Chester City Park
Free overnight camping in the Town of Chester's city park, right in town on the US-2 Hi-Line -- the single verified free overnight stop across 23 Hi-Line towns checked, and a genuinely useful one on a long, thin stretch of northern Montana. The town's own site says it plainly: "While there is no electric, water or sewer services for overnight campers, travelers may stay for up to 3 nights at no charge. A donation box is located on site and donations are very much appreciated." So: 3 nights, no charge, and there IS a donation box -- if the stop saves you a motel night, feed the box, that is the whole spirit of this. The park covers an entire city block and has a bathroom facility, playground equipment, plenty of picnic areas, and a large covered three-sided pavilion built in 2010. NO hookups of any kind -- no electric, no water, no sewer -- so arrive self-sufficient. Chester is also the jumping-off point for Lake Elwell (Tiber Reservoir) about 18 miles southwest, where Reclamation has more free primitive camping. Do not confuse this in-town park with the town's Recreation page listings for Sandford Park and VFW Park -- those are federal Bureau of Reclamation sites out at the reservoir, not the city block. Confirm current rules with the town at (406) 759-5635 before you go. We have not visited this site.
Everything you need — measured from Chester City Park · public land · MT
- FFuel0 mi
- @Mail0 mi
- GGrocery0 mi
- RxPharmacy0 mi
- HHardware0 mi
- +Urgent care46 mi
- MMechanic49 mi
- WWater50 mi
- ShShower50 mi
- LLaundry50 mi
- DDump50 mi
- EVEV fast charger56 mi
The read: water is a real 50-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 0 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 56-mi run (and back).
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 — Chester City Park
Nearby & resupply — around Chester City Park · public land · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCottonwood Creek · ~0.4 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Nearest townChester · ~0.1 mi
- Nearest rail line~0.2 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelConoco · ~0.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesLiberty Quick Stop · ~0.3 mi
- PharmacyLiberty Drugs · ~0.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicLogan Health - Chester · ~0.1 mi
EV charging — from Chester City Park · public land · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger55.8 mi straight-line E — Tilleman Motors, Havre, MT · EVGATEWAY · CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · none within 50 · 3 within 100 · 7 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)73.1 mi — Great Falls, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Great Falls
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO71.1 mi — Great Falls Subaru, Great Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)49.1 mi — Wolfe of Fort Benton · FLO · 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 349557 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Chester City Park · public land · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomTiber Reservoir Recreation Management Area-Precast Restroom 2 Building · ~13.8 mi S · BoR
- RestroomTiber Reservoir Recreation Management Area-Block Restroom 1 Building · ~14.1 mi SW · BoR
- RestroomWillow Creek Boat Ramp Day Use Area-Block Restroom Building · ~14.1 mi SW · BoR
- Vault / pit toiletTiber Marina Campground-Outhouse Building · ~14.2 mi SW · BoR
Coming out here — Chester City Park · public land · MT
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Cottonwood Creek as an intermittent stream, ~0.4 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 0.8% — flat. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~0.2 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Chester City Park elsewhere
Who holds the land at Chester City Park
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Local Other or, manager on record: a local government PAD-US does not name. That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Chester City Park
What we don’t know about Chester City Park
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