Agency-listedUSFSFree
Jimmy Joe
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.23262, -109.60326
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 Jimmy Joe
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,571 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Jimmy JoeNIFC · 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 Jimmy Joe · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail10 mi
- WWater13 mi
- GGrocery18 mi
- HHardware18 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- FFuel18 mi
- OOutfitter18 mi
- +Urgent care22 mi
- EVEV fast charger45 mi
- LLaundry50 mi
- DDump53 mi
- ShShower55 mi
- RxPharmacy55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 18 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 45-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 — Jimmy Joe
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,571 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.23262, -109.60326
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Jimmy Joe · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureEast Rosebud Creek (river) · nearby
- Nearest townAlpine · ~2.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~17.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesBeartooth IGA · ~17.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicBeartooth Billings Clinic · ~17.6 mi
EV charging — from Jimmy Joe · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger44.8 mi straight-line N — Big Timber, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 4 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 · 1 within 50 · 20 within 100 · 35 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS55.5 mi — Gardiner, MT, Gardiner
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO57.7 mi — GARDSINCLAIR DC FAST LEVEL 3, Gardiner
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)54.9 mi — LEWIS STREET STATION 1, Livingston, MT · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — City of Red Lodge - Tesla Destination, Red Lodge, 17.6 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Super 8 by Wyndham - Cooke City, Cooke City, 21.7 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see front desk for access · AFDC lists it “Free” - 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 102260 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Jimmy Joe · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletJimmy Joe · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSand Dunes · ~1.2 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Rosebud Lake · ~2.7 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Rosebud · ~2.9 mi SW · USFS
Open Jimmy Joe elsewhere
Other camps near Jimmy Joe
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #74~1.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #649~1.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #435~1.3 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #364~1.4 mi
The unit that manages Jimmy Joe
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Jimmy Joe are set by Custer Gallatin National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Burnt Mtn at 5,920 ft, about 7 miles away. It sits about 349 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 — Jimmy Joe
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review || Water: Custer Gallatin National Forest's own site page for Jimmy Joe Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/custergallatin/recreation/jimmy-joe-campground (read 2026-08-13; page "Last updated" May 5, 2026), "Facility and Amenity Information > Water": "Potable water is not available at this site.". Corroborated by the USFS EDW Recreation Sites layer (apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0, queried 2026-08-13), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "No drinking water is available". Both channels agree; nightshift fire 610.
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 Jimmy Joe
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 — Jimmy Joe
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Getting unstuck →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 →