Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Keep Cool Lakes 3
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.00648, -112.59618
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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 Keep Cool Lakes 3
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,963 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Keep Cool Lakes 3NIFC · 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 Keep Cool Lakes 3 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- HHardware5 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- WWater23 mi
- PPropane35 mi
- +Urgent care36 mi
- DDump36 mi
- MMechanic37 mi
- ShShower38 mi
- OOutfitter38 mi
- EVEV fast charger38 mi
- LLaundry38 mi
- RxPharmacy38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 23-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 38-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 — Keep Cool Lakes 3
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
4,963 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.00648, -112.59618
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Keep Cool Lakes 3 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townLincoln · ~5.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~5.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMountain View Co-Op · ~5.3 mi
- HardwareGrizzly Home Center · ~5.2 mi
EV charging — from Keep Cool Lakes 3 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger38.1 mi straight-line SE — Target T1282 (Helena, MT) · Electrify America · CCS · 6 fast ports 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 · 17 within 100 · 37 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)38.7 mi — Helena, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Helena
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO39.0 mi — L146 DC1, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)38.0 mi — Bill Roberts Golf Course, Helena, MT (at a recreation facility) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-04-14 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Trixi's Saloon - Tesla Destination, Ovando, 24.8 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · 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 279481 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Keep Cool Lakes 3 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Grove Picnic Area · ~3.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Grove Campground · ~3.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCopper Creek Campground · ~5.1 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCummings Cabin · ~5.1 mi E · USFS
Open Keep Cool Lakes 3 elsewhere
Other camps near Keep Cool Lakes 3
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Keep Cool Lakes 2~0.4 mi
- Keep Cool Lakes 4~0.4 mi
- Upper Copper Crk Rd 1881-008~0.5 mi
- N. Fork Keep Cool Crk Rd 1821-009A~1.5 mi
The unit that manages Keep Cool Lakes 3
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Keep Cool Lakes 3 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 Copper Bottom at 5,200 ft, about 3 miles away. That is about the height of this camp, so it is a fair proxy. 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 — Keep Cool Lakes 3
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 Keep Cool Lakes 3
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 — Keep Cool Lakes 3
Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →First-night troubleshooting →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 →