Agency-listedUSFSFree
Palisades
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.17151, -109.30817
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 Palisades
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,330 ft.
Fire & smoke — around PalisadesNIFC · 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 Palisades · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater2 mi
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- HHardware3 mi
- OOutfitter3 mi
- MMechanic3 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- DDump40 mi
- LLaundry43 mi
- EVEV fast charger43 mi
- RxPharmacy46 mi
- ShShower47 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 43-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 — Palisades
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,330 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.17151, -109.30817
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Palisades · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townRed Lodge · ~3.2 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~2.4 mi
- FuelFuel · ~2.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesCircle 17 · ~2.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicAbsarokee Medical Clinic · ~25.0 mi
- HardwareRed Lodge True Value · ~3.1 mi
EV charging — from Palisades · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger43.3 mi straight-line NE — Laurel, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 2 within 50 · 19 within 100 · 30 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS46.3 mi — DENNY MENHOLT CHEVROLET BUICK GMC, CODY
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO51.6 mi — Denny Menholt Nissan, Billings
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)46.1 mi — Fremont Ford Cody · Blink Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — City of Red Lodge - Tesla Destination, Red Lodge, 3.2 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Super 8 by Wyndham - Cooke City, Cooke City, 32.1 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see front desk for access · 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 303733 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Palisades · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPalisades · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSilver Run Trailhead · ~2.2 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWild Bill Lake · ~3.1 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSilver Run Plateau · ~3.7 mi SW · USFS
Open Palisades elsewhere
Other camps near Palisades
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #565~0.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #803~0.2 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #69~2.2 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #270~2.2 mi
The unit that manages Palisades
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Palisades are set by Custer Gallatin National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Cole Creek at 7,910 ft, about 2 miles away. It sits about 1,580 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.
How we know this — Palisades
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 || Water: Custer Gallatin National Forest's own site page for Palisades Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/custergallatin/recreation/palisades-campground (read 2026-08-13; page "Last updated" May 5, 2026), "Facility and Amenity Information > Water": "Potable water is not 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 2026-08-13), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "No drinking water is available". Both channels agree; nightshift fire 610.
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 Palisades
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 — Palisades
What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Dumping grey & black →Power off-grid →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 →