A white Tacoma with a camper shell parked on a rise above a broad, empty basin under building cloud.

Bureau of Land Management campground

White Sandy Campground

Bureau of Land Management campground in Hauser Lake, Lewis and Clark County, Montana. 3,688 feet. 10.9 miles from East Helena.

Managed by
Bureau of Land Management Hauser Lake
Elevation
3,688 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
25 25 rv non-electric
Longest rig
50 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov

Overview

White Sandy is located on the west side of Hauser Lake at the confluence of Prickly Pear creek. White Sandy faces Eldorado Bar and the beautiful Big Belt mountains. It is in an ideal location for outdoor recreation, wildlife watching, water sports, camping and swimming.

Recreation

White Sandy offers excellent recreational access. There is a beach area, picnic areas, as well as a ramada/pavilion with power and lights, available by advanced reservation. There are vault toilets located in convenient locations throughout the site. There are trails throughout White Sandy as well as in the surrounding area. Additionally, there are multiple trails within the larger Hauser Lake Recreation area, as well as multiple fishing access sites, hunting access, wildlife viewing and of course, boating. World class mountain biking trails abound in the area as well. The recreation opportunities are truly boundless.

Facilities

White Sandy offers several amenities that will make your stay enjoyable and comfortable. White Sandy is a 32-site campground that has spacious and level gravel parking pads that accommodate RVs, travel trailers and tents. Reservations are required at this site.

White Sandy features a large concrete boat launch with a courtesy dock, as well as areas to beach your vessel. A fish cleaning station is available near the day-use parking at White Sandy. There are vault toilets located in each loop of the campground as well as near the boat launch and beach area. There is potable water provided throughout the campground and day use areas as well as garbage dumpsters. Every campsite contains a fire ring with a grill grate in addition to a picnic table. There are also picnic tables and small pavilions throughout the area. There is a small general store across from the entrance to White Sandy, additionally, Black Sandy state park is located just 1/4 mile up the road, which offers an RV dump station which is $5 to use if you are staying at White Sandy.

Natural Features

The campground and day use areas are situated in a shrub-steppe landscape, mostly comprised of sage brush and bunch grasses. Every campsite has a view of the lake and mountains. While there are some ponderosa pine and deciduous trees throughout the area, they are scarce and do not provide a large amount of shade, but the lake does help keep the temperatures down a bit on those hot summer days.

Nearby Attractions

White Sandy is located in a prime location to get out and recreate outdoors, or within the capital of Montana. There are hundreds of miles of trails, Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands, state parks, the Lewis and Clark Trail and so much more.

Helena (only a short drive away) has all the amenities of a large city with small town charm. There are great restaurants, museums, the capitol building, old mining settlements, Last Chance Gulch, Reeder's Alley and a vibrant downtown with a walking mall area.

The description, directions and fees are the Bureau of Land Management’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • biking
  • birding
  • boating
  • camping
  • canoeing
  • day use area
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • ice fishing
  • information site
  • jet skiing
  • kayaking
  • motor boat
  • paddle boating
  • photography
  • picnicking
  • ranger station
  • swimming
  • tubing
  • water access
  • water activities
  • water skiing
  • water sports
  • wildlife viewing
  • windsurfing
  • winter sports

The land around White Sandy Campground

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated March 11, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.