Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Cow Camp 1
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.22602, -114.78321
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 Cow Camp 1
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Cow Camp 1NIFC · 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 Cow Camp 1 · Flathead National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail10 mi
- FFuel11 mi
- GGrocery11 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- +Urgent care20 mi
- HHardware21 mi
- OOutfitter21 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- EVEV fast charger21 mi
- LLaundry21 mi
- WWater24 mi
- ShShower33 mi
- DDump43 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 24-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 11 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 — Cow Camp 1
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
48.22602, -114.78321
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cow Camp 1 · Flathead National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLefthand Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townMarion · ~10.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~10.7 mi
- Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~21.3 mi
- GroceriesBitterroot Quick Stop · ~10.7 mi
- PharmacyOsco · ~21.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicKalispell Oral Surgery · ~20.4 mi
- HardwareLowe's · ~20.7 mi
EV charging — from Cow Camp 1 · Flathead National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.0 mi straight-line E — Kalispell Ford - Front Lot - 2000 Rose Crossing · EV Connect · CCS · 7 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach8 within 25 mi · 8 within 50 · 22 within 100 · 68 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)21.0 mi — Kalispell, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Kalispell
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO23.2 mi — TOWN PUMP WF#2 STA 4, Whitefish
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)23.2 mi — TOWN PUMP WF#2 STA 5, Whitefish, MT · ChargePoint 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 — Red Lion Hotel Kalispell - Tesla Destination, Kalispell, 21.6 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 314198 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cow Camp 1 · Flathead National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletAshley Lake North · ~7.5 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAshley Lake Boat · ~7.7 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSylvia Lake Campground · ~8.4 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAshley Lake South Cg · ~10.0 mi E · USFS
Open Cow Camp 1 elsewhere
Other camps near Cow Camp 1
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Road538-3~2.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #389~2.3 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #419~2.5 mi
- Road538-2~2.6 mi
The unit that manages Cow Camp 1
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cow Camp 1 are set by Flathead National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Hand Creek at 5,030 ft, about 6 miles away. 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 — Cow Camp 1
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 Cow Camp 1
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 — Cow Camp 1
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 →