Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Bear Gulch Boat Camps
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.03192, -111.28138
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 Gulch Boat Camps
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,896 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bear Gulch Boat CampsNIFC · 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 Gulch Boat Camps · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- OOutfitter21 mi
- @Mail21 mi
- WWater24 mi
- FFuel26 mi
- GGrocery26 mi
- HHardware31 mi
- +Urgent care31 mi
- EVEV fast charger31 mi
- RxPharmacy32 mi
- MMechanic32 mi
- LLaundry32 mi
- DDump35 mi
- ShShower36 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 24-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 26 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 31-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 — Bear Gulch Boat Camps
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
3,896 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.03192, -111.28138
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Bear Gulch Boat Camps · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSmith River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townMillegan · ~4.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~25.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Groceries468 Market · ~25.8 mi
EV charging — from Bear Gulch Boat Camps · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger31.3 mi straight-line N — Great Falls, 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 · 6 within 50 · 18 within 100 · 30 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS32.7 mi — Great Falls Subaru, Great Falls
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO32.7 mi — Great Falls Subaru, Great Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)31.9 mi — CITY MOTOR CO CITY TOYOTA 1, Great Falls, MT · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 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 163998 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bear Gulch Boat Camps · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMonument Pk Lookout · ~9.0 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLogging Creek Cg · ~13.5 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCalf Creek Cabin · ~19.7 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMoose Creek Cg · ~23.5 mi SE · USFS
Open Bear Gulch Boat Camps elsewhere
Other camps near Bear Gulch Boat Camps
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- County Line Boat Camp~1.4 mi
- Table Rock Boat Camps~2.5 mi
- Sunset Cliff Boat Camps~2.6 mi
- Cow Coulee Boat Camps~2.9 mi
The unit that manages Bear Gulch Boat Camps
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Bear Gulch Boat Camps are set by Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Bear Gulch Boat Camps
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).
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 Gulch Boat Camps
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 Gulch Boat Camps
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Camping with a dog →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 →