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

Blacks Pond Campground

A campground on the Ashland Ranger District. Camp sites: 2. Accessible Facilities: Toilet. Trash Pickup: No. Firewood: No. No Reservations: This campground does not use a reservation system, it is managed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Closed for the seasonFirst-come, first-served

More like this: first-come in Montana

1fire
active
Buffalo 2 · 34 mi away · 25 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-10-16
Incident details ↓

Season & status

StatusClosed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date.
SeasonYear-Round Weather Dependent
ForestCuster Gallatin National Forest
FeesNo Fees

Custer Gallatin National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Blacks Pond Campground20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.50 inches of precipitation, 3.9 inches of snowFebruary: 0.70 inches of precipitation, 6.6 inches of snowMarch: 0.91 inches of precipitation, 5.0 inches of snowApril: 1.85 inches of precipitation, 3.4 inches of snowMay: 2.95 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowJune: 2.69 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 1.67 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 1.10 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.09 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 1.38 inches of precipitation, 1.3 inches of snowNovember: 0.56 inches of precipitation, 3.1 inches of snowDecember: 0.51 inches of precipitation, 5.6 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 23.2°F averageFebruary: 25.0°F averageMarch: 34.7°F averageApril: 43.0°F averageMay: 52.3°F averageJune: 61.7°F averageJuly: 69.7°F averageAugust: 68.5°F averageSeptember: 58.5°F averageOctober: 44.8°F averageNovember: 32.5°F averageDecember: 23.6°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Sonnette 7 SW, 18 miles from the campground at 3,914 feet, station USC00247740 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 16 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 29 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Getting there

From Ashland, MT travel east on Hwy 212 0.75 miles to Birney Turnoff (Tongue River Road). Turn right and travel 8 miles south to the O'Dell Creek Turnoff. Turn left on O'Dell Creek Road and travel 7 miles to the intersection of Forest Road 4021 and Forest Road 4131. Turn right on Forest Road 4021 and travel 0.5 miles to Blacks Pond.

Coordinates45.3492° N, 106.2862° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Wildfire
    Buffalo 2

    34 mi from the campground · 25 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Limited data for this unit

No site-by-site records, no amenities, no fee schedule or photos 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 →
  • 1.5 mi
    Ridge Road
    1.4 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 9 more
  • 1.8 mi
    Ridge Road Spur
    0.4 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 9 more
  • 2.1 mi
    O'Dell Divide ↗
    5 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 9 more
  • 2.2 mi
    Brown Cow
    1.6 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 9 more
  • 2.3 mi
    Pond Road
    0.8 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 9 more
  • 2.5 mi
    Paget Creek ↗
    9 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 9 more

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

On the National Register nearby

On Register Atlas →

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 Blacks Pond Campground?

No. Blacks Pond 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 Blacks Pond Campground?

No Fees

Source: Forest Service

Is Blacks Pond Campground open right now?

Closed for the season as of Oct 16, 2026. Season Year-Round Weather Dependent.

Source: Forest Service status

What if Blacks Pond Campground is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Cow Creek Campground And Picnic Area (3.4 mi, first-come), Red Shale Campground (16.8 mi, first-come), and Holiday Spring Campground (25.1 mi, first-come).

Source: Campgrounds nearby