Agency-listedUSFSFree
Bear Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.10980, -110.59981
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 Bear Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,164 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bear CreekNIFC · 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 Bear Creek · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- EVEV fast charger7 mi
- MMechanic8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- OOutfitter8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- WWater16 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- DDump26 mi
- +Urgent care37 mi
- RxPharmacy38 mi
- HHardware38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Bear Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,164 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.10980, -110.59981
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Bear Creek · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBear Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townJardine · ~3.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelSinclair · ~8.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~26.4 mi
- GroceriesKremer's C-Store · ~7.4 mi
EV charging — from Bear Creek · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger7.4 mi straight-line SW — Gardiner, MT (at a public site) · RIVIAN_ADVENTURE · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 11 within 50 · 18 within 100 · 45 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)35.9 mi — Big Sky, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Big Sky
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO8.6 mi — GARDSINCLAIR DC FAST LEVEL 3, Gardiner
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.6 mi — Yellowstone Forever, Gardiner, MT (at a national park) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-06-06 · 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 391213 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bear Creek · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBear Creek · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTimber Camp · ~1.0 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEagle Creek · ~6.1 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLaduke · ~8.8 mi W · USFS
Open Bear Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Bear Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Darroch Creek Road-002~0.2 mi
- Ash Mtn Road-001~0.2 mi
- Bear Creek Road-007~0.2 mi
- Darroch Creek Road-004~0.3 mi
The unit that manages Bear Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Bear Creek 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 Mill Creek at 7,420 ft, about 14 miles away. It sits about 256 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 — Bear Creek
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: Custer Gallatin National Forest's own site page for Bear Creek Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/custergallatin/recreation/bear-creek-campground (read 2026-08-13; page "Last updated" April 30, 2026), "Facility and Amenity Information > Water": "Potable water is not available at this site.". Corroborated by the USFS EDW Recreation Sites layer (apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0, queried 2026-08-13), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "No drinking water is available". Both channels agree; nightshift fire 610.
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 Bear Creek
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 — Bear Creek
Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Leave no trace →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 →