After the Polebridge Mercantile bakery, Bowman Lake is a small alpine shore under the jagged Continental Divide at the end of a narrow gravel road. The night is a primitive pad on that water, peaks on the far shore, and the same gravel out in the morning. Kintla Lake is farther up the same valley on more gravel. Summer, roughly June through September, is when those campgrounds are staffed and the gravel is driest.
On the North Fork Road in Flathead National Forest, Big Creek is a hosted 22-site campground with vault toilets, potable water, and a boat ramp for the river. Polebridge is 35 miles north of Columbia Falls on that road.
Bowman Lake and Kintla Lake take no reservations, and there are no utility hookups in the park. You fill a fee envelope and drop it in the tube, on Glacier's first-come, first-served list. Vehicle combinations longer than 21 feet are not allowed at either lake, per the park's camping information as of September 2026. When you need the extra length, sleep at Whitefish Lake State Park or Tally Lake in an RV rental in Whitefish.
Glacier will not require a vehicle reservation in 2026. Apgar and Going-to-the-Sun Road are the Kalispell campervan trip. St. Mary, Many Glacier, and Two Medicine are the Montana lander. US-93 continues north through Eureka to the Canadian line.
Whitefish Lake State Park
Whitefish Lake State Park puts you on the water inside town, with trains rolling past the sites and a shoreline to paddle. The park has 25 tent and RV sites, plus a hike-bike site, with reservations through Reserve America and a 40-foot length cap. Book the pad before the van. If the park is full, Tally Lake is the overflow.
Whitefish Mountain Resort
In summer you ride the lift at Whitefish Mountain Resort to a 6800-foot summit with Glacier in view. The hill also runs an alpine slide, bike trails, hiking, a zip line, and an aerial park. In winter it is the ski hill, and the resort has no camping or overnight parking in either season, so the van sleeps at Whitefish Lake State Park or Tally Lake.
Tally Lake Campground
Tally Lake is the local forest lake about 20 miles west of town, a concessionaire campground on the water. Reservations are required, with some first-come sites left. It stays open year-round and is not plowed in winter.
Whitefish Trail
The Whitefish Trail is a 55-mile-plus loop around Whitefish Lake. Hikers and bikers use it between town, the state park, and the mountain, a non-motorized day that laces those stays together. It is day use, and the van stays at Whitefish Lake State Park.