Filling Water and Dumping Tanks Near East Glacier NP: Options and Challenges

[Daebado]

Hi all, looks like this year's big trip has us going to Glacier NP at the end of July. Already getting excited for the trip but I have a question for the community...
We'll be staying at Duck Lake Campground on the Blackfeet reservation (East side of the park). They have electrical hookups but no water (not even to fill your tank) or dump station. Does anyone have any experience with this campground or the general area? Where do you get water to fill your tank? Where do you dump your tanks at the end of your stay? We're having a difficult time getting good answers to these questions so far.

Thanks!

 

[glen1971]

I searched 'st mary montana rv dump station' and found a few. I'd steer clear of $50 one though!
This link is to a pdf list of them, and it looks pretty extensive for Montana.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://myfwp.mt.gov/getRepositoryFile%3FobjectID%3D32605&ved=2ahUKEwikpcOHoumNAxVEEjQIHTTWG5YQFnoECFUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1Cysm1t5DBGlmNwPITUZ01

 

[Daebado]

I searched 'st mary montana rv dump station' and found a few. I'd steer clear of $50 one though!
This link is to a pdf list of them, and it looks pretty extensive for Montana.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://myfwp.mt.gov/getRepositoryFile%3FobjectID%3D32605&ved=2ahUKEwikpcOHoumNAxVEEjQIHTTWG5YQFnoECFUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1Cysm1t5DBGlmNwPITUZ01

Thanks! I'll check those out tonight when I get home from work.

 

[sherman12]

We're staying at Heart of the Glacier CG on July 7-11 in St. Mary's, MT, also on the East side of Glacier NP. They have FHU sites, so if you can't find a place for water or to dump, maybe they would let you fill your tank and empty the others for a small fee.

 

[DougW9876]

We stayed at Heart of glacier a few year ago with full hook ups, There is also Johnson's of St Mary and St Mary/East Glacier KOA along with the St Mary Campground in the park. A few phone calls should find which one will allow you to dump and fill.

 

[Daebado]

Thanks for the replies so far, much appreciated! We have made quite a few phone calls so far and have pretty much struck out. It seems that most of the campgrounds will only let you fill and/or dump if you are staying with them. Policies seem to have changed since Covid. Not giving up, though!!

 

[glen1971]

Long shot, but have you tried calling the gas stations in St. Mary and Babb to ask if they know?

 

[Daebado]

Long shot, but have you tried calling the gas stations in St. Mary and Babb to ask if they know?

Yeah, my DW has been calling all over the place up there. Most have just been a flat "no." No one seems to want to be too helpful, either for some reason.

 

[sherman12]

How about the nearest Department of Public Works? Somewhere in the area, there must be sanitary sewers that you can dump into. For water, maybe a gas station for a couple of bucks. Where do the people who live on the reservation get their water from, and how do they handle their sewage?

 

[Daebado]

How about the nearest Department of Public Works? Somewhere in the area, there must be sanitary sewers that you can dump into. For water, maybe a gas station for a couple of bucks. Where do the people who live on the reservation get their water from, and how do they handle their sewage?

All great questions! It seems that the Duck Lake CG some kind of relationship with Chewing Black Bones campground but the reviews we've read for that CG have been pretty sketchy with trash all over the place, unkempt campgrounds and brown water coming from the faucets. Doesn't sound like a place I want to get my water from. There is a Cenet gas station in St. Mary I believe but the phone number that is listed for them is no good so we haven't been able to call them. I think that is one of the best options but would sure like to talk to them before we get there to be sure.

 

[Syrup]

Wouldn't you just be able to get a site at one of the full service CGs to stay one night, dump, and fill water, then go back to where you want? It seems like you are looking at driving to dump and fill anyway.

 

[Daebado]

Wouldn't you just be able to get a site at one of the full service CGs to stay one night, dump, and fill water, then go back to where you want? It seems like you are looking at driving to dump and fill anyway.

All full service CGs in the area have been booked solid for 6 months or more. Anyway, we are only looking to fill once as we arrive and dump once as we leave. Not wanting to pull up stakes and go somewhere else for a night and move on. There are some trips where we do move around a lot but this isn't one of them. Sticking to one home base.

 

[revrusty]

You might check the town of Cut Bank. I believe I have seen a sign for an rv dump in their rest area/city park. Google rv dump station in Cut Bank and it says available dump and water for a fee.

 

[Daebado]

You might check the town of Cut Bank. I believe I have seen a sign for an rv dump in their rest area/city park. Google rv dump station in Cut Bank and it says available dump and water for a fee.

Thanks, I'll check that out!

 

[Daebado]

So, the DW has been really working hard trying to figure this all out and for those of you interested, here is what she has found. I'm going to break this up between three posts so that none of them get too long:

RV POTABLE WATER East GNP vicinity (100 mile range):

Chewing Black Bones campground (new management) 406-732-4046 (Tribal)
On US-89/GTTSR, St Mary Lake/River. $10 dump. Has potable water. Stop at office. New clerk unsure of water fill fee. Google reviews from past indicate poor conditions. Unreliable.

Sleeping Wolf Campground & RV Park 56 Sleeping Wolf Ln, Browning, MT 59417 (Tribal)
(406) 338-5622 YES $10 for dump or Water fill. 40 miles to St Mary/ GTTSR. Next door to rodeo grounds. Poor google reviews. Also verified via FaceBook Messenger.

Glacier Park Trading Co. 316 US-2, East Glacier Park, MT 59434
(406) 226-9227 Can pull around to back of grocery store where there is a hose spigot. Not an official fill but clerk willing to assist for no charge. Hours 9a-8p everyday year round.
30 miles (45 min) south of the US-89 / GTTSR St Mary visitors center

Glacier Meadow RV Park and Campground 15735 US-2, Snowslip MT (Essex) 59916
(406) 226-4479 Glaciermeadowrvpark.com Ms. Terri yes water fill. $1/gallon but will discount large tank. $10 dump. 47 miles (1 hr) from St Mary.

 

[Daebado]

For Customers Only or long distance

Johnson’s campground on US-89 intersection with GTTSR St Mary. (406) 732-4207 Up a hill. $40 dump. No potable water fill for non-customer.

St Mary Campground, GTTSR, Browning MT 59417 (406) 732-7708 Drake answered the phone and said ordinarily no water for non customers but if we swing by he won’t really know.

Heart of Glacier RV Park & Cabins (406) 450-0035 Customers only.
6 W. Shore Rd. St Mary MT 59417 Campendium website goes to Red Eagle but says they are not related.

Mike’s Conoco, Hwy 2, Columbia Falls MT (406) 892-2269 $10 dump. Free potable water.
1645 9th street W. Columbia Falls MT 59912 Diesel, ATM, Convenience Store
100 miles 2.5 hours from St Mary. 44 miles to West Glacier entrance.

Pilot Truck Stop, Shelby MT 1.5 hours, 86 miles

Flying J, Great Falls MT 2 hours 22 min, 155 miles

Leaning Tree Campground (via HipCamp) has potable water. No dump. Customers only.

Duck Lake Lodge, Babb. (via HipCamp) (406) 338-5770 Has water, dump. Customers only.

KOA East St Mary (844) 977-8844 Has water and dump but Customers only.

Exxon gas station in St Mary on US-89 and GTTSR no phone service 406-732-4482. Google street view shows boarded up. This is now a Sinclair 406-732-4431 part of St Mary Village complex. NO RV HOOKUPS for water or dump.

Rose (Roes) Creek Campground inside GNP on GTTSR. 855-733-4522 Customers Only.

Rising Sun Campground inside GNP. 406-732-5523 Yes water. No dump. Reservations only.

 

[Daebado]

NO RV SERVICES / Not in business:

Caseys Campground 20810 US-2 East GP MT 59434 (Tribal) (406) 407-4597 or
(406) 450-0775 Water/Elec hookup sites. NO DUMP. Customer Only.
30 miles to St Mary/GTTSR caseyscampground.com

Cut Bank Campground. Primitive. No Water. No wood.

Divide Creek Campground, Babb. (406) 239-4454 Rustic. No dump. No water.

YELP: Bear Track Travel Center US-2 East Glacier Park MT 58434 (Cenex) 406-226-9667 Phone not working.

Sweet Pine RV & Tipi Campground (406) 885-6919 East Glacier, MT 100 RV Full hookups. Phone not working. Website not found.

Y Lazy R RV Park, 202 Lindhe Ave, East Glacier Park, MT 59434 on US-2 highway. CLOSED.

Glacier Grizzly Campground RV Park 1283 Starr School Rd. Browning, MT 59417
800-528-8677 Phone not working. Website not found. Presumed Closed.

Cenex gas station US-2 East Glacier Entrance 406-226-5504. No water fill. Phone is answered as Two Medicine Grill. AKA Glacier Park Trading Company.

Exxon / Town Pump gas station in Browning (304 SE Boundary Street). 406-338-7866. No water or dump.
Browning MT, Blackfeet Volunteer Fire District (406) 338-3417 No water fills for travelers.

 

[RhumbleFish]

Pretty terrific! You come and ask a question, and then you answer it yourself (in spades), and post the answers for everyone to benefit from. Top tier boarding!

 

[Daebado]

Pretty terrific! You come and ask a question, and then you answer it yourself (in spades), and post the answers for everyone to benefit from. Top tier boarding!

Thanks! All credit goes to my wife, though. She has put a lot of time into figuring all of this out. My original post was just to try to help her out. Hopefully, this will help others in the same boat!

 

[Reverse_snowbird]

We camped at the KOA East Glacier a few years ago. It's right outside the gate and the views are at least as good as the nearby visitors center. Not cheap though and I know that's not what you're looking for.

If I remember correctly, most of that land east of the park is the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and development was sparse... by design, I think.
You're going to have to drive a long distance to get out of the reservation and get the services you need.

Now if you go to West Glacier, you're going to find a lot more camping and services... at least there used to be services.
With the reduced staff and difficulty getting into National Parks this season, that might have changed.