Agency-listedUSFSFree
Alder Springs
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · OR · 43.86959, -119.50843
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 Alder Springs
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,483 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Alder SpringsNIFC · 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 Alder Springs · Malheur National Forest · OR
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel23 mi
- @Mail23 mi
- GGrocery23 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- MMechanic30 mi
- EVEV fast charger30 mi
- RxPharmacy30 mi
- ShShower31 mi
- DDump43 mi
- WWater45 mi
- LLaundry47 mi
- HHardware47 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 45-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 23 mi out.
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 — Alder Springs
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,483 ft
State
OR
Coordinates
43.86959, -119.50843
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Alder Springs · Malheur National Forest · OR (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBear Canyon Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townIzee · ~14.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelThe Riley Store · ~22.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesThe Riley Store · ~22.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicHarney District Hospital · ~29.6 mi
EV charging — from Alder Springs · Malheur National Forest · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger29.8 mi straight-line SE — OTEC HARNEY CHAMBER, Burns, OR · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 30 within 100 · 81 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.8 mi — Hines, OR - Tesla Supercharger, Hines
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)29.8 mi — Harney County - Chamber of Commerce, Burns, OR (at a municipal building) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-14 · hours: 24 hours daily; Tesla adapter available
- 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 154070 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Alder Springs · Malheur National Forest · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletEmigrant · ~4.5 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletFalls · ~5.0 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDelintment Lake · ~6.4 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTip Top · ~6.6 mi W · USFS
Open Alder Springs elsewhere
Other camps near Alder Springs
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Emigrant~4.5 mi
- Falls~5.0 mi · fee
- Delintment Lake~6.4 mi · fee
- Tip Top~6.6 mi · fee
The unit that manages Alder Springs
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Alder Springs are set by Malheur National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Alder Springs
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
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 Alder Springs
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 — Alder Springs
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →First-night troubleshooting →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 →