Montana's wild weather promises to be a factor for playing and camping outside during the long Memorial Day weekend.

Late season snows, relatively cool temperatures and a forecast of rain for most of the weekend means some campgrounds won't be open and some reservoir levels will remain below average. In addition, precipitation can turn roads into gumbo, making what was easily accessible when dry impassible when wet.

A cold front that moved into Montana Tuesday brought cool temperatures and a chance of rain that will last at least through Sunday, according to David Williamson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls. He expects it to rain through Friday with temperatures in the 50s, then change to scattered showers for the weekend, with highs possibly reaching into the 60s by Monday.

"This is our traditional Memorial weekend storm, but looks like it will be a mild one -- mostly rain and no snow," Williamson said, adding that they expect snow levels to drop to 6,500 to 7,000 feet. "I'm sure MacDonald Pass will get some snow out of this."

That said, plenty of places are ready for recreation.

Most of the campgrounds across the Helena National Forest will be open by Memorial Day weekend, except for the Coulter, Cromwell Dixon and Gipsy Lake sites. In addition, access to the Kading Camp is questionable, depending on weather conditions.

Coulter is closed for camping this year due to hazards created by last year's Meriwether wildfire; it is open, however, for day use. Cromwell Dixon, at the top of MacDonald Pass, and Gipsy Lake, near Mount Edith in the Big Belts, are inaccessible because of snow.

All of the Bureau of Land Management recreation sites near Helena are open, including White Sandy, Black Sandy and Devil's Elbow on Hauser Lake; and Holter Lake, Log Gulch and Departure Point campgrounds on Holter Lake.

Along the Rocky Mountain Front, only one campground -- the Summit Campground, near Marias Pass -- is closed due to snow. The West Fork Campground burned in 2007 and won't be open, and the Wood Lake Campground is closed pending replacement of disintegrating tables.

Williamson notes that the Rocky Mountain Front probably will be hit the hardest with the wet weather, due to its topography.

"You get a good upslope flow with the moist precipitation on the east facing slopes," he said. "But it will be really pretty when this passes; it will green things up nicely."

Three other campgrounds along the Front were closed as of May 19, but may open in time for the weekend: Benchmark, South Fork and Mills Falls. The Benchmark and South Fork campgrounds require additional hazard tree removal and water sampling prior to opening; Mills Falls is snowed in, but might melt-out sufficiently to open for the holiday weekend.

In the Lewis and Clark National Forest east of Helena, it's easier to list campgrounds that are open, since most of those in the Little Belt, Highwood, Big Snowy, Little Snowy, Crazy and Castle mountain ranges are still snowed in.

Camp sites are available, as of May 19, at the Hay Canyon, Indian Hill, Aspen, and Grasshopper campgrounds, all of which are within the Little Belts.

However, other campgrounds may open by the weekend if warm weather persists.

"Our crew is working on getting as many campgrounds open as soon as possible," Linda Casper, recreation technician for the Lewis and Clark's Jefferson Division, said in a press release.

But she adds that with the higher elevation campgrounds remaining covered by unseasonably deep snow, they're not expected to open until mid June.

That heavy snowpack isn't quite translating just yet into high water levels in many area reservoirs. At Canyon Ferry, east of Helena, the water level is about 12 feet below the top of the joint-use pool and approximately 6 feet lower than at this time last year.

Still, Tim Felchle, reservoir and river operations supervisor for the Bureau of Reclamation, said the docks and boat ramps at Canyon Ferry should be ready for use.

"We're at the 3,785-foot (water) level and it's still climbing pretty nice," Felchle said Tuesday. "It's coming up close to three-tenths to a half-foot a day. Our inflows are really kicking in now.

"We're seeing above-normal inflows based on the past 30 years; we were 125 percent of average yesterday."

Elsewhere, though, water levels at most BOR reservoirs in Montana are below average for this time of year, according to Dan Jewell, BOR area manager.

"The snowmelt runoff has been slow to start because of relatively cool temperatures this spring. At the same time, the snowpack still remains near average in all basins," Jewell said in a press release. "As always, we strongly encourage recreationists to check for the most up-to-date information on boat ramp status at Reclamation's Web site at www.usbr.gov/gp/boat/index.cfm."

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com