Agency-listedUSFSFree
Mallard Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 45.57891, -115.30851
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 Mallard Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,070 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Mallard CreekNIFC · 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 Mallard Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care18 mi
- WWater30 mi
- GGrocery42 mi
- FFuel43 mi
- @Mail43 mi
- MMechanic45 mi
- OOutfitter46 mi
- HHardware46 mi
- RxPharmacy46 mi
- EVEV fast charger50 mi
- ShShower59 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 30-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 42 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 50-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 — Mallard Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,070 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
45.57891, -115.30851
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Mallard Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townElk · ~17.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Groceriesnone within 30 mi
- Hospital / clinicElk City Clinic · ~18.3 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 Mallard Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger50.4 mi straight-line NW — GRANGEVILLE KOOSKIA 1 · 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 · none within 50 · 13 within 100 · 69 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)60.1 mi — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 1, McCall
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)46.3 mi — Super 8 by Wyndham Grangeville - Tesla Destination (at a hotel) · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 3 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 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 450760 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Mallard Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMallard Creek · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTrapper Creek · ~6.8 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSams Creek · ~8.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRed River Rv Dump · ~9.1 mi N · USFS
Open Mallard Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Mallard Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #843~0.5 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #109~1.4 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #59~3.9 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #425~4.3 mi
The unit that manages Mallard Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Mallard Creek are set by Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Mountain Meadows at 6,340 ft, about 9 miles away. It sits about 1,270 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 — Mallard Creek
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 2379180, site "MALLARD CREEK" (recreation area "MALLARD CREEK"), 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 Mallard Creek
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 — Mallard Creek
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Dispersed camping tips →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 →