Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Cowbone
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.15888, -113.57459
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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 Cowbone
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,572 ft.
Fire & smoke — around CowboneNIFC · 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 Cowbone · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery14 mi
- ShShower14 mi
- MMechanic15 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- +Urgent care16 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- OOutfitter16 mi
- WWater27 mi
- DDump36 mi
- EVEV fast charger52 mi
- RxPharmacy55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 27-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 14 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 52-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 — Cowbone
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
8,572 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.15888, -113.57459
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cowbone · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCowbone Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townEast Salmon · ~14.7 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelMobil · ~15.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesTendoy Store · ~14.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicSteele Memorial Medical Center · ~15.5 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~15.2 mi
EV charging — from Cowbone · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger52.2 mi straight-line SE — Dell Mercantile (Dell, MT) · Electrify America · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · none within 50 · 6 within 100 · 53 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)60.3 mi — Lima, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Lima
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO119.1 mi — ANNEX EVCS BLAINE COUNTY 1, Hailey
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)45.7 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 121712 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cowbone · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBloody Dick Cabin · ~6.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletReservoir Lake Campground · ~6.6 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGeertson Creek Trail Shelter Vault Toilet · ~7.3 mi NW · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletSouth Van Houten Campground · ~7.6 mi NE · USFS
Open Cowbone elsewhere
Other camps near Cowbone
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Darkhorse 2~0.5 mi
- Darkhorse Lake~0.5 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #251~0.8 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #331~1.0 mi
The unit that manages Cowbone
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cowbone 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 Darkhorse Lake at 8,930 ft, about a mile away. It sits about 358 ft higher than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. 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 — Cowbone
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 Cowbone
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 — Cowbone
When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out 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 →