Confederate Campground

We camped here for 5 nights in early June. No problem accessing the roads with our class C. We arrived on a weekday and only saw a few other campers, and there was plenty of sites along the lake so we didn't see them until we drove a little further in the 2nd day. We fished a bit but only big ugly carp were biting. But it was fun and the weather was perfect with no bugs. Locals did show up on Friday to drop off their campers for the weekend, but we left on Saturday so I can't comment on any issues with that. Overall it was a nice experience

We stayed at the south end of the dispersed camping area (46.464836, -111.510626) off of Lower Duck Creek Road. Google Maps lists it as Duck Creek Campground, but it is just a dispersed camping area that has picnic tables. There are no toilets. There is plenty of room here for any sized rig and will full of campers there was still plenty of room on Labor Day weekend. Much of the area consists of large open grassy areas scattered with rock fire rings and picnic tables. For the most part, don't expect to find any shade. There were a number of large groups camped together, though there are also some smaller single sites that will get you away from the crowds. It did appear that many of the campers were locals out for the holiday weekend. Many areas offer lakefront camping but the shoreline is not conducive to hiking as it largely consists of fist-sized rocks. I did not notice any sandy areas that might be good for swimming.

One downside of the area is that it is very buggy. My recommendation to avoid the bugs would be to camp away from the bushes and out where you can get some wind.

We have been here every weekend this past summer. There is so much room for camping on the BLM land here. One thing to note, there are only toilets at the 2 actual beach campgrounds, so plan to be in the crowd, have a trailer, or plan to make a walk/drive.
There are not specific lots, nor is it reservable. The beaches fill up fast, especially in July. If your setup is sort of off-road capable, there are 2 'hidden' sites that are off on their own little peninsulas.
Bugs are bad. The seagulls and swallows will be your friend.

We didn’t camp in the actual campground, but found a place along the lake on the road into the campground. There are several ‘sights’ along Lower Duck Creek Road & Confederate Road for dispersed camping with lake access. Most of the areas have rock fire rings, and several have picnic tables. We arrived on Thursday, and had no problem finding a level spot to park our R-Pod & truck. We also had good access to Canyon Ferry Reservoir to put our kayaks in the water. The lake is pretty busy on the weekend. Every afternoon, the wind blew like crazy, but then calmed down in time to enjoy the beautiful sunsets & a campfire. There are very few trees, so it is warm during the day, and the only vault toilet is in the actual campground. Oh, and don’t forget the bug spray & sunscreen!
Unfortunately, today the lake filled with green algae, so no more kayaking or fishing for us!
We do have great cell service, it’s been pretty quiet for as busy as it is, and we would return to camp, kayak, and fish.

We stayed here on our drive up to Alaska. This was our first stop from Utah. It was a very quite area with TONS of wildlife. We saw a young moose in the morning, lots of geese and antelope. There was a picnic table and fire pit at our site. There was also a bathroom down the road. We were a minute walk down to the water. There were some other people camping on the other side of the shore so we weren’t completely alone but they were far enough away we had privacy. We would love to come here again! There’s a 14 day stay limit and no fees. Dry camping.

Confederate Campground is a free campground offered by the Bureau of Reclamation. It's all dispersed camping with a 14-day limit.

The access road into here is wide and firm-packed dirt, though hilly with a fair amount of wash boarding. It's still easily accessible by 2WD vehicles pulling trailers, and low clearance is fine.

Confederate Campground surrounds Confederate Bay along the eastern shore of Canyon Ferry Lake. It has three distinct areas. There's the north side of the bay which offers pretty good beach camping, large enough for big rigs but narrow roads and tight turns. The water is murky green and probably not safe for swimming. The south side of the bay has more tree coverage, but the sites are small, and probably only suitable for cars, vans, and small RVs. Because of the tree coverage, you'll find some long-term campers here who've likely extended their 14-day stay. Then, there's the "further south" area which is cliff-side camping and gorgeous views of the lake.

Verizon 4G coverage is pretty weak here, about 1-2 bars.

There are pit toilets here, and some sites have fire rings and picnic tables. It looks as if Confederate Campground originally consisted as a beach side campground just along the immediate south and north sides of the bay, but over the years extended further south and further north as campers made their own trails.

Otherwise, it's very peaceful here. You will see more wildlife here than in any of the campgrounds along Canyon Ferry Lake. It's common to find pronghorn elk grazing here.