Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Avalanche17
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.68171, -111.52565
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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 Avalanche17
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Avalanche17NIFC · 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 Avalanche17 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- ShShower10 mi
- DDump10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- @Mail19 mi
- HHardware21 mi
- +Urgent care22 mi
- RxPharmacy23 mi
- OOutfitter23 mi
- EVEV fast charger23 mi
- LLaundry24 mi
- WWater25 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 10 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 — Avalanche17
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
46.68171, -111.52565
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Avalanche17 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWhites City · ~5.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~8.8 mi
- FuelFuel · ~15.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~9.9 mi
- GroceriesHeritage Food Store · ~19.3 mi
- PharmacyBergum Drug · ~23.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicFyre Aesthetics · ~22.8 mi
- HardwareTuff Shed · ~21.3 mi
EV charging — from Avalanche17 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger23.3 mi straight-line W — Helena, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a grocery store) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 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 reach4 within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 20 within 100 · 32 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS23.8 mi — L146 DC 2, Helena
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO23.8 mi — L146 DC 2, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)18.8 mi — Silos's Junction - Tesla Destination, Townsend, 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.
- 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 163997 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Avalanche17 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBar Gulch Cabin · ~4.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHellGate Group Use Area - Single Vault Toilet Building · ~7.0 mi SW · BoR
- Vault / pit toiletHellGate Campground - Single Vault Toilet Building · ~7.1 mi SW · BoR
- Vault / pit toiletHellGate Group Use Area - Vault Toilet Building · ~7.1 mi SW · BoR
Open Avalanche17 elsewhere
Other camps near Avalanche17
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Avalanche18~0.4 mi
- Avalanche13~0.5 mi
- Avalanche19~1.3 mi
- Avalanche16A~1.5 mi
The unit that manages Avalanche17
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Avalanche17 are set by Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Boulder Mountain at 7,890 ft, about 14 miles away. 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 — Avalanche17
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). WATER (fire 1740, batch 4, tier D -- class statement + per-site agency typing): https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/helena-lewisclark/recreation/dispersed-camping -- the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest states: "Dispersed camping means there are no toilets, no picnic tables, no trash cans, no treated water, and no fire grates." (page last updated April 10, 2026). This row is placed inside that class by the forest's own INFRA record, re-queried live this fire: site_name 'AVALANCHE17', managing_org 011511, site_type 'CAMPING AREA', development_scale '0', WATER_AVAILABILITY empty (INFRA does not record a water system here); our pin is 0.001 mi from the coordinates INFRA prints for that site. This is NOT a per-site inspection and the value says so -- it is the forest's own statement about dispersed camping, applied to a site the forest itself types as a dispersed camping area rather than a campground. Single publisher (USFS, two of its channels). No field visit backs it. Untreated surface water near this site is not drinking water: the same page states "No untreated water source can be considered safe for consumption."
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 Avalanche17
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 — Avalanche17
What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading your camp page →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 →