Agency-listedUSFSFreeOpen today
Cow Creek Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.31036, -106.24469
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.
Can I go now? — Cow Creek Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Open today Year-round per the agency record. Snow or weather can close the road.
U.S. Forest Service record: “Year-Round Weather Dependent” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Cow Creek Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,855 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cow Creek CampgroundNIFC · 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 Creek Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail8 mi
- GGrocery19 mi
- HHardware19 mi
- +Urgent care20 mi
- FFuel20 mi
- EVEV fast charger48 mi
- LLaundry49 mi
- RxPharmacy50 mi
- MMechanic50 mi
- OOutfitter50 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: fuel & food sit about 19 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 48-mi run (and back).
Not within 60 mi: Water, 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 — Cow Creek Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,855 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.31036, -106.24469
Cost
Free · Forest Service inventory: no fee
Nearby & resupply — around Cow Creek Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townOtter · ~7.4 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 Cow Creek Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger48.3 mi straight-line SW — SHERIDAN MOTORS CPE250 · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, 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 · 2 within 50 · 8 within 100 · 20 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)49.3 mi — Sheridan, WY - Tesla Supercharger, Sheridan
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)48.3 mi — SHERIDAN MOTORS CT4000 · 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 aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Broadus Motels, Broadus, 41.6 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see front desk for access
- 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 255681 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cow Creek Campground · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomCow Creek · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlacks Pond · ~3.2 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRed Shale · ~18.5 mi N · USFS
- RestroomMoorhead Toilet · ~25.1 mi SE · BLM
Open Cow Creek Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Cow Creek Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cow Creek~0.1 mi
- Forest Rd 4095A~0.2 mi
- Forest Rd 4095A~0.3 mi
- Forest Rd 4095B~0.6 mi
The unit that manages Cow Creek Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cow Creek Campground are set by Custer Gallatin National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Cow Creek Campground
Open season
Year-Round Weather Dependent
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there) WATER (fire 1740, batch 3, tier C): https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/custergallatin/recreation/cow-creek-campground-and-picnic-area "Cow Creek Campground And Picnic Area" -- "Facility and Amenity Information > Water": "Potable water is not available at this site." (page last updated May 5, 2026; our pin is 0.111 mi from the coordinates that page prints, name match: exact). USFS EDW RecInfra carries no WATER_AVAILABILITY for this site, so it could not corroborate. Single-channel. Written because custergallatin is one of only two Montana forests whose pages actually maintain this field: "not available" agreed with EDW 31/36 (86%) there this fire, against 121/180 (67%) across all six forests. Kootenai, Helena-Lewis and Clark, Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Flathead did not clear the bar and their negatives were left blank. The page's "Seasons of Use" line reads "Year-Round Weather Dependent" -- that is the season of the SITE, not of the tap, so it is not folded into the value.
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
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 Creek Campground
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
- 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 Creek Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Picking a spot →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 →