Agency-listedUSFSFee
Balsam
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · UT · 40.19854, -111.40220
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Balsam
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,923 ft.
Fire & smoke — around BalsamNIFC · 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 Balsam · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- DDump11 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- RxPharmacy11 mi
- WWater12 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- PPropane13 mi
- OOutfitter14 mi
- EVEV fast charger14 mi
- AAir-up14 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 10 mi out.
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 — Balsam
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,923 ft
State
UT
Coordinates
40.19854, -111.40220
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Balsam · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townHobble Creek · ~5.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelLodge Gas Station · ~10.5 mi
- Propane / LPGHoliday Oil · ~13.0 mi
- Dump station~10.8 mi
- GroceriesLodge General Store · ~10.5 mi
- PharmacyArt City Pharmacy · ~11.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicSpringville Dermatology · ~11.1 mi
- HardwareSunroc · ~11.2 mi
EV charging — from Balsam · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger13.5 mi straight-line W — Provo, UT - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · 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 reach29 within 25 mi · 98 within 50 · 138 within 100 · 178 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS13.5 mi — TDF FC 2, Spanish Fork
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO13.6 mi — VOLVO CAR USA PROVO DC4, Provo
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)11.3 mi — Provo - 20 L2, Mapleton, UT · EVGATEWAY · J1772 · 26 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 311224 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Balsam · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBalsam · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCherry · ~4.5 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDiamond Fork Guard Station · ~4.8 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSawmill Hollow · ~5.1 mi SE · USFS
Open Balsam elsewhere
Other camps near Balsam
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cherry~4.5 mi · fee
- Sawmill Hollow~5.1 mi · fee
- Whiting~8.1 mi · fee
- Dry Canyon (Diamond Fork)~8.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Balsam
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Balsam are set by Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Hobble Creek at 7,360 ft, about 2 miles away. It sits about 1,437 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 — Balsam
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified.
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 Balsam
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 — Balsam
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →How to read this 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 →