Agency-listedUSFSFeeOpen todayRoad season: closed (MVUM)
Norton Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.58942, -113.67007
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Can I go now? — Norton Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT
Open today Season May 1 – Sep 28. Closes after Sep 28.
U.S. Forest Service record: “May 1, 2026- September 28, 2026.” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — Norton Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is FR 9963 (Norton Picnic), 360 ft from the pin. The MVUM lists it as native material surface and maintenance level 3 – suitable for passenger cars.
Road season: closed (MVUM) The MVUM lists FR 9963 (Norton Picnic), 360 ft from the pin, open to passenger vehicles May 20 – Sep 7; today is outside that window. Opens May 20.
MVUM record for FR 9963 (Norton Picnic): “05/20-09/07” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Norton Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,897 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Norton 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 Norton Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- @Mail13 mi
- FFuel13 mi
- GGrocery13 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- +Urgent care20 mi
- LLaundry21 mi
- WWater24 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- EVEV fast charger25 mi
- AAir-up25 mi
- PPropane26 mi
- DDump32 mi
- ShShower34 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 24-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 13 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 — Norton Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,897 ft
Ground slope
4% · gentle
Nearest rail line
~9.4 mi · main line
Nearest highway
~9.5 mi · US Hwy 12
State
MT
Coordinates
46.58942, -113.67007
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Norton Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRanch Creek · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial stream
- Nearest townClinton · ~12.8 mi
- Nearest rail line~9.4 mi · main line
- Nearest highway~9.5 mi · US Hwy 12
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelClinton Market · ~13.1 mi
- Propane / LPGEnergy Partners · ~25.6 mi
- GroceriesClinton Market · ~13.1 mi
- PharmacyFlorence Pharmacy · ~19.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicFlorence Family Medicine · ~19.7 mi
- HardwareFlorence Ace Hardware · ~19.5 mi
EV charging — from Norton Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger24.6 mi straight-line NW — L267 EXPP PL PUBLIC2, Missoula, MT · ChargePoint Network · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 8 within 50 · 18 within 100 · 46 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)28.2 mi — Missoula, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Missoula
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.9 mi — Walmart 3259 (Missoula, MT), Missoula
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)23.7 mi — UMONTANA BECKWITH #1, Missoula, MT · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · 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 417959 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Norton Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletNorton Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Flush restroomGrizzly Campground · ~1.1 mi SE · USFS
- Flush restroomDalles Campground · ~2.9 mi SW · USFS
- RestroomSpring Creek Trailhead And Sheep Viewing Site · ~4.3 mi N · USFS
Coming out here — Norton Campground · Lolo National Forest · MT
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Ranch Creek as a perennial stream, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 4% — gentle. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (10 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~9.4 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- US Hwy 12 is mapped ~9.5 mi from the pin. Straight-line, from the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025) — the divided, limited-access highways, which is why a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not appear here.
- 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 — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Norton Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Norton Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Grizzly Campground~1.1 mi · fee
- Site 1~1.7 mi
- Site 2~2.2 mi
- Dalles Campground~2.9 mi · fee
The unit that manages Norton Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Norton Campground are set by Lolo National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Norton Campground
Open season
May 1, 2026- September 28, 2026.
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. || Water: Lolo National Forest's own site page for Norton Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/lolo/recreation/norton-campground (read 2026-08-24; page "Last updated" May 27, 2026), "Facility and Amenity Information > Water": "Potable water is available at this site.". Corroborated by the USFS EDW Recreation Sites layer (apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0, queried 2026-08-24), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "Yes, drinking water is available from a hand pump". Page "Seasons of Use": "May 1, 2026- September 28, 2026." -- that is the season of the SITE, not a statement about when the water is turned on. Channels agree; nightshift fire 1660. | Fee 2026-08-24: $15 per night for a single site, two-vehicle limit per site. First come, first served; the forest gives the 2026 season as May 1 to September 28. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/lolo/recreation/norton-campground.
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
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 Norton 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.
- Whether that MVUM road is the way in, and the last stretch beyond it
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- 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 — Norton Campground
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →