Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Blacktail Rd 4171 003
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.60526, -111.37663
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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 Rd 4171 003
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,354 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Blacktail Rd 4171 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 Rd 4171 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- ShShower10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- DDump10 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- @Mail21 mi
- HHardware21 mi
- LLaundry22 mi
- RxPharmacy23 mi
- MMechanic25 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- OOutfitter30 mi
- EVEV fast charger30 mi
- WWater32 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 32-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 10 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 — Blacktail Rd 4171 003
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,354 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
46.60526, -111.37663
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Blacktail Rd 4171 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureStream · nearby
- Nearest townDiamond City · ~2.3 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~9.8 mi
- FuelFuel · ~16.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~10.0 mi
- GroceriesTown Pump · ~20.8 mi
- PharmacyCastle Mountain Drug · ~22.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicBroadwater Health Center · ~20.7 mi
- HardwareHardware Hanke · ~20.9 mi
EV charging — from Blacktail Rd 4171 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger30.0 mi straight-line W — Helena, MT - 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. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 20 within 100 · 37 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS30.3 mi — L146 DC 2, Helena
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO30.3 mi — L146 DC 2, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.9 mi — Silos's Junction - Tesla Destination, Townsend, MT · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 163997 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Blacktail Rd 4171 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletThompson Sta. · ~9.8 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGoose Bay Dispersed Campground - Single Precast Vault Toilet Building · ~10.2 mi SW · BoR
- Vault / pit toiletGoose Bay Dispersed Campground - Single Precast Vault Toilet Building · ~10.2 mi SW · BoR
- Vault / pit toiletGoose Bay Dispersed Campground - Single Precast Vault Toilet Building · ~10.3 mi SW · BoR
Open Blacktail Rd 4171 003 elsewhere
Other camps near Blacktail Rd 4171 003
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Blacktail Rd 4171 002B~0.4 mi
- Blacktail Rd 4171 002A~0.5 mi
- Blacktail Rd 4171 001~0.7 mi
- Blacktail Rd 4171 006~1.6 mi
The unit that manages Blacktail Rd 4171 003
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Blacktail Rd 4171 003 are set by Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Boulder Mountain at 7,890 ft, about 5 miles away. It sits about 2,536 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 — Blacktail Rd 4171 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 Rd 4171 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 Rd 4171 003
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →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 →