Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Plateau Saddle
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.99804, -114.52096
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 Plateau Saddle
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,621 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Plateau SaddleNIFC · 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 Plateau Saddle · Lolo National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail2 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- DDump13 mi
- LLaundry14 mi
- WWater17 mi
- ShShower18 mi
- EVEV fast charger19 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- RxPharmacy22 mi
- +Urgent care23 mi
- HHardware24 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- AAir-up26 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — Plateau Saddle
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,621 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
46.99804, -114.52096
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Plateau Saddle · Lolo National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureClark Fork (river) · nearby
- Nearest townAlberton · ~2.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~18.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~12.8 mi
- GroceriesBroncs Grocery · ~13.8 mi
- PharmacyMineral Pharmacy · ~22.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicMineral Community Hospital · ~21.1 mi
- HardwareMissoula Power Equipment · ~24.1 mi
EV charging — from Plateau Saddle · Lolo National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger18.6 mi straight-line E — Missoula, MT - Highway 93 North - Tesla Supercharger (at a rest stop) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 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 reach6 within 25 mi · 10 within 50 · 26 within 100 · 83 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS21.8 mi — CAMPBELL KIA MTKIA 1 ABB, Missoula
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO24.0 mi — Walmart 3259 (Missoula, MT), Missoula
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)22.2 mi — Gray Wolf Peak Casino, Missoula, MT · Blink 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 327426 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Plateau Saddle · Lolo National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaAlberton EB · ~1.4 mi NW
- Highway rest areaAlberton WB · ~1.6 mi N
- Flush restroomNinemile Remount Depot Interp Site · ~7.5 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGrand Menard Picnic Area · ~8.0 mi NE · USFS
Coming out here — Plateau Saddle · Lolo National Forest · MT
- Surface water mapped nearby: Clark Fork (river). 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 — Dave gets service credit if you sign up through it. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Plateau Saddle elsewhere
Other camps near Plateau Saddle
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Plateau Lookout-C~0.2 mi
- Sawmill C~1.6 mi
- Lower Petty Creek A~3.9 mi
- Lower Petty Creek B~4.1 mi
The unit that manages Plateau Saddle
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Plateau Saddle are set by Lolo National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Sleeping Woman at 6,120 ft, about 15 miles away. It sits about 499 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 — Plateau Saddle
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 Plateau Saddle
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 — Plateau Saddle
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →First-night troubleshooting →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 →