We chose this KOA campground for our base of operations during our trip to Yellowstone National Park. It turned out to be a great stay, eventually.
Getting to the campground from I-90 is pretty straightforward. Turn on to highway 287, then on to KOA road, and you are there. Sometimes there may be a line to check in, which was the case when we got there, but the wait is short. Just be aware that you may have to wait out on KOA road for the check in area to be clear, as was the case when we got there. But as mentioned, the wait is short.
The staff is friendly and accommodating. When we arrived, we were guided to site A-9, however we didn’t stay there long. After getting all set up, I noticed that the level jacks had slide and/or sunk a bit. The sites in the A loop are not very level, front to back. See the arrival video below, and you can tell by the other RVs positioning.
So, we went for a walk to think it out, and we discovered the C loop. This area is down at the “lower” campground, closer to highway 287. The area is much flatter, and we discovered quite a number of available sites down there. The only issue, and it really isn’t an issue, is that there are no sewer hookups down there. There is a dump station on site, so not really a problem. We asked the camp managers if we could move down to the C loop, and they were extremely accommodating to allow us to move to site C-30. Off we go.
Upon arrival at C-30, the rig got leveled out with no problem. As part of the set up process, I test the electricity as the first step. My simple tester showed no problem with the power, but our Power Watchdog surge protector showed missing neutral from the pedestal. After testing the surge protector successfully on two other sites, it was determined the pedestal was faulty. During this time, Heather the camp manager was helping to test the power, and she offered to move us to another site. We picked C-26, just in front of C-30, and the power tested just fine. So, we set up on the final site for our stay.
During our stay, there have been periods of heavy rain in the area. The next day, I was grabbing some items out of the bays on the utility side of the rig, and my neighbor was nice enough to point out that the rear jacks had sank a bit. And wow! The left jack had sunk about five inches, while the right jack had sunk about three inches. Sigh.
So I grab a couple of 2×12 boards, normally reserved for blocking under the tires, and attempted to use them under the jacks. Sounds like a logical idea, right? I was thinking the surface area of the boards would help distribute the load to mitigate the sinking of the jacks. Good idea, right?
Both 2×12 boards snapped in four pieces each. I guess 20,000 pounds on the rear axle can’t be held by 2×12 boards.
So I mosey on up to the office to see if they have any solutions in the camp store. While they do have a selection of leveling pads, as well as stabilizer pads, none of them had the weight capacity to support our rig. After discussing with the camp manager, they volunteered to go look in their maintenance area for some heavier lumber. They came back with four pieces of 6×6 posts, which worked a treat when placed under our jacks. They still sunk a bit, but it was manageable.
I can’t say enough good things about the staff at the Three Forks KOA. Everyone was friendly, and eager to provide solutions to the problem. The park is in a constant state of improvement, and it shows. The managers are making investments in time and money to improve the park and make great efforts to provide a good camping experience for everyone.
I mentioned above that the C loop does not have sewer connections. This was the first time that we stayed on a site with no sewer, so we would be testing the capacities of our black and gray tanks. The gray tank capacity is 72 gallons, while the blank tank is 57 gallons. That’s a lot of waste!
With these capacities, we were able to stay in the site for the duration (about four days). We each took a shower every day, as well as the usual cooking and, um, other duties. We pretty got to full capacity after those four days. Before we left, we were able to utilize the easily accessible dump station to empty the tanks and start the trip home.
Connectivity
Connectivity was good with the park wifi, and is more than adequate for web surfing, email, and social media use. You can do a bit of YouTube viewing, but I wouldn’t try any HD streams. There did seem to be some short-term outages of about five minutes in the mornings, but it didn’t bother us much. There were access points visible throughout the park, which appeared to provide a good mesh for connectivity throughout the park.
Cell reception was average, providing a steady three bars of 4G on the Verizon network, which is good for voice calls, texting, and some light internet usage.
Facilities
All of the facilities were clean and tidy, and appeared to be in good repair. Even though I mentioned previously that there are constant updates going on, this is a beautiful park, and you can tell that the owners and management take pride in the campground. The showers and restrooms, which are separate buildings behind the office/camp store/laundry, appeared to be newer or recently renovated. While we didn’t use those facilities, they did appear to be clean and operational.
The camp store is well-organized, open and inviting. There are essentials and non-essentials available on the well-stocked shelves and coolers.
Noise from the highway 287 is minimal, but you do hear the odd semi truck from time to time, either accelerating up the hill or using their jake brakes going down the hill. This mainly happens during the day, and what little traffic there is quiets down considerably at night. We were never bothered by it inside or outside the rig, nor kept awake at night by anything outside the rig.
There are four sections in the campground, each of which are good in different ways.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| A Loop | This is the “upper” campground. Being on a hill, the sites are a bit un-level. Not bad for shorter rigs, especially towables. The management are improving these sites, making them more accessible for other rigs. All sites here are pull-through full hookup. |
| B Loop | The B loop is for super-long rigs, like 40+ foot and toads. These sites are (I think) about 100 feet long, and very roomy. These sites contain water and electric, and are pull-through. |
| C Loop | Located in the “lower” campground, this is where we stayed. Standard length and flat, these are pull-through, water and electric sites. Even though they are standard length, we still had enough room to park the Jeep. Beware of the weather; your jacks may sink if there is too much rain. |
| D Loop | These are the six back-in sites, located up by the playground in the northeast corner of the park. These sites are water and electric. Note they are 30-amp max, versus the 50-amp available in the rest of the park. |
There are also cabins available. I didn’t get to peek inside the cabins, but from what I can gather, they contain a full-size bed, and a set of bunk beds. No bedding is provided, so be sure to bring your sheets, pillows, and blankets. Also, there is no plumbing, which means no bathroom, kitchen, etc. This is a step up from tent camping (also available in the campground), just using logs instead of fabric for your shelter.
Amenities
The campground has a host of amenities. As mentioned previously, it seems like the management is constantly updating and improving the park.
| Hookups | Site Amenities | Facilities | Discount Clubs | Pets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50/30/20 amp water sewer full hookups |
big rig fire ring picnic table pull thru |
cabins dog run dump station firewood general store laundry restrooms showers swimming pool trash wifi |
KOA Thousand Trails |
pet friendly dog run |
Contact Info
15 KOA Rd.
Three Forks, MT 59752
888-562-9587
Reservations: 888-562-9587
Rates
For our site with 50 amp power, water, no sewer, we paid $78 per night. Using KOA rewards gets you 10% off.
Get the latest rates over on the KOA website.