Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Blacktail 003
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.69437, -112.74889
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 Blacktail 003
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,966 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Blacktail 003NIFC · 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 Blacktail 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater16 mi
- @Mail22 mi
- GGrocery27 mi
- FFuel28 mi
- RxPharmacy28 mi
- LLaundry28 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- OOutfitter28 mi
- HHardware28 mi
- MMechanic28 mi
- ShShower50 mi
- DDump56 mi
- PPropane56 mi
- EVEV fast charger67 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 27 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 67-mi run (and back).
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 — Blacktail 003
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,966 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.69437, -112.74889
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Blacktail 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townSaypo · ~11.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesAllen's Manix Store · ~21.7 mi
- PharmacyPharmacy/Drugstore · ~27.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicBenefis Teton Medical Center · ~27.1 mi
- Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.
EV charging — from Blacktail 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger67.4 mi straight-line E — 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 · none within 50 · 22 within 100 · 28 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS69.1 mi — Great Falls Subaru, Great Falls
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO69.1 mi — Great Falls Subaru, Great Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)27.4 mi — Old Trail Museum Parking Lot, Choteau, MT · CHARGELAB · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- 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 Blacktail 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHome Gulch Cg · ~5.5 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMortimer Gulch Cg · ~5.9 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMortimer Gulch Th · ~6.1 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGibson Boat Launch · ~6.2 mi S · USFS
Open Blacktail 003 elsewhere
Other camps near Blacktail 003
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Blacktail 002~0.3 mi
- Blacktail 001~1.3 mi
- Big George 001~2.2 mi
- Big George 002~2.6 mi
The unit that manages Blacktail 003
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Blacktail 003 are set by Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Blacktail 003
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 Blacktail 003
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 — Blacktail 003
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Reading your camp page →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 →