Agency-listedUSFSFree
Lake Elsie
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 47.42978, -116.02268
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 Elsie
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,111 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lake ElsieNIFC · 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 Elsie · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- MMechanic5 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- LLaundry6 mi
- OOutfitter6 mi
- RxPharmacy6 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- DDump9 mi
- EVEV fast charger10 mi
- PPropane28 mi
- ShShower37 mi
- WWater40 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 40-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Lake Elsie
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,111 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
47.42978, -116.02268
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Lake Elsie · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureElsie Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townOsburn · ~5.4 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelConoco · ~8.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~9.4 mi
- GroceriesWatson's Market · ~5.3 mi
- PharmacyKohal's · ~5.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicClinic · ~9.0 mi
EV charging — from Lake Elsie · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.6 mi straight-line NW — 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 reach2 within 25 mi · 7 within 50 · 70 within 100 · 96 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS11.0 mi — Walmart 4249 (Smelterville, ID), Smelterville
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO11.0 mi — Walmart 4249 (Smelterville, ID), Smelterville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)39.3 mi — The Coeur D'Alene Resort - Tesla Destination (at a hotel) · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 Lake Elsie · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPulaski 1910 Fire · ~4.7 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Creek · ~9.8 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHuckleberry Cg - Vault Toilet #2 · ~11.5 mi S · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletHuckleberry Cg - Vault Toilet #3 · ~11.5 mi S · BLM
Open Lake Elsie elsewhere
Other camps near Lake Elsie
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lake Elsi (8)~0.1 mi
- Lake Elsie, Site 6~0.1 mi
- Lake Elsi(10)~0.3 mi
- Road 2354, Mm 1.0~0.6 mi
The unit that manages Lake Elsie
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lake Elsie are set by Idaho Panhandle National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Sunset at 5,570 ft, about 13 miles away. It sits about 459 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 — Lake Elsie
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 Lake Elsie
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 Elsie
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading the aerial →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 →