Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Howard Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.10083, -115.53065
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Howard Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,108 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Howard Lake CampgroundNIFC · 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 Howard Lake Campground · Kootenai National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery12 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- MMechanic14 mi
- FFuel17 mi
- RxPharmacy19 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- +Urgent care20 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- WWater39 mi
- OOutfitter47 mi
- EVEV fast charger47 mi
- DDump48 mi
- ShShower60 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 39-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 12 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 — Howard Lake Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
4,108 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
48.10083, -115.53065
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Howard Lake Campground · Kootenai National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureHoward Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townNoxon · ~13.7 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~18.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesAmish Farm to Market · ~12.2 mi
- PharmacyNorthwest CHC Pharmacy (Highway 2) · ~19.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicFamily Health and Wellness · ~19.9 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~20.0 mi
EV charging — from Howard Lake Campground · Kootenai National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger47.4 mi straight-line SW — 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 reachnone within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 54 within 100 · 89 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS48.0 mi — Northern Lights Inc, Sagle
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO49.0 mi — Walmart 4249 (Smelterville, ID), Smelterville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)49.1 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, 48.2 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, 20.1 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guests use 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 Howard Lake Campground · Kootenai National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Lake · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLake Creek · ~4.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOscar Miller · ~5.2 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPleasant Valley · ~11.8 mi E · USFS
Open Howard Lake Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Howard Lake Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Howard Lake Remote Site~0.3 mi
- Gold Panning Area~1.3 mi
- Rd 4724 Site 3~2.3 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #783~2.9 mi
The unit that manages Howard Lake Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Howard Lake Campground 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 5 miles away. It sits about 942 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 — Howard Lake Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Howard Lake Campground
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 — Howard Lake Campground
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading your camp page →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 →