Chinamen's Campground

Campground 1
Campground 1

Sites & Rates

Average nightly rates

37 total sites

RV Sites

15 sites

Tent Sites

22 sites

About Chinamen's Campground

Review campsite details -- RV's larger than 20 feet long maybe be to large for many of the campsites.   This Campground is located at the very northern end of Canyon Ferry Reservoir, 30 miles east of Helena, Montana, along Montana Highway 284 and offers year-round access to a wide range of recreational opportunities. The Canyon Ferry area has a rich mining history. In the 1850’s the gold rush hit the Canyon Ferry area attracting miners from all over the United States in the hopes of striking it rich.  

Number of accommodations: 37

Activities & Attractions

Nearby

Boating

Boating

Spring Summer Fall
Fishing

Fishing

Year-round
Swimming

Swimming

Summer

Seasonal information

2026 (Current year)

2026 Season availability

Current season
Upcoming seasons
Past seasons
Closed periods
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Currently open - May 1 to Sep 13

Campground Amenities

Water Access

Water Access

  • Beach Access
  • Lake Access
Missing information?

Rates, Sites & Availability

Select check-in and check-out dates to see real-time availability for each site.

37 Sites Available

Site
Price
001 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
002 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
003 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
004 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
005 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
🚐 006 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 007 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 008 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 009 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 010 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 012 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 013 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 014 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 015 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 016 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 017 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 018 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
019 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
020 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
🚐 021 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
🚐 022 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
023 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
024 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
025 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
026 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
027 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
028 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
029 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
030 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
031 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
032 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
033 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
034 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
035 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
🚐 036 RV
No Hookups
Price not available
037 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available
038 Tent
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
Price not available

Reviews (86)

What Guests Are Saying

Chinamen's Campground features beautiful scenery and great lake access, making it a pleasant getaway for families. Many reviewers appreciated the friendly and helpful camp host, though some expressed concerns about her availability and enforcement of rules. While the campground has a clean environment and reasonable pricing, issues like trash, noisy neighbors, and small campsite sizes were noted, suggesting a need for improvements in management and facilities.

Review Summary

3.5
86 reviews
5
32.6%
28
4
25.6%
22
3
14.0%
12
2
12.8%
11
1
15.1%
13

Paul O

Verified

September 7, 2021 Stayed at: 021

4

This is a nice campground for tents & small trailers. It has a boat ramp and swimming area. There is no shower house, but the vault toilets are kept quite clean. It is very quiet which was nice. While the map makes it look like a road goes through them, sites 19-21 are in a small cul de sac separate from the other sites. Perfect for a small group. We will definitely return.

Debra V

Verified

September 12, 2021 Stayed at: 023

3

Nice - water activites

Christi S

Verified

May 17, 2022 Stayed at: 006

4

Camp Host Deb was very friendly! Few others were there - early in the season and not great weather - but the facilities were clean and we enjoyed our visit. If the campground is full the sites closest to the lake are very close to each other but we really enjoyed ourselves.

Mitchell J

Verified

June 19, 2022 Stayed at: 003

5

Best campsite in the area

Craig S

Verified

June 24, 2022 Stayed at: 007

1

Chinamen's campground experience gave us an uncomfortable feeling because when we first arrived we noticed dog poop in the campground areas and on the beach. Then when we opened our RV door to walk our small dog on a lease after set up there was a loose large black dog running up to our RV door (scary for us since we've had another dog attack us years ago and we don't ever want to expose our small dog to unknown large dogs) so we had to speak to the dog owner who came out of the RV parked on the Host site. We believed he may be family (adult son?) of the older Host woman who worked there. He said he'd keep his dog on a leash but the next day his dog was still running loose and he was even throwing a ball down near our campground area from Host RV area on the hill for the dog to retrieve seemingly out of spite! Very uncomfortable experience for us and we were afraid to talk to the Host woman about it in case he might do something more antagonistic than he already was doing. We also had a large dog poop right in front of our driver's side truck door that looked stepped on. All that plus very difficult, tight sites to back into made us unfortunately glad to leave Chimamen's Campground nor can we ever recommend it to anyone.

Dianne V

Verified

June 28, 2022 Stayed at: 007

4

Windy, but was a nice stay near the lake to teach the kids how to skip rocks. We rescued a raven hanging upside down in a tree who had fishing wire tangled around it's legs.

Samantha B

Verified

July 7, 2022 Stayed at: 026

4

I thought the campground was beautiful and the proximity to the lake was good. The camp host was also really nice. My only note is reserving online was a bit misleading. The pictures weren't very accurate to the campsite so I had to book another last minute.

Tara E

Verified

July 12, 2022 Stayed at: 001

4

Camp host Johnnie was wonderful and very helpful and kind . Camp site was small, bathrooms were good. Beautiful view of the lake.

Leslie G

Verified

July 18, 2022 Stayed at: 026

5

Camp host was great and facilities clean!!

Michael P

Verified

July 24, 2022 Stayed at: 022

1

My reserved site was taken and had to take another site that I would not have chosen. Camp host was not very helpful except to allow camping in another site. One of the ugliest places I have ever camped we will never be back

Location Chinamen's Campground

Address:
7700 Canyon Ferry Rd
Helena, MT, 59602
United States

Highway access

Chinamen's Campground is accessible via MT Highway 12/287, which is the main route leading to the campground from the north. The campground is reached by turning onto Spokane Creek Rd from MT Highway 12/287.

Elevation: 1192 feet

Distance to downtown

20 mi drive to downtown Helena (about 30 min)

Nearby Campgrounds

Nearby destinations


Last updated: September 8, 2026

Bureau of Reclamation Logo
Managed by Bureau of Reclamation