Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Lake Creek Trailhead
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 45.63841, -115.65833
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 Lake Creek Trailhead
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,052 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lake Creek TrailheadNIFC · 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 Lake Creek Trailhead · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care17 mi
- WWater25 mi
- GGrocery28 mi
- FFuel29 mi
- MMechanic29 mi
- OOutfitter30 mi
- HHardware30 mi
- RxPharmacy30 mi
- @Mail30 mi
- ShShower54 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 28 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Dump, 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 — Lake Creek Trailhead
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
7,052 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
45.63841, -115.65833
Cost
Free · no fee, per the land manager's own page (fs.usda.gov, read 2026-09-24)
Nearby & resupply — around Lake Creek Trailhead · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureKelly Creek (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townDixie · ~11.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~29.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesCash & Carry Market · ~29.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicSyringa Hospital & Clinics · ~30.2 mi
- HardwareAce Home Center · ~29.8 mi
Nearby restrooms — around Lake Creek Trailhead · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletWildhorse · ~1.3 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOrogrande Summit · ~2.1 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOrogrande (1-2) · ~7.5 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletFive Mile Pond · ~7.8 mi NE · USFS
Coming out here — Lake Creek Trailhead · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID
- Surface water mapped nearby: Kelly Creek (stream). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- 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 Lake Creek Trailhead elsewhere
Other camps near Lake Creek Trailhead
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Wildhorse Fishing Site~1.2 mi
- Wildhorse Campground~1.2 mi
- Rr233Ird-002A~1.3 mi
- Trail205-003~1.5 mi
The unit that manages Lake Creek Trailhead
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lake Creek Trailhead are set by Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Lake Creek Trailhead
Source
public land records
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 Recreation Area Activities, activity 'Dispersed Camping', pulled 2026-09-19: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nezperceclearwater/recarea/?recid=16598 | agency openstatus: none || REVIEW 2026-09-24 (nightshift-verified): The recid URL above now 301s to the forest's recreation landing page (a made-up recid does the same). Live page https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/nezperce-clearwater/recreation/lake-creek-trailhead (read 2026-09-24): trailhead for Lake Creek Trail #204 (Gospel-Hump Wilderness); 'It features dispersed campsites with a toilet and hitching rack.' 'No Fee.' Page lat/lon 45.6362,-115.654 (0.4 km from the lead pin; pin kept, both are agency points and neither the EDW nor MVUM layer has this site). APPROVED: agency page states dispersed campsites and no fee. No published pin within 1.9 km. Nez Perce-Clearwater alerts checked: Moose Mountain Fire closure is on the North Fork RD and the Red River RD weekday road closures name NFSR 1875/9824/9829/492, not Crooked River Road #233. Caveats: the same page says 'Restrooms are not available' in its amenity block -- contradiction left as found; 'Motorized access past the trailhead is extremely rough'. | No fee 2026-09-24: "No Fee." Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/nezperce-clearwater/recreation/lake-creek-trailhead -- statement verified on that page
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 Lake Creek Trailhead
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 — Lake Creek Trailhead
Winter vs summer roads →Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Gear & rig loadout →All field notes →