Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Gibson 009
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.62134, -112.84351
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 Gibson 009
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,738 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Gibson 009NIFC · 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 Gibson 009 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater10 mi
- @Mail23 mi
- FFuel33 mi
- GGrocery33 mi
- RxPharmacy33 mi
- HHardware33 mi
- LLaundry33 mi
- +Urgent care33 mi
- OOutfitter33 mi
- MMechanic34 mi
- ShShower43 mi
- DDump49 mi
- PPropane60 mi
- EVEV fast charger71 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 33 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 71-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 — Gibson 009
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
4,738 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.62134, -112.84351
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Gibson 009 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSun River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townPackers · ~8.8 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~9.5 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesAllen's Manix Store · ~22.9 mi
EV charging — from Gibson 009 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger70.9 mi straight-line E — Great Falls, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · 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 · 22 within 100 · 29 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS72.7 mi — Great Falls Subaru, Great Falls
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO72.7 mi — Great Falls Subaru, Great Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)33.4 mi — Old Trail Museum Parking Lot, Choteau, MT · CHARGELAB · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- 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 163998 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Gibson 009 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMortimer Gulch Cg · ~3.5 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMortimer Gulch Th · ~3.7 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGibson Boat Launch · ~3.8 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHome Gulch Cg · ~5.6 mi E · USFS
Open Gibson 009 elsewhere
Other camps near Gibson 009
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Gibson 008~0.6 mi
- Gibson 007~0.7 mi
- Gibson 010~0.7 mi
- S Fk Sun 001~1.0 mi
The unit that manages Gibson 009
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Gibson 009 are set by Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Wood Creek at 5,970 ft, about 12 miles away. It sits about 1,232 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 — Gibson 009
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 Gibson 009
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 — Gibson 009
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →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 →