The Moorhead Recreation Site is a BLM-managed campground in Powder River County, Montana. The campground is in a rural location four miles north of Montana's state border with Wyoming near the unincorporated town of Moorhead. The campground sits in a scenic position on the banks of the Powder River and is surrounded by the open countryside of the wide Powder River Valley. While the campground is remote and is an ideal place for a get-away-from-it-all RV vacation in Montana, it's also perfectly situated for exploring several more exciting outdoor recreation areas without having to travel to far.
To the north of the campground is the far eastern section of the Custer Gallatin National Forest which encompasses the Tongue River Hiding and Riding Area. It's a popular spot for outback hiking, riding, and mountain biking as well as for all types of winter sports. To the west of the Moorhead Recreation Site is the Tongue River Reservoir State Park and just over the border in Wyoming is the Bighorn National Forest. Pitch camp at the Moorhead campground and you'll be spoiled for choice for things to do and places to visit. At the campground itself, you'll be able to go fishing, hunting, riding, do some wildlife spotting or get snap happy taking landscape shots with your camera.
The campsites at the Moorhead Recreation Site are all primitive with no utility hook-ups. Each campsite has a picnic table, grill and fire pit. The pitches at the campground are dirt or grass-surfaced and separated by tall ponderosa pines which add an element of privacy. The on-site amenities are limited to a block of vault toilets and water for horses. There is no water supply for human consumption. There are no dump station services or trash collection either so what you pack in will need to be packed out when you go. That's if and when you can bear to depart from this idyllic BLM managed campground in Montana.
If you're planning to spend some time RV camping at the Moorhead Recreation Site, be prepared for a drive into the boondocks of Montana. When you turn-off onto the Moorhead Road in Broadus, you'll still have thirty miles plus of motoring across country to go. You'll find the Moorhead Road turning off the US 212 westbound in Broadus. Take a good look at the stores and houses as they'll be the last you'll see for a good while.
The Moorhead Road is narrow but asphalted so it shouldn't prove to be a problem to negotiate unless you're there during the wintertime when the road could be blocked by snow. The roadways inside the campground are dirt tracks, so could be tricky or even impassable after a spell of bad weather.
If you're motoring down from the north of Montana after RV camping in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Park, allow plenty of time for the trip. Join the MT 200 eastbound in Grass Range before changing onto the MT 59 southbound. You'll be headed across the state on a drive that will you approximately five hours.
If you've been spending a few days RV camping in the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota, head for Belle Fourche where you can hit the US 212 westbound to Broadus. The journey to Broadus will take you about two hours then add another hour for the drive from there to the recreation site.
If you roll up in your rig to the Moorhead Recreation Site and all of the pitches are occupied, a great alternative is the campground in the Tongue River Reservoir State Park. The park is a two and a half hour drive from Moorhead via the Decker Road. The campground is open all year round and has over one-hundred and sixty campsites suitable for RVs distributed throughout several campgrounds. Eighty of the campsites must be reserved before arrival and eighty are first-come-first-served.
The Sandpoint Campground offers RV campers a choice of thirty-two waterfront campsites that can cater for rigs up to eighty feet in length. All of the pitches are furnished with standard electric hook-ups, picnic tables, grills, and fire rings. It's a good campground to choose in the summer as it has a beach and swimming area.
The Riverside Campground is located on the banks of Tongue River and has fourteen campsites that can cater for rigs up to fifty feet long. All camping is primitive and there are no hook-ups though drinking water is available on-site.
The Pee Wee North Campground is a popular campground with boaters as there's a launch ramp. That often means the fifteen campsites get taken pretty quickly. Some campsites have lake views but others not and none have utility hook-ups.
The Pee Wee South Campground has over fifty campsites that can accommodate RVs up to one hundred and forty five feet. If you're motoring through Montana in a big rig, this is the campground for you. All of the pitches have electric hook-ups and some are ADA accessible.
There are no defined trails around the Moorhead Recreation Site so any trek you take through the countryside or along the side of the Powder River will be an outback adventure. There you'll be hiking through the base of the broad, grass-covered Powder Valley.
If you want to hike forested mountain slopes then head to the Tongue River Breaks Hiding and Riding Area. You'll still be exploring without any definite trails, but have some different views to look at.
The Moorhead Recreation Site is a favorite place for anglers to pitch camp to go fishing in the Powder River or any of the nearby tributary creeks. The standard catches are usually catfish, sauger and sturgeon. Another popular Montana fishing spot is just a couple of hour's drive to the west of the campground. Cast a line into the Tongue River Reservoir and you could hook some crappie, bass or walleye.
The Moorhead Recreation Site is the ideal spot to camp out if you're thinking of going hunting. Montana is renowned for its deer, antelope and elk, and the area around the campground is their natural habitat. Turkey are also prevalent.
If you have the correct hunting license you can hunt alone or go with an organized outfitter who can assist you in obtaining one in time for the appropriate season.
The Powder River Historical Museum is a volunteer-run museum in Broadus. The museum houses diverse artefacts relating to the area and the people who have populated it since the pioneering days as well as the Native American tribes who originally inhabited the region before it became Powder River County. The museum is made up of several buildings including a prison, a homesteader's cabin, and a single-room school.
If you have your golf clubs stashed in your RV when you go camping at the Moorhead Recreation Site, you won't have far to go to get a quick game in. Make the drive back to Broadus and you'll be able to tee off at the Rolling Hills Golf Course. It's a nine-hole, thirty-six par course with greens spread, as the name suggests, over gently rolling hills.
The course is open for play from the first of May through to the end of September. Booking a tee-time is not required, you can just turn up and play anytime between eight in the morning until dark.
The Powder River Battlefield is a national historic landmark just a few miles drive from the Moorhead Recreation Site. The site commemorates the 1876 battle of Powder River which was fought between the US Army and the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes over the Black Hill territories. The site is marked with a stone monument.
