Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Gold Panning Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.11534, -115.54879
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 Gold Panning Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,666 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Gold Panning AreaNIFC · 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 Gold Panning Area · Kootenai National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery11 mi
- MMechanic13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- +Urgent care19 mi
- LLaundry19 mi
- HHardware19 mi
- WWater39 mi
- EVEV fast charger47 mi
- OOutfitter48 mi
- DDump48 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 39-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 11 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 47-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 — Gold Panning Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
3,666 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
48.11534, -115.54879
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Gold Panning Area · Kootenai National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureHoward Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townNoxon · ~13.5 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~18.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesAmish Farm to Market · ~11.4 mi
- PharmacyNorthwest CHC Pharmacy (Highway 2) · ~18.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicFamily Health and Wellness · ~18.8 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~19.0 mi
EV charging — from Gold Panning Area · Kootenai National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger47.0 mi straight-line W — Northern Lights Inc, Sagle, ID · LOOP · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 54 within 100 · 90 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)47.7 mi — 76 Station - Tesla Supercharger, Kellogg
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO49.3 mi — Walmart 4249 (Smelterville, ID), Smelterville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)48.0 mi — Best Western Plus, Ponderay, ID (at a hotel) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-11-13 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — City of Sandpoint - Tesla Destination, Sandpoint, 47.1 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Kootenai River Outfitters Lodge and Cabins, Troy, 18.8 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guests use only · AFDC lists it “Free” - Pricing at the fast charger$1 activation fee; $0.30 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 348822 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Gold Panning Area · Kootenai National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Lake · ~1.3 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLake Creek · ~5.9 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOscar Miller · ~6.5 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMc Millan Shooting Range · ~12.8 mi N · USFS
Open Gold Panning Area elsewhere
Other camps near Gold Panning Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Howard Lake Campground~1.3 mi
- Howard Lake Remote Site~1.6 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #750~2.0 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #248~2.9 mi
The unit that manages Gold Panning Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Gold Panning Area are set by Kootenai National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Poorman Creek at 5,050 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 1,384 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 — Gold Panning Area
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 Gold Panning Area
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 — Gold Panning Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Gear & rig loadout →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 →