Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Hidden Lake Campground

Montana Lolo National Forest

Hidden Lake Campground

Free to campSet campsiteSome roads are rough
Free to camp The Forest Service record for this site says there is no charge to camp, as of August 2026. Records get old, so look for a sign when you pull in.

About this place

A five-site campground southwest of Seeley Lake. The lake itself is 33 acres, on the west edge of the Clearwater Valley.

It is a kettle lake. That means it formed in a hollow left behind by a melting block of ice.

Westslope cutthroat trout are stocked in it. Boats are fine as long as they have no motor.

The facts

Cost
Free to camp
Roads around it
Vehicles must stay on the roads
Type
Specific campsite
Managed by
Lolo National Forest

The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the US Forest Service, who grade every road by the kind of vehicle it is looked after for. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.

Rules and restrictions

Keep vehicles on the roads.

This is bear country, and the Forest Service has rules about how you store food. They spell them out on their own page for this campground, so read that before you leave home.

The rule is nearly always the same. Food, trash and anything with a smell has to go inside a hard-sided vehicle, or hang well off the ground. Toothpaste and dog food count as things with a smell. Most people forget both.

Getting there

Coordinates 47.143222, -113.570316

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.

Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.

Nearest town and supplies

Seeley Lake is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.

Have you been here?

Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.

Add road notes for this site

The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.

Where this information comes from

The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026.