American Adventurer
Agency-listedIdaho PowerFree

Moonshine Mine Recreation Site

Drive-up · public land · OR · 44.65040, -117.10223
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The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

One of the better free stops on the Oregon side of Hells Canyon country: Moonshine Mine Recreation Site sits on Brownlee Reservoir about 12.5 miles south of Richland, Oregon, on Snake River Road, and Idaho Power -- the Idaho utility that owns the dams down here -- lists it as 'Day use and overnight camping' with the fee given as 'Free. No usage fees.' For a free site it is unusually well set up: basic RV/tent sites, vault toilets, fire rings, a two-lane concrete boat ramp, over 40 parking spaces, a garbage dumpster and interpretive signs. That concrete ramp and the parking tell you what this place is really for -- it is a bass-fishing launch on Brownlee, and it can be busy with boat trailers on a good weekend. No drinking water is claimed by the utility, so bring your own, and there are no hookups. The stay limit is 14 days. Getting there is the part to respect: Snake River Road is a long, winding, largely unserviced run down the reservoir from Richland, and Richland itself is a very small town -- fuel and provision before you commit, and be aware summer temperatures in this canyon are brutal. It is worth knowing the reason it costs nothing: public recreation is a condition of the federal licence Idaho Power operates these dams under. Confirm current conditions with Idaho Power (1-800-488-6151) before you go, and leave it better than you found it.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Moonshine Mine Recreation Site
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Moonshine Mine Recreation Site
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Weather outlook — at Moonshine Mine Recreation Site
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,095 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Moonshine Mine Recreation SiteNIFC · 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 Moonshine Mine Recreation Site · public land · OR

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 17 miWDump · 24 miDFuel · 9 miFHitching Post Groceries · Grocery · 9 miGWalgreens · Pharmacy · 44 miRxCambridge Lumber · Hardware · 22 miHCampbell's Auto Service · Mechanic · 29 miMThe Wash Tub · Laundry · 44 miLShower · 24 miShTwo Rivers Medical Clinic · Urgent care · 29 mi+Outfitter · 44 miORichland Post Office · Mail · 9 mi@T & T Country Store (Huntington, OR) · EV fast charger · 22 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • FFuel9 mi
  • GGrocery9 mi
  • @Mail9 mi
  • WWater17 mi
  • HHardware22 mi
  • EVEV fast charger22 mi
  • ShShower24 mi
  • DDump24 mi
  • +Urgent care29 mi
  • MMechanic29 mi
  • LLaundry44 mi
  • RxPharmacy44 mi
  • OOutfitter44 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Moonshine Mine Recreation Site

Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
Elevation
2,095 ft
State
OR
Coordinates
44.65040, -117.10223
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Moonshine Mine Recreation Site · public land · OR (OpenStreetMap)

  • Nearest townRichland · ~8.9 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~8.7 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~24.5 mi
  • GroceriesHitching Post Groceries · ~8.8 mi
  • Hospital / clinicTwo Rivers Medical Clinic · ~28.6 mi
  • HardwareCambridge Lumber · ~21.6 mi

EV charging — from Moonshine Mine Recreation Site · public land · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Moonshine Mine Recreation Site · public land · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Moonshine Mine Recreation Site elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps near Moonshine Mine Recreation Site

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

Snow, and when this opens

The nearest automatic snow station is Bear Saddle at 6,170 ft, about 7 miles away. It sits about 4,075 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.

Bear Saddle snowpack, from NRCS →

How we know this — Moonshine Mine Recreation Site

Stay limit
14 nights (14-day stay limit)
Source
public land records
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
Source (FREE stated by the OPERATOR): Idaho Power's own page for Moonshine Mine Recreation Site (idahopower.com/community-recreation/recreation/parks-and-campgrounds/moonshine-mine-recreation-site/, read 2026-07-28), verbatim: 'Day use and overnight camping'; 'Fees Free. No usage fees.'; 'Located 12.5 miles south of Richland, Oregon, on Snake River Road.'; 'Amenities include: Basic RV/tent sites Vault toilets Fire rings Two-lane concrete boat ramp Over 40 parking spaces Garbage dumpster Interpretive signs'; 'There is a 14-day stay limit for all parks.' Idaho Power's own fee page (idahopower.com/community-recreation/recreation/about-parks-and-campgrounds/fees-2/, read 2026-07-28): 'Day use at all Idaho Power parks and recreation sites is free.' That page NAMES the nine campgrounds that charge overnight (Copperfield, Hells Canyon, McCormick, Woodhead, Carters Landing, North, Scout, Cottonwood, Locust -- $15-$40/night plus a $7-$15 reservation fee). This site is NOT one of them, and its own page carries the header 'Day use and overnight camping' and the fee block 'Free. No usage fees.' COORDINATE: the utility's OWN published coordinate from the Get-directions link (daddr=44.650395,-117.102234), ground-truthed against OSM -- unnamed service road 0.00 mi, SNAKE RIVER ROAD way/5186437 0.16 mi (exactly the road the page names), Snake River 0.24 mi, Brownlee Reservoir ~5 mi. Nominatim reverse: BAKER COUNTY, OREGON -- which is how state='OR' was assigned. This is an IDAHO utility's recreation site located in OREGON (Idaho Power's Hells Canyon complex straddles the state line); the state comes from the geocoder, not from the operator's name. GUARDRAILS: camping expressly allowed by the operator; NO entry fee, access pass, day-use fee or permit to be on the land (utility land, not a state park -- no Discover-Pass-style trap). fee=0; dispersed=0 (designated sites); camp_type NULL for Dave to set on review. water NULL -- the page lists vault toilets and a dumpster but never states potable water, and silence is not a water source. Ingest 2026-07-28.
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 Moonshine Mine Recreation Site

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.

Before you go — Moonshine Mine Recreation Site

Water on public land →Fire rules & restrictions →First-night troubleshooting →Getting unstuck →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 →