Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Monte Cristo Camping Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 44.54219, -114.83022
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 Monte Cristo Camping Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,987 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Monte Cristo Camping AreaNIFC · 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 Monte Cristo Camping Area · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel23 mi
- GGrocery23 mi
- LLaundry28 mi
- ShShower28 mi
- @Mail29 mi
- RxPharmacy30 mi
- +Urgent care30 mi
- DDump32 mi
- WWater54 mi
- HHardware59 mi
- MMechanic60 mi
- OOutfitter60 mi
- EVEV fast charger67 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 54-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 23 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 67-mi run (and back).
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 — Monte Cristo Camping Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,987 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
44.54219, -114.83022
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Monte Cristo Camping Area · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMayfield Creek (stream) · nearby
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~27.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMountain Village Mercantile · ~23.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~29.9 mi
EV charging — from Monte Cristo Camping Area · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger67.2 mi straight-line NW — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 1 · ChargePoint Network · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 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 · 19 within 100 · 57 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO67.2 mi — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 4, McCall
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)22.2 mi — Stanley RV and Camp (at a campground) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-10-13 · 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 325580 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Monte Cristo Camping Area · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletTin Cup Campground · ~3.9 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCuster Town Interpretive Site · ~12.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletYankee Fork Dredge Interpretive Site · ~12.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEleven Mile Trailhead · ~13.4 mi SE · USFS
Open Monte Cristo Camping Area elsewhere
Other camps near Monte Cristo Camping Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Tin Cup Campground~3.9 mi
- Indian Springs Campsite~9.0 mi
- Custer #2 Camping Area~12.5 mi
- Custer #3 Camping Area~12.6 mi
The unit that manages Monte Cristo Camping Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Monte Cristo Camping Area are set by Salmon-Challis National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Monte Cristo Camping Area
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 Monte Cristo Camping Area
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 — Monte Cristo Camping Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Leave no trace →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 →