Perfect Camping for You in Montana! The new full color edition of Best Tent Camping: Montana, by Jan and Christina Nesset, is a guidebook for car campers who like quiet, scenic, and serene campsites, from the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness in the northwest to the Yellowstone River Valley in the south. This completely updated guidebook includes 50 private, state park, and state and national forest campgrounds divided into distinct regions; detailed campground maps; key information such as fees, restrictions, and dates of operation; driving directions; and ratings for beauty, privacy, spaciousness, security, and cleanliness. Whether you are a native Montanan in search of new territory or a vacationer on the lookout for that dream campground, this book by local outdoor adventurers Jan and Christina Nesset unlocks the secrets to the best tent camping Montana has to offer. Jan Nesset is an award-winning writer and editor who returned recently to his home state of Montana, a move he considers a reward after two decades of chasing career and adventure across the West. Jan has held most steady at the helm of both national and regional outdoors magazines, and he has worked as a wilderness ranger, traveled the Sahara by camel, biked across the Andes (twice), climbed to summits around the globe, won a survival-based reality television show, paddled several of Amazonia's rivers, and led a National Geographic-sponsored adventure across America--all this and more at a pace that has disintegrated several tents. Christina Nesset actually sets the pace, accepting a shredded tent as the cost of a well-lived life. Chris is an accomplished outdoors enthusiast with an impressive travel resume. She is also the director of a Montana conservation organization and takes her love--borderline obsession--of backpacking and tent camping into her job. A Virginia native, Chris had a long-held childhood dream of moving to Montana where she and a friendly dog would pursue an active lifestyle from a cabin in the woods. While the cabin may more resemble a comfortable mountain home and the dog has yet to leave the pound, she is truly living the dream. The Nessets live on the outskirts of Bozeman with their two children, Silva and Aleksia, and together the die-hard tent campers enjoy the mountains, rivers, and prairies of The Last Best Place via foot, paddle, rope, and bicycle. Cave Mountain Campground Enjoy spectacular vistas of the Rocky Mountains as you drive along the Teton River. Beauty: 5 stars; Privacy: 5 stars; Quiet: 5 stars; Spaciousness: 5 stars; Security: 3 stars; Cleanliness: 5 stars Key Information Address: Canyon Road (County Road 144), Choteau, MT 59422 - Contact: 406-466-5341, www.fs.usda.gov/helena - Operated by: Helena–Lewis and Clark National Forest, Rocky Mountain Ranger District - Open: Memorial Day weekend–October - Sites: 18 - Each site: Picnic table, fire grate - Assignment: First come, first served; no reservations - Registration: On-site self-registration - Facilities: Hand-pump well, vault toilets - Parking: At campsites - Fee: $6 - Elevation: 5,200' - Restrictions - Pets: On leash only - Fires: In fire rings only - Alcohol: Permitted - Vehicles: 35-foot length limit - Other: 16-day stay limit; pack in, pack out; bear-country food storage restrictions Views of the Rocky Mountain front are spectacular as you drive along the Teton River to Cave Mountain. Ahead of you are Wind Mountain and flat-topped Ear Mountain. This is actually part of the original Old North Trail, used for centuries as a travel corridor between Canada and points south. Limestone cliffs rise 500 feet on either side of you, and viewpoints provide panoramic 360-degree vistas. The road enters a gap in the cliffs, and not far beyond, a sign points the way to Cave Mountain. Two bridge crossings, one over the North Fork Teton River and one over the Middle Fork, lead to the campground entrance. Set under a beautiful mix of birch, aspen, and pine, the campground’s 18 sites are perfect for tenters looking for quiet and solitude. Sites here are spacious, and sites 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 back up to and are only a short walk from the North Fork of the Teton. You won’t go wrong picking any one of these pine needle–covered sites. Site 14, on the back end of the loop at the end of the road, is nicely secluded. Sites 5 and 7 are also well separated, with plenty of space to spread out for a few days. This campground makes a great base camp for fishing, hiking, or mountain biking. The trailhead for Middle Fork Teton River Trail #108 is at Cave Mountain. It’s actually more of a stroll than a hike, as it follows the river bottoms: no mountain vistas, no dramatic canyons, just a walk in the woods along a stream where you can relax, watch industrious beavers, or fish for mountain whitefish or trout. From this trail you can also access the Bob Marshall Wilderness. A mile east of the campground is the trailhead for Clary Coulee Trail #177.