Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Picnic_Lake_001
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.15758, -113.92825
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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 Picnic_Lake_001
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,656 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Picnic_Lake_001NIFC · 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 Picnic_Lake_001 · Flathead National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- ShShower10 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- WWater17 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- OOutfitter17 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- DDump27 mi
- PPropane38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 8 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 — Picnic_Lake_001
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
6,656 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
48.15758, -113.92825
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Picnic_Lake_001 · Flathead National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featurePicnic Lakes (water) · nearby
- Nearest townBear Creek Village · ~6.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelConoco · ~11.9 mi
- Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~17.1 mi
- Dump station~27.1 mi
- GroceriesBigfork Harvest Foods · ~9.0 mi
- PharmacySmith's Drive Through Pharmacy · ~17.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicEvergreen Clinic · ~16.7 mi
- HardwareGlacer Ace Hardware · ~16.7 mi
EV charging — from Picnic_Lake_001 · Flathead National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger16.5 mi straight-line W — CLARK HYUNDAI SERVICECUSTOMER, Kalispell, MT · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach8 within 25 mi · 8 within 50 · 18 within 100 · 34 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)19.2 mi — Kalispell, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Kalispell
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.5 mi — Wonderstone at Glacier - Tesla Destination, Columbia Falls, MT · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 3 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Mountain Lake Lodge, Bigfork, 12.0 mi · J1772 · hours: 8am-9pm daily; for guest use only · 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 227212 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Picnic_Lake_001 · Flathead National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCamp Misery Trailhead · ~0.9 mi W · USFS
- RestroomHandkerchief Lake Campground · ~4.9 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGraves Creek Campground · ~5.8 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLakeview Campground · ~7.1 mi NE · USFS
Coming out here — Picnic_Lake_001 · Flathead National Forest · MT
- Surface water mapped nearby: Picnic Lakes (water). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- 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 Picnic_Lake_001 elsewhere
Other camps near Picnic_Lake_001
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Picnic Lake~0.1 mi
- Picnic_Lake_008~0.1 mi
- Black_Lake_008~0.4 mi
- Black_Lake_002~0.6 mi
The unit that manages Picnic_Lake_001
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Picnic_Lake_001 are set by Flathead National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Noisy Basin at 6,070 ft, less than a mile away. It sits about 586 ft lower 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 — Picnic_Lake_001
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 Picnic_Lake_001
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 — Picnic_Lake_001
Winter vs summer roads →Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →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 →