Agency-listedUSFSFree
Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · PA · 41.53908, -79.22370
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 Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,553 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Nct-Big Boulder ShelterNIFC · 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 Nct-Big Boulder Shelter · Allegheny National Forest · PA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- HHardware7 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- RxPharmacy7 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- ShShower14 mi
- LLaundry15 mi
- MMechanic17 mi
- DDump21 mi
- PPropane23 mi
- OOutfitter23 mi
- +Urgent care24 mi
- WWater25 mi
- EVEV fast charger26 mi
- AAir-up27 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 7 mi out.
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 — Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,553 ft
State
PA
Coordinates
41.53908, -79.22370
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Nct-Big Boulder Shelter · Allegheny National Forest · PA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureTwomile Run (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townKellettville · ~2.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~14.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~20.9 mi
- GroceriesCounty Line Market · ~10.7 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~21.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicWarren General Hospital · ~21.3 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~21.5 mi
EV charging — from Nct-Big Boulder Shelter · Allegheny National Forest · PA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger25.8 mi straight-line S — Walmart 2540 (Clarion, PA) · Electrify America · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 26 within 50 · 212 within 100 · 533 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)27.0 mi — LOVE'S 829 - PA #829 DC1, Brookville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)23.1 mi — Warren Midtown Motors Inc (at a car dealership) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-06-06 · 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 167623 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Nct-Big Boulder Shelter · Allegheny National Forest · PA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBeaver Meadows Day Use Area · ~5.8 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMinister Creek Campground & Trailhead · ~6.7 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBuzzard Swamp 157 Trailhead · ~9.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHearts Content Rec Area · ~10.6 mi N · USFS
Open Nct-Big Boulder Shelter elsewhere
Other camps near Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Minister Creek Campground & Trailhead~6.7 mi · fee
- Nct-Queen Creek Shelter~8.0 mi
- Nct-Hunter Station Shelter~9.9 mi
- Hearts Content Rec Area~10.6 mi · fee
The unit that manages Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Nct-Big Boulder Shelter are set by Allegheny National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
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 Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
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 — Nct-Big Boulder Shelter
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →How to read this page →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 →