Agency-listedBLMUnpriced · confirm
Cow Lakes Recreation Area
Drive-up · Bureau of Land Management · OR · 43.09580, -117.32829
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 →Bureau of Land Management lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Lakes Recreation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,350 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cow Lakes Recreation AreaNIFC · 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 Lakes Recreation Area · Bureau of Land Management · OR
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- WWater30 mi
- DDump36 mi
- GGrocery40 mi
- LLaundry40 mi
- MMechanic40 mi
- HHardware41 mi
- +Urgent care41 mi
- RxPharmacy49 mi
- OOutfitter51 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 30-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 16 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 Lakes Recreation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
Bureau of Land Management
Elevation
4,350 ft
State
OR
Coordinates
43.09580, -117.32829
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Cow Lakes Recreation Area · Bureau of Land Management · OR (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureWater · nearby
- Nearest townDanner · ~10.5 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~16.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesRanch Hand Hardware & Mercantile · ~16.2 mi
EV charging — from Cow Lakes Recreation Area · Bureau of Land Management · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger16.0 mi straight-line SE — Jordan Valley, OR - Tesla Supercharger (at a restaurant) · 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 2 within 50 · 33 within 100 · 52 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS40.9 mi — Canyon Creek Gardens, Caldwell
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO51.4 mi — VOLVO CAR USA NAMPA PL1, Nampa
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)49.2 mi — Brookside Apartments, Nampa, ID · Blink 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 390515 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cow Lakes Recreation Area · Bureau of Land Management · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCow Lakes Vault Toilet At Boat Ramp · at this camp · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletCowlakes Vault Toilet At Campground · at this camp · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletDouble Vault Toilet At Campground · ~9.6 mi NE · BLM
- RestroomCxt Concrete Double Toilet · ~13.7 mi S · BLM
Open Cow Lakes Recreation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Cow Lakes Recreation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Leslie Gulch Area Of Critical Environmental Concern~14.3 mi
- Slocum Creek Campground~15.6 mi
- Owyhee Wild & Scenic River~23.3 mi
How we know this — Cow Lakes Recreation Area
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.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Lakes Recreation Area
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 Lakes Recreation Area
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →First-night troubleshooting →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 →