U.S. Forest Service · Custer Gallatin National Forest · Montana

Emerald Lake Campground

Emerald Lake is in the West Rosebud drainage and is nestled in the trees between Emerald Lake and West Rosebud Lake. West Rosebud Trail (#19), Pine Grove Campground, Emerald Lake Fishing Access and West Rosebud Lake Fishing Access are also located in the West Rosebud drainage. There is a 16 day maximum stay in all Beartooth Ranger District campgrounds. Camp sites: 32. Host: No. Max trailer length: 30ft. Accessible Facilities: Toilet. Trash Pickup: Centrally located Bear resistant dumpster. Firewood: No. Don't move firewood to other areas or bring in outside firewood.

First-come, first-served32 sites

More like this: first-come in Montana

Emerald Lake Campground
Photo from the area. Forest Service - Northern Region (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons

Season & status

Season5/26 - 9/6 Full service, reduced services in shoulder season
ForestCuster Gallatin National Forest
Fees$15.00 $5 each additional vehicle. 1/2 price fees with Interagency Senior or Access Pass

Custer Gallatin National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Emerald Lake Campground20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.12 inches of precipitation, 17.4 inches of snowFebruary: 1.49 inches of precipitation, 25.3 inches of snowMarch: 2.00 inches of precipitation, 31.6 inches of snowApril: 2.73 inches of precipitation, 34.0 inches of snowMay: 4.10 inches of precipitation, 14.6 inches of snowJune: 3.01 inches of precipitation, 1.7 inches of snowJuly: 2.30 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 1.86 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 2.03 inches of precipitation, 3.8 inches of snowOctober: 2.55 inches of precipitation, 20.1 inches of snowNovember: 1.92 inches of precipitation, 22.6 inches of snowDecember: 1.40 inches of precipitation, 21.6 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 26.5°F averageFebruary: 25.6°F averageMarch: 31.8°F averageApril: 37.4°F averageMay: 45.7°F averageJune: 54.3°F averageJuly: 62.3°F averageAugust: 61.9°F averageSeptember: 53.6°F averageOctober: 42.1°F averageNovember: 32.0°F averageDecember: 25.3°F average0 in10 in20 in30 in40 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Mystic Lake, 2 miles from the campground at 6,544 feet, station USC00245961 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 27 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 193 inches a year on the same inches scale. The shaded span is the published season, May 26 to September 6.

Getting there

Coordinates45.2534° N, 109.7003° W · Directions ↗

Good to know

  • This campground is maintained from approximately Memorial Day to Labor Day (call district office for exact season dates).

Supplies & services

Outdoor gearSki Station ↗22.5 mi
RV sales & serviceLaurel Trading Post ↗54 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Limited data for this unit

No site-by-site records, no amenities, no fee schedule or directions in the Recreation.gov record. What is here comes from the agency's own listing. The rest lives there.

Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the record fills in.

Explore

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

This campground sits inside Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, which overlaps Custer Gallatin National Forest.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Guidebooks for Montana

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Best Tent Camping: Montana
    Vicky Soderberg and Ken Soderberg, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Moon Montana, Wyoming and Idaho Camping
    Becky Lomax, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Camping Montana
    Kenneth L. Graham, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

Do I need a reservation at Emerald Lake Campground?

No. Emerald Lake Campground is first-come, first-served. Sites are taken on arrival and paid at the fee station.

Source: Forest Service

How much does it cost to camp at Emerald Lake Campground?

$15.00 $5 each additional vehicle. 1/2 price fees with Interagency Senior or Access Pass

Source: Forest Service

How many sites does Emerald Lake Campground have?

32 sites.

Source: Forest Service

What if Emerald Lake Campground is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Pine Grove Campground (3.1 mi, first-come), East Rosebud Campground (4.9 mi, first-come), and Jimmy Joe Campground (5 mi, first-come).

Source: Campgrounds nearby