Conestoga Campground

The Great Outdoors

Camping with an RV in White Sulphur Springs puts you a couple of hours’ drive of the Missouri Headwaters. Three rivers – the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin – come together in that place to form the 2,300-mile Missouri River. Lewis and Clark stayed at what is now the Missouri Headwaters State Park in 1805, a place that "opens suddenly to extensive and beautiful plains and meadows.” It's been more than 200 years, but the same lush vegetation, plentiful wildlife, and scenic beauty continue to attract outdoor seekers looking for a place to hike, fish, and bicycle, which are popular activities in this 500-acre park.When you rent a camper near Conestoga Campground, you’ll be in the heart of the Lewis and Clark National Forest with an acreage of 2.8 million together with Helena Forest. With ten mountain ranges to choose from such as the Elkhorn, Snowy, and Castle (whose highest point, Elk Peak, is close to White Sulphur Springs), you can enjoy world-class hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding, and in the winter, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. There's lots of space to ride ATVs, too. For landing native west slope cutthroat and big brown trout and spotting elk, the area in and around Smith River teems with opportunity. Cave enthusiasts may want to explore the permanent ice caves in the Big Snowy Mountains.If you plan on visiting the Yellowstone National Park while in Montana, simply search for an RV in Meagher County and make the two-hour drive to this sprawling wilderness area sitting atop an immense volcanic hot spot. Old Faithful easily comes to mind as one of the park's top attractions, but Steamboat Geyser has been putting on a show for quite some time. Naturally, you wouldn't want to miss the photogenic beauty of the Grand Prismatic Spring and the spectacle that is the Mammoth Hot Springs but don't forget to marvel at the 20-mile Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River or embark on a day hike on a segment of the park's 900-mile trail.Wildlife watchers get to pick where to go, depending on which animal they wish to observe: grizzly bears, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn at Lamar Valley; bison and elk at Madison; or moose at the northeast and the south entrances. Around 300 species of birds can be found here, especially during the spring migration, when many of them return to the park.

Exploring the Area

The Meagher County Museum in town is housed in the "Castle," a Victorian mansion made from hand-cut granite blocks quarried from the Castle Mountains. Step on the hardwood floors, run your hands on washbowls made of Italian marble and look up at the light fixtures made of crystal and brass. Behind the house, you can survey a collection of carriages and sleds, a stagecoach, and horse-drawn fire engines.Take your campervan rental just outside Martinsdale to visit the Charles Bair Museum, where you can admire European art, works of the "cowboy artist" Charles Russell, and Native American collection and ranching memorabilia. In Belt, their museum is housed in an old jail building constructed in 1895 at the height of the coal mining industry. A historic jail cell has been preserved for viewing while works by local artists are featured alongside historical records and photos.If there's one date on your calendar you shouldn't miss, it's the Red Ants Pants Music Festival in the summer that celebrates country and Americana music. Taking place in a cow pasture just outside White Sulphur Springs, the event is nonetheless one of the biggest music festivals in Montana. Crowds, some wearing ant hats, make a beeline to the "colony" to share not just food, drinks, and live music, but the beauty of the rural Montana landscape and the sense of community of thousands of festival-goers. Find a campsite at Conestoga Campground and take the shuttle from the town to the festival grounds to take part in the street dance celebration, arts and crafts, and hay wagon rides.White Sulphur Springs may be a tiny town for an emerging music festival that the state has declared “the event of the year,” yet it’s right on the spot to let you experience Montana’s “Big Sky Country.” So book an RV rental in White Sulphur Springs, Montana today, and get going. You have a lot of ground to cover.