Agency-listedUSFSFree
Balanced Rock Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.49178, -112.01843
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 Balanced Rock Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,514 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Balanced Rock CampgroundNIFC · 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 Balanced Rock Campground · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel9 mi
- GGrocery9 mi
- @Mail9 mi
- OOutfitter10 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- ShShower24 mi
- DDump24 mi
- MMechanic26 mi
- EVEV fast charger38 mi
- +Urgent care41 mi
- RxPharmacy41 mi
- HHardware41 mi
- WWater42 mi
- AAir-up42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 42-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 9 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 38-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 — Balanced Rock Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
8,514 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.49178, -112.01843
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Balanced Rock Campground · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMIll Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townBrandon · ~6.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~26.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesIGA · ~9.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicRuby Valley Hospital · ~8.8 mi
EV charging — from Balanced Rock Campground · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger38.1 mi straight-line SE — Big Sky, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 11 within 50 · 23 within 100 · 43 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS44.8 mi — Ressler Cadillac, Bozeman
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO50.8 mi — Audi of Bozeman, Bozeman
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)14.2 mi — Virginia City Central Parking Lot (at a parking lot) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-05-12 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Norris Hot Springs, Norris, 17.1 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; turned off during the Winter months
- 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 163999 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Balanced Rock Campground · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBranham Lakes Campground · ~2.3 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMill Creek Campground · ~2.6 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPotosi Campground · ~7.8 mi NE · USFS
- RestroomClute'S Landing Toilet · ~15.7 mi E · BLM
Open Balanced Rock Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Balanced Rock Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Branham Lakes Campground~2.3 mi
- Forest Rd 159~2.3 mi
- Forest Rd 159~2.5 mi
- Madison County~2.6 mi
The unit that manages Balanced Rock Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Balanced Rock Campground are set by Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Lower Twin at 7,920 ft, about 5 miles away. It sits about 594 ft lower 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 — Balanced Rock Campground
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 || Water 2026-08-24 (nightshift fire 120): USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse Recreation Sites layer (apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0), extract cached locally as data\_mt_water_edw.json, objectid 2354026, site "BALANCED ROCK CAMPGROUND" (recreation area "Balanced Rock Campground"), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "No water is available". Matched to this camp on coordinates (0.0008 mi from the agency point). Agency record only -- not field-verified, and no natural water here is claimed to be potable.
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 Balanced Rock Campground
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 — Balanced Rock Campground
When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out here →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 →