Agency-listedUSFSFee
Basin Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.16291, -109.39184
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 Basin Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,907 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Basin 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 Basin Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater3 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- OOutfitter7 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- DDump42 mi
- LLaundry46 mi
- EVEV fast charger46 mi
- RxPharmacy47 mi
- ShShower47 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 7 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 46-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 — Basin Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,907 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.16291, -109.39184
Cost
Fee · Forest Service inventory: fee charged
Nearby & resupply — around Basin Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureWild Bill Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townRed Lodge · ~7.2 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~2.6 mi
- FuelFuel · ~7.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesBeartooth IGA · ~7.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicBeartooth Billings Clinic · ~8.0 mi
EV charging — from Basin Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger46.3 mi straight-line NE — Laurel, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · 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 reachnone within 25 mi · 2 within 50 · 20 within 100 · 30 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS47.0 mi — DENNY MENHOLT CHEVROLET BUICK GMC, CODY
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO54.7 mi — Denny Menholt Nissan, Billings
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)46.8 mi — Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, WY (at a museum) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2023-03-08 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — City of Red Lodge - Tesla Destination, Red Lodge, 7.3 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Super 8 by Wyndham - Cooke City, Cooke City, 28.1 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see front desk for access · AFDC lists it “Free” - 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 303733 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Basin Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomBasin · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBasin · ~0.3 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWild Bill Lake · ~1.3 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSilver Run Trailhead · ~2.5 mi E · USFS
Open Basin Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Basin Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #396~0.2 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #470~0.3 mi
- Dispersed camp #6 — Carbon County, MT~0.9 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #606~1.0 mi
The unit that manages Basin Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Basin Campground are set by Custer Gallatin National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Cole Creek at 7,910 ft, about 3 miles away. It sits about 1,003 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 — Basin Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Basin 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 — Basin Campground
Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means 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 →