Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Cottonwood03
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.01091, -110.41951
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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 Cottonwood03
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,591 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cottonwood03NIFC · 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 Cottonwood03 · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail12 mi
- FFuel12 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- GGrocery25 mi
- LLaundry25 mi
- OOutfitter25 mi
- HHardware25 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- RxPharmacy26 mi
- EVEV fast charger26 mi
- WWater37 mi
- ShShower44 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 37-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 12 mi out.
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 — Cottonwood03
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
6,591 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
46.01091, -110.41951
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood03 · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureTrespass Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townShields · ~11.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesTown Pump · ~24.7 mi
- PharmacyWestern Drug · ~25.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicLivingston HealthCare · ~23.8 mi
- HardwareRiverside Hardware · ~25.1 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 Cottonwood03 · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger25.9 mi straight-line SE — Big Timber, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 9 within 50 · 23 within 100 · 34 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS36.5 mi — Audi of Bozeman, Bozeman
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO36.5 mi — Audi of Bozeman, Bozeman
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)25.2 mi — LEWIS STREET STATION 1, Livingston, MT · ChargePoint Network · 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 102260 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood03 · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletIbex Cabin · ~1.2 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPorcupine Cabin · ~7.5 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHalfmoon · ~8.9 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Timber Canyon · ~8.9 mi E · USFS
Open Cottonwood03 elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood03
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
The unit that manages Cottonwood03
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cottonwood03 are set by Custer Gallatin National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is S Fork Shields at 8,090 ft, about 5 miles away. It sits about 1,499 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 — Cottonwood03
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 Cottonwood03
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 — Cottonwood03
Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →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 →