Pintler Lake Campground and Picnic Area is a tiny, free, wonderfully remote campground on the edge of a small mountain lake in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest of southwestern Montana, at the doorstep of the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. With just a handful of sites beside a quiet, non-motorized lake, it's the kind of unhurried, off-the-grid spot that anglers, paddlers and wilderness hikers treasure, and it doubles as the perfect basecamp for the hike to nearby Pintler Falls.

The setting is small-scale and peaceful. The campground has just 3 campsites (with an 18-foot trailer length recommended), each with a fire ring and picnic table, plus drinking water and a vault toilet, and there are no camping fees. A very small, non-motorized lake sits right beside the campground, quiet water ideal for a canoe or kayak, a cast for the trout that the lake and its inlet creek hold, or a bracing mountain swim on a warm afternoon. There are no reservations; it's first come, first served.

What makes it special is where it sits. Pintler Falls is only about a mile and a half from the campground, an easy walk to a pretty backcountry cascade, and trails lead up from here into the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, intersecting the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. That makes this modest little campground a launch point for everything from a short waterfall stroll to a serious wilderness trek. Pets on leashes are welcome.

Getting there is part of the filter that keeps it quiet: from Wise River it's about 30 miles west on Highway 43, then roughly 12 miles north on Forest Road 185, and that final gravel stretch can be genuinely rough and washboarded, so a patient driver and a capable vehicle help. This is remote, high country with no services and little to no cell coverage.

The season is short, generally summer into early fall once the snow has cleared and the road is passable, with cold nights even in midsummer at this elevation. The tiny three-site capacity means it can fill, so arriving early on a summer weekend is wise.

Come fully self-sufficient with layers for cold mountain nights, a fishing license, a canoe or kayak if you can bring one, insect repellent for the early-summer mosquitoes,. For a free, tiny, lakeside campground at the edge of a Montana wilderness, with a waterfall a mile away and the Continental Divide beyond, Pintler Lake is a genuine hidden gem.