but might be a bit more difficult to level. We chose to nose in to the "main" spot, then back the trailer up the slight incline to the secondary spot. There is still at least 20 feet behind my rig that I could have backed up more, but it was less level further back. Nevertheless we still had enough room to park the truck in front of the rig with room for another person to get by easily.

I took a long walk up the road yesterday and there was only one other road to turn up, but it had a gate about 1/4 mile up it. Although there was a gate there, I did notice a fire ring and it looked like a vehicle would fit at the gate turnaround. I didn't continue on the main road further than the T I just mentioned.

Overall this spot is great! The views and cell service are the icing on the cake. We had full bars roaming with Sprint. The spot is only a few feet off the road but feels very secluded. The traffic is less than 1 vehicle per hour and dust is minimal. If you have a tent or truck camper this is a must see. If you have a trailer less than about 25 feet and/or are an experienced driver you will have no issues either. The only thing is that there is only 2 spots. Although since we have been here there has only been 2 other people, both staying 1 night each. The limit is 16 days here and access to glacier is great. I would check it out!

Absolutely one of our favorites. There is no cell on the way up here but the road was very well maintained (several hunters and people gathering firewood drove by each day) but the spot itself is nicely hidden from the road on the way up. So much so that some people did pull in a couple times during the week only to back out when they saw us. Views were amazing, internet worked great, we did have the booster up, and have rarely found a spot we’ve stayed this long.

I’m not sure what the last reviewer was talking about with homeless people unless they were referring to folks like us, ha!

Fair warning, the best way in is straight ahead and then backing out onto the “T”. You WILL scratch your truck and maybe the trailer on some branches, so if you’re not into that sort of thing, in a huge 5th wheel or class A this is a definite no-go. The other review is correct, the next spot to turn around is over a mile down if this spot is full. The only other opens are near gates off side rides so probably only appealing for vans / truck campers for one night stays, but we would definitely come back!