Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
903-26 Elk Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.56820, -113.78632
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at 903-26 Elk Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,687 ft.
Fire & smoke — around 903-26 Elk AreaNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from 903-26 Elk Area · Flathead National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- RxPharmacy15 mi
- HHardware15 mi
- MMechanic15 mi
- +Urgent care15 mi
- LLaundry18 mi
- ShShower27 mi
- WWater37 mi
- DDump44 mi
- EVEV fast charger45 mi
- OOutfitter48 mi
- AAir-up49 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 37-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 2 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 45-mi run (and back).
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — 903-26 Elk Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
3,687 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.56820, -113.78632
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around 903-26 Elk Area · Flathead National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCold Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townSalmon Prairie · ~4.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelSinclair · ~1.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMission Mountains Mercantile · ~1.8 mi
- PharmacySt. Ignatius Tribal Health Pharmacy · ~22.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicRonan Medical Clinic · ~15.1 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~14.9 mi
EV charging — from 903-26 Elk Area · Flathead National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger45.4 mi straight-line S — Missoula, MT - Highway 93 North - Tesla Supercharger (at a rest stop) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 7 within 50 · 19 within 100 · 41 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS46.8 mi — CAMPBELL KIA MTKIA 1 ABB, Missoula
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO47.2 mi — CLARK HYUNDAI SALES CUSTOMER, Kalispell
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.1 mi — East Shore Smoke House - Tesla Destination, Polson, MT · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Fox Lane Cottage, Polson, 22.3 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only · AFDC lists it “Free with room”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 327426 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around 903-26 Elk Area · Flathead National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomOld Condon · ~2.6 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Foothill Th # 192 · ~7.5 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletVan Lake Campground · ~9.0 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPine Ridge · ~10.2 mi SE · USFS
Open 903-26 Elk Area elsewhere
Other camps near 903-26 Elk Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #486~0.2 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #797~0.2 mi
- 903-24 Elk Area~0.2 mi
- 903-23 Elk Area~0.3 mi
The unit that manages 903-26 Elk Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at 903-26 Elk Area are set by Flathead National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Kraft Creek at 4,770 ft, about 10 miles away. It sits about 1,083 ft higher than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.
How we know this — 903-26 Elk Area
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about 903-26 Elk Area
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — 903-26 Elk Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Reading the aerial →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →