Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Long Pole
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.86654, -113.09225
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 Long Pole
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,787 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Long PoleNIFC · 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 Long Pole · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- OOutfitter8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- @Mail9 mi
- HHardware19 mi
- GGrocery19 mi
- RxPharmacy19 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- WWater21 mi
- EVEV fast charger25 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- ShShower28 mi
- DDump29 mi
- AAir-up29 mi
- PPropane55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Long Pole
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,787 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.86654, -113.09225
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Long Pole · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWise River · ~8.7 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~8.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationRV Dump · ~29.1 mi
- GroceriesTown Pump · ~19.3 mi
- PharmacyTrifty Drug Store · ~19.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicBig Sky Diagnostic Imaging · ~27.9 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~19.2 mi
EV charging — from Long Pole · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger25.0 mi straight-line NE — Butte, MT - Grizzly Trail - Tesla Supercharger (at a rest stop) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 25 within 100 · 40 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS25.3 mi — Flying J Town Pump (Butte, MT), Butte
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO72.6 mi — L146 DC1, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)19.8 mi — ApocWorld, Anaconda, MT · AMPUP · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2023-12-13 · hours: Contact site for information
- 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 327427 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Long Pole · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletEast Bank Recreation Site - Vault Toilet North (Boat Ramp) · ~0.7 mi SE · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletEast Bank Recreation Site - Vault Toilet South (Camping) · ~0.8 mi SE · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletDorhoffer Outhouse · ~1.0 mi NE · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletDickie Bridge Recreation Site - Vault Toilet #1 · ~1.6 mi SE · BLM
Open Long Pole elsewhere
Other camps near Long Pole
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Barren~0.2 mi
- Bad Axe Job~0.6 mi
- Melted Glass~3.2 mi
- Roadside~4.0 mi
The unit that manages Long Pole
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Long Pole are set by Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Calvert Creek at 6,410 ft, about 11 miles away. It sits about 623 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 — Long Pole
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 Long Pole
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 — Long Pole
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Cold-weather camping →Picking a spot →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 →