Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Cow Chase
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.86711, -113.33928
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 Chase
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 ChaseNIFC · 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 Chase · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel18 mi
- GGrocery18 mi
- @Mail18 mi
- OOutfitter19 mi
- LLaundry19 mi
- WWater22 mi
- HHardware25 mi
- RxPharmacy26 mi
- MMechanic26 mi
- EVEV fast charger36 mi
- +Urgent care39 mi
- ShShower40 mi
- DDump41 mi
- AAir-up41 mi
- PPropane56 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 22-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 18 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 36-mi run (and back).
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 Chase
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
45.86711, -113.33928
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cow Chase · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWisdom · ~18.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~19.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesWisdom Market · ~18.1 mi
- PharmacyTrifty Drug Store · ~26.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicCommunity Hospital of Anaconda · ~26.0 mi
- HardwareHardware Hank · ~25.9 mi
EV charging — from Cow Chase · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger36.3 mi straight-line E — Butte, MT - Grizzly Trail - Tesla Supercharger (at a rest stop) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 17 within 100 · 44 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS36.5 mi — Flying J Town Pump (Butte, MT), Butte
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO77.8 mi — Walmart 3259 (Missoula, MT), Missoula
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)26.8 mi — ApocWorld, Anaconda, MT · AMPUP · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2023-12-13 · hours: Contact site for information
- 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 327427 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cow Chase · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMiddle Fork Trailhead · ~2.7 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPintler Campground · ~4.9 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSeymour Creek Campground · ~10.8 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Bank Recreation Site - Vault Toilet South (Camping) · ~12.3 mi E · BLM
Open Cow Chase elsewhere
Other camps near Cow Chase
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Squeky~0.7 mi
- Feller Buncher~1.1 mi
- Cows And Weed Spraying~1.2 mi
- Jet~2.5 mi
The unit that manages Cow Chase
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cow Chase are set by Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Calvert Creek at 6,410 ft, about a mile 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 Chase
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 Chase
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 Chase
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →How to read this page →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 →