Agency-listedUSFSFree
Mackay Bar
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 45.40104, -115.47908
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 Mackay Bar
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,259 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Mackay BarNIFC · 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 Mackay Bar · Payette National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care30 mi
- FFuel30 mi
- GGrocery30 mi
- @Mail30 mi
- WWater38 mi
- OOutfitter40 mi
- ShShower44 mi
- HHardware45 mi
- MMechanic45 mi
- EVEV fast charger45 mi
- RxPharmacy46 mi
- LLaundry55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 38-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 30 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 45-mi run (and back).
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 — Mackay Bar
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,259 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
45.40104, -115.47908
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Mackay Bar · Payette National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Groceriesnone within 30 mi
- Hospital / clinicElk City Clinic · ~29.5 mi
- Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.
EV charging — from Mackay Bar · Payette National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger45.4 mi straight-line SW — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 2 · 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 · 11 within 100 · 78 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)45.4 mi — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 1, McCall
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)46.0 mi — Shore Lodge, McCall, ID · Blink Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours 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 325581 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Mackay Bar · Payette National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMackay Bar · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHalfway House · ~7.8 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSams Creek · ~9.5 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletChamberlain Basin · ~13.6 mi E · USFS
Open Mackay Bar elsewhere
Other camps near Mackay Bar
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #499~1.5 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #678~2.2 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #8~2.7 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #785~3.4 mi
The unit that manages Mackay Bar
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Mackay Bar are set by Payette National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Mackay Bar
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 || Water 2026-08-24 (nightshift fire 120): USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse Recreation Sites layer (apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0), extract cached locally as data\_mt_water_edw.json, objectid 2355490, site "MACKAY BAR" (recreation area "MACKAY BAR"), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "Water can be treated or filtered from nearby water sources". Matched to this camp on coordinates (0.0008 mi from the agency point). Agency record only -- not field-verified, and no natural water here is claimed to be potable.
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 Mackay Bar
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 — Mackay Bar
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Off-grid communication →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 →