Agency-listedUSFSFee
Big Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · OR · 44.18822, -118.57989
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 Big Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,282 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Big 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 Big Creek · Malheur National Forest · OR
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel20 mi
- @Mail20 mi
- GGrocery20 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- EVEV fast charger24 mi
- HHardware24 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- LLaundry25 mi
- WWater28 mi
- DDump30 mi
- ShShower30 mi
- +Urgent care47 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 28-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 20 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 — Big Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,282 ft
State
OR
Coordinates
44.18822, -118.57989
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Big Creek · Malheur National Forest · OR (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~19.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~29.7 mi
- GroceriesMountain View Mini Mart · ~20.0 mi
- PharmacyPrairie Drug · ~20.1 mi
- HardwareJohn Day True Value · ~24.2 mi
EV charging — from Big Creek · Malheur National Forest · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger24.1 mi straight-line NW — OTEC JOHN DAY · ChargePoint Network · CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 17 within 100 · 113 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)49.1 mi — Hines, OR - Tesla Supercharger, Hines
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO25.3 mi — OTEC OTEC OFFICE JD, John Day
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)47.6 mi — Harney County - Chamber of Commerce, Burns, OR (at a municipal building) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-14 · hours: 24 hours daily; Tesla adapter available
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Historic Hotel Prairie - Tesla Destination, Prairie City, 20.1 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · 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 183737 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Big Creek · Malheur National Forest · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBig Creek · at this camp · USFS
- RestroomLogan Valley · ~3.0 mi W · USFS
- Flush restroomLake Creek · ~3.2 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMurray · ~3.4 mi NW · USFS
Open Big Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Big Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Murray~3.4 mi · fee
- Crescent Campground~6.7 mi
- Trout Farm~8.2 mi · fee
- Little Crane~8.3 mi
The unit that manages Big Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Big Creek are set by Malheur National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Big 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
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. | Fee 2026-08-22: $8 per night for a single unit, plus $4 per night per extra vehicle, first come first serve. IMPORTANT -- our pin for this camp is almost certainly wrong and should be fixed. Malheur NF only Big Creek Campground prints its own coordinates as 44.1882166 / -118.6160363, and the campground recreation.gov listing (10372413) agrees at 44.187109 / -118.616079, but our stored pin is 44.188224 / -118.579889 -- 1.79 mi east. Our latitude matches the agency to seven decimal places while only the longitude differs, which reads as a corrupted longitude on our side rather than a different camp: the name matches exactly, there is no other Big Creek campground within 56 mi, and our stored source id (usfs/5326) no longer exists in the Forest Service recreation-site layer at all. The rate is the agency published rate for that campground; recreation.gov lists the same $8 for its 2026 season (May 1 to Oct 31). Verify the location before relying on the pin. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/malheur/recreation/big-creek-campground and https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/10372413.
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 Big 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 — Big Creek
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →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 →