Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Medicine Lake-003
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.12873, -113.67794
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 Medicine Lake-003
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,779 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Medicine Lake-003NIFC · 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 Medicine Lake-003 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel23 mi
- MMechanic23 mi
- OOutfitter23 mi
- @Mail23 mi
- GGrocery24 mi
- HHardware24 mi
- LLaundry24 mi
- +Urgent care24 mi
- WWater24 mi
- RxPharmacy24 mi
- PPropane45 mi
- EVEV fast charger50 mi
- AAir-up54 mi
- ShShower56 mi
- DDump57 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 24-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 23 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 50-mi run (and back).
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 — Medicine Lake-003
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
6,779 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
46.12873, -113.67794
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Medicine Lake-003 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMedicine Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townGird Point · ~12.4 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~22.8 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane Services Innovated · ~27.6 mi
- GroceriesLone Pine · ~23.6 mi
- PharmacyBitterroot Drug · ~24.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicBitterroot Health - Daly Hospital · ~25.0 mi
- HardwareMassa Home Center · ~24.8 mi
EV charging — from Medicine Lake-003 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger49.6 mi straight-line NE — Sinclair - Tesla Supercharger, Deer Lodge, MT (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-14 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 1 within 50 · 16 within 100 · 45 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS51.9 mi — L267 EXPP PL PUBLIC2, Missoula
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO55.0 mi — Walmart 3259 (Missoula, MT), Missoula
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)24.4 mi — Hamilton City Hall · EVGATEWAY · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — The Ranch at Rock Creek - Tesla Destination, Philipsburg, 11.5 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast charger$0.56 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 466520 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Medicine Lake-003 · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCopper Creek Campground · ~7.8 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCrystal Creek Campground · ~7.9 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMoose Lake Guard Station · ~8.2 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWest Fork Station · ~8.6 mi NE · USFS
Open Medicine Lake-003 elsewhere
Other camps near Medicine Lake-003
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Medicine Lake-001~0.3 mi
- Middle Ross Frk Rock Creek-001~0.9 mi
- Sand Basin 01~2.1 mi
- Sand Basin 02~2.3 mi
The unit that manages Medicine Lake-003
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Medicine Lake-003 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 Skalkaho Summit at 7,260 ft, about 9 miles away. It sits about 481 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 — Medicine Lake-003
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 Medicine Lake-003
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 — Medicine Lake-003
Winter vs summer roads →Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →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 →