Agency-listedUSFSFee
Big Elk Creek Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 43.32249, -111.11787
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 Elk Creek Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,676 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Big Elk Creek 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 Big Elk Creek Campground · Caribou-Targhee National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery12 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- LLaundry12 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- OOutfitter12 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- EVEV fast charger19 mi
- WWater21 mi
- AAir-up22 mi
- DDump29 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, 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 — Big Elk Creek Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,676 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
43.32249, -111.11787
Cost
Fee · reservable on Recreation.gov
Nearby & resupply — around Big Elk Creek Campground · Caribou-Targhee National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBig Elk Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townPalisades · ~5.4 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelChevron · ~6.7 mi
- Propane / LPGFerrellgas Etna · ~22.5 mi
- Dump station~28.6 mi
- GroceriesChevron · ~11.5 mi
- PharmacyBroulim's Pharmacy · ~11.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicStar Valley Health Alpine Clinic · ~11.5 mi
- HardwareJenkins Building Supply · ~12.1 mi
EV charging — from Big Elk Creek Campground · Caribou-Targhee National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger18.9 mi straight-line NE — Jackson, WY - Tesla Supercharger (at a grocery store) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 13 within 50 · 34 within 100 · 64 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS20.7 mi — TOWN OF JACKSON GARAGE DC #1, Jackson
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO20.7 mi — TOWN OF JACKSON GARAGE DC #1, Jackson
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.2 mi — SYLVAN LODGE #1 SYLVAN LODGE #2, Hoback, WY · 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 122279 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Big Elk Creek Campground · Caribou-Targhee National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBig Elk Campground & Group Area · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Elk Trailhead · ~0.4 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Elk Creek Boat Ramp · ~0.5 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlowout Campground & Boat Ramp · ~2.6 mi S · USFS
Open Big Elk Creek Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Big Elk Creek Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Blowout Campground~2.6 mi
- Riverside Park Cg &Day Use Area~4.6 mi · fee
- South Fork Of The Snake~4.7 mi
- Calamity~4.8 mi · fee
The unit that manages Big Elk Creek Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Big Elk Creek Campground are set by Caribou-Targhee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Big Elk Creek Campground
Reserve
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232211
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 Big Elk Creek 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 — Big Elk Creek Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Picking a spot →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 →