Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree

Chamberlain Basin

Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 45.37264, -115.20141
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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
USGS topographic map of Chamberlain Basin
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Chamberlain Basin
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Weather outlook — at Chamberlain Basin
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,638 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Chamberlain BasinNIFC · 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 Chamberlain Basin · Payette National Forest · ID

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 25 miWFueling Station by CO-Energy · Fuel · 32 miFYellow Pine General Store and Motel · Grocery · 32 miGAlbertsons Pharmacy · Pharmacy · 54 miRxMay Ace Hardware · Hardware · 54 miHChevron · Mechanic · 54 miMShower · 53 miShElk City Clinic · Urgent care · 34 mi+Hook Line and Sinker · Outfitter · 54 miOYellow Pine Post Office · Mail · 32 mi@MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 2 · EV fast charger · 54 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • WWater25 mi
  • @Mail32 mi
  • FFuel32 mi
  • GGrocery32 mi
  • +Urgent care34 mi
  • ShShower53 mi
  • HHardware54 mi
  • OOutfitter54 mi
  • EVEV fast charger54 mi
  • MMechanic54 mi
  • RxPharmacy54 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 32 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 54-mi run (and back).

Not within 60 mi: Dump, 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 — Chamberlain Basin

Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,638 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
45.37264, -115.20141
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Chamberlain Basin · Payette National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureHotzel Creek (stream) · nearby
  • Nearest townDixie · ~17.8 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • Fuelnone within 30 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Groceriesnone within 30 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 Chamberlain Basin · Payette National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Chamberlain Basin · Payette National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Chamberlain Basin elsewhere

Other camps near Chamberlain Basin

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

The unit that manages Chamberlain Basin

Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Chamberlain Basin are set by Payette National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.

How we know this — Chamberlain Basin

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 Chamberlain Basin

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.

Before you go — Chamberlain Basin

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 →