Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.56355, -113.82470
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 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,398 ft.
Fire & smoke — around 9568-1 Cold Lakes RoadNIFC · 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 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road · Flathead National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel4 mi
- GGrocery4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- MMechanic13 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- ShShower26 mi
- WWater37 mi
- DDump44 mi
- EVEV fast charger44 mi
- OOutfitter47 mi
- AAir-up48 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 37-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 4 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 44-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 — 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
4,398 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.56355, -113.82470
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road · Flathead National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCold Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townSalmon Prairie · ~4.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelSinclair · ~3.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMission Mountains Mercantile · ~3.6 mi
- PharmacySt. Ignatius Tribal Health Pharmacy · ~21.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicRonan Medical Clinic · ~13.3 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~13.0 mi
EV charging — from 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road · Flathead National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger44.5 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 CCS46.0 mi — CAMPBELL KIA MTKIA 1 ABB, Missoula
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO46.6 mi — CLARK HYUNDAI SALES CUSTOMER, Kalispell
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)15.1 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, 20.9 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 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road · Flathead National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomOld Condon · ~4.3 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Foothill Th # 192 · ~9.0 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletVan Lake Campground · ~9.7 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPine Ridge · ~11.0 mi SE · USFS
Open 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road elsewhere
Other camps near 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- 9568--4 Jim Lakes Road~0.6 mi
- 9568-5 Cold Lakes Road~1.1 mi
- 9568-4 Jim Lakes Area~1.4 mi
- Rd 9599-1 Cold Lakes Th Campsite~1.5 mi
The unit that manages 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road 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 372 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 — 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
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 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
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 — 9568-1 Cold Lakes Road
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Gear & rig loadout →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 →