Agency-listedUSFSFree
Joy Creek Camp
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 46.52668, -115.60132
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 Joy Creek Camp
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,957 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Joy Creek CampNIFC · 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 Joy Creek Camp · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater19 mi
- HHardware29 mi
- FFuel29 mi
- GGrocery29 mi
- EVEV fast charger29 mi
- @Mail31 mi
- MMechanic48 mi
- +Urgent care48 mi
- OOutfitter48 mi
- RxPharmacy48 mi
- PPropane49 mi
- DDump51 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 29 mi out.
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 — Joy Creek Camp
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,957 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
46.52668, -115.60132
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Joy Creek Camp · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townPierce · ~9.7 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~28.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesPit Stop · ~28.9 mi
- HardwareJacobs Lumber Company · ~28.8 mi
EV charging — from Joy Creek Camp · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger28.9 mi straight-line SW — CLRWTR RVR CSNO IT'SEYEYECASINO, Kamiah, ID · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 28 within 100 · 103 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)49.2 mi — (The Pie Safe) - Deary, ID - Tesla Supercharger, Deary
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)42.0 mi — Lochsa Lodge, Powell, ID (at a hotel) · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-08-15 · hours: 8am-9pm 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 452675 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Joy Creek Camp · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletRocky Ridge Campground · ~7.9 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWeitas Butte Lookout · ~8.1 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWeitas Campground · ~11.0 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWashington Creek Campground · ~12.4 mi N · USFS
Coming out here — Joy Creek Camp · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID
- No surface water within about a mile and a half in our records — which is not proof there is none, only that we found none. Plan to carry washing water as well as drinking water.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Joy Creek Camp elsewhere
Other camps near Joy Creek Camp
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #247~2.4 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #687~2.6 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #491~3.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #391~3.4 mi
The unit that manages Joy Creek Camp
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Joy Creek Camp are set by Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Hemlock Butte at 5,800 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 1,843 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 — Joy Creek Camp
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
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 Joy Creek Camp
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 — Joy Creek Camp
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Dispersed camping tips →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 →