Introduction:
North American RV Park is conveniently located for exploring Glacier National Park, but there were several things we didn't love about our stay.
Click here to read about our criteria for campground reviews.
The Basics:
Overall Rating: 2.7/5
Price per night / Discounts: $60.00 / Weekly discount available - Pay for 6 nights, 7th is free. No monthly rate offered.
Campground website: North American RV Park
Our Site #: B6
Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):
2.0/5: While the space between our site and our neighbor's site wasn't terrible, and we did sit outside on a number of occasions, there were numerous sites where that just wouldn't be desirable at all. Site spacing was really inconsistent, with some having plenty of room and others having almost none. The section we were in was inside a loop, with RVs facing us in all directions, so it kind of felt like a fishbowl. Other sections were more typical with sites lined up behind one another. It was just all over the place. Had we been visiting for a couple nights, it probably wouldn't have bothered us, but if we were to return for a lengthy stay, we would ask for a site in a different section.
Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):
5.0/5: For access to Glacier National Park, you really can't do much better. It is just a ten minute drive from the campground to the west entrance of Glacier. To get groceries, it's about 15 minutes in the other direction to the Super 1 Foods. You can also walk about a mile down the street and find a decent restaurant called Glacier Grill for pizza and burgers. For any more significant shopping (Costco, Target, Petsmart, etc), Kalispell is about 30 minutes away.
Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):
3.0/5: Site quality was OK. We were just barely able to get level without using blocks. Utilities worked fine. A lot of the newer sites were a mix of gravel, rocks and dirt. They've obviously prioritized putting in more sites to making them actually nice. The grass in common areas was well maintained, but the grass between the sites was very inconsistent - some nice, some terrible, and some completely missing. All of it would be fine if they priced the sites differently, but they don't - so you may pay $60 and get a nice site or you may pay $60 and get a lousy site, which seems unfair.
Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, campground wifi, and staff):
1.5/5: Their website is very dated, but you can make an online reservation request and they will call you to confirm. Campground wifi was abysmal and this was especially problematic because our hot spots rarely worked in the late afternoon. There must be one tower (Verizon) and it would get overloaded as people came back from the national park. Their wifi worked at times, but more often than not, it was painfully slow, if it worked at all.
As for customer service, check-in was efficient and the male owner (I believe) guided us to our site and was friendly enough when we would see him out and about. However, every other time I went into the office (to pick up packages), they were weirdly unfriendly. For example, the last time I went in, the two ladies behind the counter were chatting and they just kept chatting for what seemed like a remarkably long time before ending their conversation and finally turning to me and just staring at me. The whole thing was just odd. I kind of wondered whether they didn't like that I was wearing a mask. They weren't wearing them, though there was a plexiglass divider at the counter. I have no idea. All I know is, I went in to that office multiple times and there was not a single time where they came across as warm or friendly.
Overall Value Rating (the overall value of the campground; was it overpriced for what it was?):
2.0/5: The best thing about this park was its location. Being just a few minutes down the road from the west entrance of Glacier was incredibly convenient and we made good use of its proximity. But our site wasn't great, internet access was terrible, the "dog park" was more an oversized kennel than anything, many of the campsites felt unkempt, and the office staff was not very friendly. They offer a typical weekly rate, but no monthly rate. So we felt like we were paying an awful lot for a not-so-great experience. Had it been $45 per night, I don't think any of it would have bothered us, but for $60, it should have been a lot better.
Summary:
While we didn't love this place, I think a lot of that is because we were there for a very long time paying a very high nightly price. For purposes of a 3 or 4 day visit to Glacier National Park, it's not a bad spot, but for us, being there for an entire month, it wasn't great. The section we were in was set up in an awkward way, the wifi was completely unreliable, the 'dog park' was more of a 'dog cage,' and the office staff was noticeably unfriendly. For the price, it should have been a better experience.
