America’s Camping Report Card
Montana
#23 of 43 for camping
Better than 48% of graded states · overall grade B+ — campers like it.
Graded on 17,259 written reviews from Montana - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades reflect how campers actually felt about each topic - A means they loved it, not that it beat other states.
What campers praised
- beautiful campground142
- beautiful location134
- great location130
- beautiful area127
- beautiful place105
What campers warned about
- no shade5
- little shade4
- windy conditions3
- dead and downed trees on approach2
- high above the river2
- Praised by
- 48.3%
- Warned by
- 1.6%
- Rank
- Better than 69% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.467 (±0.008, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites113
- great campsite49
- great cabin42
- nice cabin37
- spacious site34
What campers warned about
- sites very close together17
- no shade12
- sites close together11
- sites too close together7
- not much privacy5
- Praised by
- 39.0%
- Warned by
- 10.3%
- Rank
- Better than 62% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.286 (±0.009, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- clean262
- very clean248
- clean bathrooms209
- well maintained176
- clean campground107
What campers warned about
- bathrooms not cleaned5
- dirty bathrooms5
- no soap in bathrooms5
- dirty restrooms4
- bathrooms need more attention3
- Praised by
- 32.2%
- Warned by
- 7.2%
- Rank
- Better than 48% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.250 (±0.009, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly hosts77
- friendly and helpful hosts70
- friendly staff59
- friendly camp hosts53
- great hosts49
What campers warned about
- rude camp host10
- no camp host5
- camp host unhelpful4
- rude host behavior4
- host unavailable3
- Praised by
- 27.2%
- Warned by
- 3.6%
- Rank
- Better than 60% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.236 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- good fishing22
- great fishing22
- fishing20
- hiking trails nearby15
- hiking nearby13
What campers warned about
- fishing conditions3
- fishing poor2
- fishing was bad2
- limited exploring due to snow2
- missing lake trail2
- Praised by
- 23.6%
- Warned by
- 1.2%
- Rank
- Better than 24% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.223 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- vault toilets39
- bathrooms38
- clean bathrooms35
- well stocked cabin21
- bathrooms and showers20
What campers warned about
- no showers34
- no cell service22
- no dump station21
- no potable water17
- no water available17
- Praised by
- 25.1%
- Warned by
- 13.2%
- Rank
- Better than 71% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.119 (±0.009, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet320
- quiet campground163
- very quiet130
- quiet atmosphere94
- quiet and peaceful59
What campers warned about
- road noise47
- highway noise39
- highway traffic noise17
- sites very close together12
- traffic noise12
- Praised by
- 15.6%
- Warned by
- 11.4%
- Rank
- Better than 21% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.042 (±0.008, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy access46
- easy to find38
- close to town28
- close to west yellowstone28
- convenient location27
What campers warned about
- no cell service13
- close to highway7
- rough road to campground6
- rough road access5
- rough gravel road4
- Praised by
- 13.2%
- Warned by
- 11.4%
- Rank
- Better than 69% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.018 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly people9
- dog friendly6
- family friendly6
- friendly other campers6
- friendly atmosphere4
What campers warned about
- didn't feel welcomed2
- felt unwelcome2
- tent campers treated as second class2
- camper privacy not respected1
- cliquish site-to-site vibe1
- Praised by
- 1.7%
- Warned by
- 0.3%
- Rank
- Better than 7% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.015 (±0.002, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- free campground21
- free camping20
- free16
- cheap12
- reasonably priced12
What campers warned about
- same price, fewer amenities3
- $10 for small wood bundle2
- $15 nightly fee2
- $30 dump fee in town2
- charged for unused electric2
- Praised by
- 3.9%
- Warned by
- 2.6%
- Rank
- Better than 52% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.013 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- felt safe8
- felt very safe5
- safe5
- bear boxes3
- bear boxes at every site3
What campers warned about
- bear caution3
- theft of gear3
- bear concern2
- bear encounter / grizzly risk2
- bear risk from attractants2
- Praised by
- 1.6%
- Warned by
- 3.6%
- Rank
- Better than 10% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.020 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy reservations5
- will book again5
- easy check-in4
- easy to reserve4
- easy online reservations3
What campers warned about
- hard to get a reservation8
- hard to get a spot6
- hard to get reservation6
- hard to get reservations6
- fills up fast3
- Praised by
- 2.6%
- Warned by
- 4.8%
- Rank
- Better than 21% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.022 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- dog friendly3
- quiet hours respected3
- bear protocols enforced2
- dog allowed2
- enforced campground rules2
What campers warned about
- quiet hours not enforced10
- dogs off leash9
- fire ban in effect4
- quiet hours ignored4
- quiet time not enforced4
- Praised by
- 1.0%
- Warned by
- 3.8%
- Rank
- Better than 71% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.028 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- no mosquitoes11
- no bugs10
- no mice5
- few bugs4
- few mosquitoes4
What campers warned about
- lots of mosquitoes29
- mosquitoes21
- mice in cabin13
- mosquitoes everywhere12
- mosquitos12
- Praised by
- 1.3%
- Warned by
- 8.4%
- Rank
- Better than 12% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.070 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 17,259 written reviews, 73% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Montana and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained, and the letter is absolute: A means campers loved it, F means they were frustrated — on a fixed scale, not a curve. So a topic isn’t marked down just because another state scored higher. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
The rank (Montana vs. other states) is shown separately, because most states are genuinely good overall — the ranking is what tells them apart. The overall grade is the average of the topic grades, weighted by how often campers raise each one.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval from its sample size.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v3-absolute-grade-plus-rank | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.