Looking for more campgrounds while road tripping through Montana?
Check out Beavertail Hill State Park Campground and Quartz Flat Campground near Missoula.
LOCATION
- Red Shale Campground is located 130 miles east of Billings, Montana, off of Highway 212. It’s about 130 miles northwest of Belle Fourche, South Dakota.
CURRENT INFO & RESERVATIONS
- Visit the Red Shale Campground website for general information. The campground is operated by the National Forest Service.
- All campsites at Red Shale Campground are free of cost and first come, first served only. I was concerned the campground might fill before we arrived in the late afternoon on a summer weekend. Not to worry — there was only one other occupied campsite the entire time!
WE STAYED HERE
- June, 2022, 1 night
AMENITIES
- Vault toilets
- No water available
- Picnic tables and fire rings at all sites
- No electrical or water hookups
- No garbage bins — please pack everything out
ABOUT THE SITES
- Red Shale Campground offers 14 campsites.
- The campground is open from April through December.
- All campsites are free! That’s right, no fees at Red Shale Campground, and no reservations, either.
- The campground is situated in a lightly forested area surrounded by rolling hills and grasslands.
- Most campsites are large with partial shade. They are spaced well apart from one another for privacy.
- This is a dry campground. No water is available.
- Red Shale Campground is located down a dirt road only a mile or so from Highway 212. This was far enough from the highway that we head no traffic noise, and the road was easy to traverse in our Mazda CX-5.
- Pets on leash are allowed at Red Shale Campground.
- Always follow Leave No Trace principles. Keeping a clean campsite and packing everything out will help ensure that places like this stay free and open to the public.
FUN STUFF
- Walk or bike the campground loops. I’m not aware of other activities immediately around Red Shale Campground, but the dirt road through the campground is a lovely path to stroll or bike. As tempting as it is to explore the surrounding grasslands, we decided to stick with the road to avoid ticks. Are ticks common in this part of Montana? Probably not, but I recommend long pants, shoes, and socks if you decide to go off trail just to be on the safe side.
NEARBY & NOTABLE
I could be wrong, but as far as I can tell the area around Red Shale Campground isn’t exactly a recreation hot spot. If you’re camping here, it may be because you’re on your way to or from one of these places:
- Billings, Montana is 130 miles west of Red Shale Campground. Stop for gas, groceries, or for a tasty meal. We recommend The Sassy Biscuit Co.
- Devil’s Tower National Monument lies 135 miles southeast of Red Shale Campground. This beautiful park is well worth a visit to hike around the Tower or camp overnight.
- Spearfish, South Dakota is located 145 miles southwest. This is one of our favorite spots in South Dakota, with a lovely city campground and gorgeous waterfalls.
THE VERDICT
Red Shale Campground is a lovely place for free camping. Although this part of Montana is remote, for us it made a convenient overnight stop en route to South Dakota. There probably isn’t enough here to lure campers from far afield, but that was just fine by us. We enjoyed a quiet stay surrounded by nature, completely free from the distractions of everyday life.
For a free campground, Red Shale does the basics well. Campsites have picnic tables and fire rings, as well as ample parking. Tre, the vault toilets didn’t exactly smell sweet, but that’s to be expected. I also can’t help wondering, is it always this quiet? We expected more campers on a Friday night, but certainly didn’t mind the lack of crowds. Perhaps some weekends are busy, but I have the feeling this place doesn’t see too much action. Campers seeking solitude, take note: Red Shale Campground is a hidden gem.
Our Experience
When on a big family camping road trip, I always make campground reservations in advance. Well, almost always. Sometimes, even in today’s crowded camping climate, reservations may not be necessary. Red Shale Campground is one of those cases. Still, as we eased up the red dirt road toward the campground, I wondered if we’d find any vacant sites.
I need not have worried. A lone camper van was the only other vehicle in the entire campground, and we never even saw the residents of said van during our entire stay. We picked a spacious site located just far enough from the vault toilets to still be convenient, then set about exploring.
As we wandered along the dirt road through the campground, the sky darkened overhead — time to get back to our campsite and prepare dinner. Not time enough, as it turns out. I had barely taken out the camp stove when raindrops began to fall, accompanied by a distant clap of thunder. Realizing this was no passing shower, I made the quick decision to send the family into the trailer, where they converted our beds into bench seating.
At the back of the trailer, I hurriedly prepared a meal of veggie sticks, hummus, cheese, and crackers as the rain began to pour. Little did we realize it at the time, but this was the first of many evening thunderstorms that we would encounter on this trip. To us native Pacific Northwesterners, thunderstorms are an exotic occurrence. As we neared the Midwest, they became a mundane part of the daily routine.
By morning, the sunshine had returned in full force. I pulled out the camp stove and began boiling water for coffee and tea, while around me the tall grasses waved lazily in the breeze. It’s moments like these that remind me: this is why I camp.
We headed out onto the road after breakfast, continuing our journey toward South Dakota and Badlands National Park. I don’t know if we’ll ever have the chance to return to Red Shale Campground, but, like so many other places we’ve camped, it will remain a fond memory for years to come.
