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Bowman Lake campground is located in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park approximately 32.5 miles from the west entrance and 30 miles from the Canadian border. The drive to Bowman Lake is a very slow, dusty, and bumpy ride on dirt roads. Trailers are not permitted. The campground is located close to the shore of Bowman Lake and camp sites are within trees for shade and some privacy. Tent campers looking for peace and quiet will enjoy Bowman Lake for its serenity and remote location.
Weather Dependent Primitive Fall Season
October 9–October 31
Bowman Lake Campground's typical summer season is from mid-May to early September. If weather permits, a primitive camping season can extend into the fall between early September and late October.
From town: Go 7 mi NE on Bowman Lake Rd, a dirt road not recommended for large RVs.
RVs and truck and trailer combinations are not permitted at Bowman Lake due to the nature of the long, narrow, and windy dirt road to the campground. Turning vehicles around (3-point turns) is difficult.
Straight beautiful. Peaceful. Clean. Only 15 mile drive from Polebridge. Great lake to hike or swim. There are bathrooms/trash cans in parking lot. Boat launch too. Water is really cold but refreshing. We spent some time in the water swimming.
The views here are top tier! Very highly recommended even if you spend 5 minutes soaking up the view after a short walk from the parking lot. There is one disabled/handicapped parking spot near the lake so everyone can see the view. I did not experience any bugs/mosquitoes except for seeing a few tiny houseflies and an occasional butterfly. You won’t be disappointed.
Excellent campground if you want a quiet, rustic, non-RV camping experience. We had no problems getting into the campground on the (albeit dry) dirt road in our low-clearance sedan by going a little slower than the trucks and vans that passed us. If you want to explore Glacier NP, head to a different campground; if you want to stay at camp near a beautiful glacier lake, this is the one for you
Great place in Glacier NP to camp and spend time! The lake is super nice and perfect for paddling or swimming. Campground is well maintained and a bit out of the way so it's less busy than the main Glacier campgrounds. There were still a few spots open on a Saturday night in mid July. The road to get there is somewhat bumpy but pretty good compared to most forest service roads.
Absolutely beautiful campground!
I went up for the evening to check out the lake for sunset. As you can tell in the photos, the smoke from the fires was pretty intense but it was still absolutely gorgeous.
Parking was easy and plentiful. The lake was extremely peaceful. I wish I had a paddleboard to be able to go out onto the water to get the full experience.
Note that the single road up to the campsite is narrow, dirt, and windy as hell. If you're from south florida, be ready for a bit of a challenge if you're a nervous driver. If you're from mountainess areas, you'll be fine. Be sure to start your navigation PRIOR to losing service or download offline maps as the road from the park in is a little strange since it cuts through some private residential areas if you enter from the west gate of the park first.
14/10 recommend at least stopping by lake Bowman.
