Agency-listedUSFSFree
Excelsior
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WA · 48.90681, -121.82182
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 Excelsior
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,335 ft.
Fire & smoke — around ExcelsiorNIFC · 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 Excelsior · Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest · WA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater5 mi
- GGrocery12 mi
- PPropane12 mi
- FFuel12 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- DDump12 mi
- ShShower23 mi
- MMechanic23 mi
- RxPharmacy24 mi
- LLaundry24 mi
- HHardware26 mi
- +Urgent care29 mi
- AAir-up30 mi
- EVEV fast charger31 mi
- OOutfitter31 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 12 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 31-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 — Excelsior
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,335 ft
State
WA
Coordinates
48.90681, -121.82182
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Excelsior · Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest · WA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureFossil Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townGlacier · ~5.8 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.4 mi
- FuelTexaco · ~14.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~12.0 mi
- GroceriesDer Storehausen · ~11.6 mi
- PharmacyPromontory IDA Pharmacy · ~14.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicDr. Leyen · ~19.0 mi
- HardwareCanex Building Supplies · ~17.1 mi
EV charging — from Excelsior · Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest · WA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger30.6 mi straight-line W — BELLINGHAM CITY CAROLINA DC1 · 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 · 31 within 50 · 215 within 100 · 352 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)30.9 mi — Walmart EV Charging, Bellingham
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)15.1 mi — East Whatcom Regional Resource Center, Maple Falls, WA · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-01-13 · 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 384079 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Excelsior · Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest · WA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletExcelsior Pass · ~0.9 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBridge Camp · ~1.0 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletChurch Mountain · ~1.6 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBoyd Creek · ~1.9 mi W · USFS
Open Excelsior elsewhere
Other camps near Excelsior
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bridge Camp~1.0 mi
- Douglas Fir~4.2 mi · fee
- Silver Fir~5.7 mi · fee
- Mazama Camp~5.9 mi
The unit that manages Excelsior
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Excelsior are set by Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Excelsior
Reserve
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232043
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
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 Excelsior
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 — Excelsior
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →