Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Forest Rd 290
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 44.91548, -111.83660
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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 Forest Rd 290
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,021 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Forest Rd 290NIFC · 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 Forest Rd 290 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail21 mi
- WWater22 mi
- FFuel30 mi
- GGrocery30 mi
- OOutfitter30 mi
- LLaundry32 mi
- EVEV fast charger35 mi
- MMechanic40 mi
- HHardware40 mi
- ShShower40 mi
- DDump40 mi
- +Urgent care59 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 22-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 30 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 35-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 — Forest Rd 290
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
9,021 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
44.91548, -111.83660
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Forest Rd 290 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureStandard Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townReeder Place · ~12.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Groceriesnone within 30 mi
- Hospital / clinicMadison Valley Medical Center · ~30.6 mi
- Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.
EV charging — from Forest Rd 290 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger35.2 mi straight-line NE — Big Sky, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 27 within 100 · 47 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS41.0 mi — Island Park City Offices, Island Park
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO41.0 mi — Island Park City Offices, Island Park
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)26.6 mi — Virginia City Central Parking Lot (at a parking lot) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-05-12 · 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 163999 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Forest Rd 290 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBlack Butte Cabin · ~0.5 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood Campground · ~8.0 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWest Fork Cabin (South Of Ennis) · ~8.1 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletClover Meadows Dispersed Camping & Picnic Site · ~8.4 mi N · USFS
Open Forest Rd 290 elsewhere
Other camps near Forest Rd 290
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #404~0.4 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #719~0.7 mi
- Forest Rd 290~1.5 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #441~1.7 mi
The unit that manages Forest Rd 290
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Forest Rd 290 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 Short Creek at 6,990 ft, about 7 miles away. It sits about 2,031 ft lower 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 — Forest Rd 290
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 Forest Rd 290
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 — Forest Rd 290
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Picking a spot →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 →