Agency-listedUSFSFree
Missoula Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.06004, -115.11557
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 Missoula Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,325 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Missoula Lake CampgroundNIFC · 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 Missoula Lake Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel14 mi
- GGrocery14 mi
- RxPharmacy14 mi
- EVEV fast charger14 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- DDump16 mi
- HHardware30 mi
- WWater40 mi
- LLaundry42 mi
- MMechanic43 mi
- ShShower46 mi
- OOutfitter47 mi
- +Urgent care49 mi
- AAir-up54 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 40-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 14 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: 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 — Missoula Lake Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,325 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.06004, -115.11557
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Missoula Lake Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMissoula Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townOlsons · ~4.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~29.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~16.3 mi
- GroceriesStore · ~16.4 mi
- PharmacyMineral Pharmacy · ~14.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicshiplu factory · ~2.5 mi
- HardwareStuds Building and Home · ~29.5 mi
EV charging — from Missoula Lake Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger14.0 mi straight-line NE — Superior, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 33 within 100 · 87 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS16.5 mi — St. Regis, MT, St. Regis
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO52.1 mi — Walmart 3259 (Missoula, MT), Missoula
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)42.3 mi — Lochsa Lodge, Powell, ID (at a hotel) · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-08-15 · hours: 8am-9pm daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Alpine Falls Ranch - Tesla Destination, Superior, 12.5 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- 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 102264 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Missoula Lake Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHeller Creek · ~4.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSpruce Tree · ~11.0 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLine Creek Stock Camp · ~11.1 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRed Ives - Visitor Info · ~11.1 mi W · USFS
Coming out here — Missoula Lake Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT
- Surface water mapped nearby: Missoula Lake (water). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Dave gets service credit if you sign up through it. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Missoula Lake Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Missoula Lake Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cedarcreek-008~1.7 mi
- Cedarcreek-007~3.4 mi
- Heller Creek~4.9 mi
- Cedarcreek-006~5.3 mi
The unit that manages Missoula Lake Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Missoula Lake Campground are set by Lolo National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Hoodoo Basin at 6,060 ft, about 7 miles away. It sits about 265 ft lower 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 — Missoula Lake Campground
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 Missoula Lake Campground
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 — Missoula Lake Campground
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means 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 →