Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Flash Lookout
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 47.32101, -115.88094
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 Flash Lookout
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,403 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Flash LookoutNIFC · 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 Flash Lookout · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- DDump7 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- HHardware10 mi
- OOutfitter11 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- FFuel11 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- +Urgent care19 mi
- EVEV fast charger20 mi
- PPropane28 mi
- ShShower46 mi
- WWater49 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 49-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out.
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 — Flash Lookout
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,403 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
47.32101, -115.88094
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Flash Lookout · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWallace · ~10.7 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelExxon · ~10.8 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~28.0 mi
- Dump station~6.6 mi
- GroceriesAvery Store & Motel · ~6.1 mi
- PharmacyKohal's · ~10.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~19.0 mi
- HardwareLumber Yard · ~10.5 mi
EV charging — from Flash Lookout · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger19.5 mi straight-line NW — 76 Station - Tesla Supercharger, Kellogg, ID (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 6 within 50 · 74 within 100 · 96 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS21.0 mi — Walmart 4249 (Smelterville, ID), Smelterville
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO21.0 mi — Walmart 4249 (Smelterville, ID), Smelterville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)48.6 mi — The Coeur D'Alene Resort - Tesla Destination (at a hotel) · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Alpine Falls Ranch - Tesla Destination, Superior, 42.2 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast charger$0.55 per kWh (as listed by AFDC)
- 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 463501 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Flash Lookout · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletTelichpah · ~5.3 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Landing · ~6.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHiawatha Trailhead - Pearson · ~7.3 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMarble Creek Interpretive · ~8.4 mi SW · USFS
Open Flash Lookout elsewhere
Other camps near Flash Lookout
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #18~1.4 mi
- Trail 9 Trailhead~1.9 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #149~2.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #74~3.1 mi
The unit that manages Flash Lookout
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Flash Lookout are set by Idaho Panhandle National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Lookout at 5,180 ft, about 13 miles away. That is about the height of this camp, so it is a fair proxy. 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 — Flash Lookout
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 Flash Lookout
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 — Flash Lookout
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Power off-grid →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 →