Agency-listedUSFSFree
Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · OR · 45.14845, -117.57252
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 Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,517 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Buck Creek Forest Camp and TrailheadNIFC · 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 Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead · Wallowa-Whitman National Forest · OR
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- +Urgent care15 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- RxPharmacy15 mi
- HHardware15 mi
- DDump20 mi
- ShShower20 mi
- OOutfitter20 mi
- LLaundry22 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- EVEV fast charger27 mi
- WWater38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 38-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 — Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,517 ft
State
OR
Coordinates
45.14845, -117.57252
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead · Wallowa-Whitman National Forest · OR (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMiddle Fork Catherine Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townPondosa · ~10.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuel76 · ~19.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~19.7 mi
- GroceriesPondosa Store · ~10.3 mi
- PharmacyUnion Drug & Soda Fountain · ~14.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicUnion Family Health Center · ~14.8 mi
- HardwareHometown Hardware, Espresso & Liquor · ~14.9 mi
EV charging — from Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead · Wallowa-Whitman National Forest · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger27.0 mi straight-line NW — Walmart 1889 (Island City, OR) · Electrify America · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 7 within 50 · 44 within 100 · 107 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)27.8 mi — Baker City, OR - Tesla Supercharger, Baker City
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)23.9 mi — Wallowa County Planning Department, Enterprise, OR · Blink Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Grande Hot Springs RV Resort - Tesla Destination, La Grande, 20.4 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 121710 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead · Wallowa-Whitman National Forest · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBuck Creek Forest Camp · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBuck Creek Trailhead · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletNo. Fork Catherine Creek Trailhead · ~2.2 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletNo. Fork Catherine Group Campground · ~2.3 mi W · USFS
Open Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead elsewhere
Other camps near Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- North Fork Catherine Creek Campground~2.2 mi
- No. Fork Catherine Group Campground~2.3 mi · fee
- Nf Catherine Creek Campground~3.0 mi
- West Eagle Meadows Campground~6.8 mi
The unit that manages Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead are set by Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
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 Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
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 — Buck Creek Forest Camp and Trailhead
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →