Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Cow Skull
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.43536, -113.61874
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 Skull
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 SkullNIFC · 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 Skull · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery11 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- LLaundry22 mi
- ShShower22 mi
- +Urgent care22 mi
- OOutfitter22 mi
- WWater24 mi
- DDump48 mi
- HHardware50 mi
- RxPharmacy58 mi
- EVEV fast charger63 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 24-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 11 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 63-mi run (and back).
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 Skull
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
45.43536, -113.61874
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cow Skull · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townJackson · ~11.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelSinclair · ~18.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesWisdom Market · ~15.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicSteele Memorial Medical Center · ~22.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~22.2 mi
EV charging — from Cow Skull · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger62.6 mi straight-line NE — 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 · none within 50 · 8 within 100 · 49 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS62.8 mi — Flying J Town Pump (Butte, MT), Butte
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO102.1 mi — Walmart 3259 (Missoula, MT), Missoula
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)50.1 mi — UMW #1 STATION 1, Dillon, 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 327427 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cow Skull · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletTwin Lakes Cabin · ~3.6 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTwin Lakes Campground · ~3.7 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMiner Lake Campground · ~7.9 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGeertson Creek Trail Shelter Vault Toilet · ~13.7 mi S · BLM
Open Cow Skull elsewhere
Other camps near Cow Skull
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Old Corral~0.3 mi
- New Growth Hole~0.3 mi
- 2X4 Board~1.1 mi
- Spirit~1.2 mi
The unit that manages Cow Skull
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cow Skull 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 Slagamelt Lakes at 8,600 ft, about 7 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 Skull
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 Skull
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 Skull
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Gear & rig loadout →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 →