PETROLIA LAKE, Winnett, MT

Petrolia Lake, Winnett, MT 

RUN BY:  (unknown)

LOCATION:  46.942479   -108.235625

Last Visit:  8/17/2018

UTILITIES:  NONE

COST:  NONE

DISCOUNTS:   N/A

OUR RATING (1-5):  Category II. Score

NOTES:  Lots of wildlife on the way from the highway to the lake.  It is a small fishing lake with camping on both sides. One side was dominated by fishing boats and RV.  There was another spot but we couldn’t figure out how to get there. We ended up just backing into a road (two tire tracks) with our window facing the lake.  Fishing guides in Montana say that it is an excellent fishing lake which produces some trophy size fish. 

Environment:  High prairie

Amenities:  NONE

Dump:  NO

Public Water: NO 

Toilets:  NO

Showers:   NO

Laundry:  NO

Phone Service:  NO 

Nearest Propane: (unknown)

Location:  On MT-200 east of Winnett, turn south on Petrolia Bench Rd. There will be a sign to the lake.  You will come to an intersection. Three of the four roads are Petrolia Bench. Turn right and follow to the lake. When you come up to the lake you will see the dam to your left and a road going right. The place we parked was straight ahead. 

Proximity to shopping: I have no idea what is available in Winnett. 

Camping Population:   mostly local fishermen

Sites:   N/A dispersed camping.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.