Agency-listedUSFSFree
Red Shale
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.56883, -106.14618
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 Red Shale
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,200 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Red ShaleNIFC · 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 Red Shale · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery6 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- +Urgent care6 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- RxPharmacy55 mi
- LLaundry55 mi
- MMechanic58 mi
- EVEV fast charger59 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: fuel & food sit about 6 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 59-mi run (and back).
Not within 60 mi: Water, Dump, 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 — Red Shale
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,200 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.56883, -106.14618
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Red Shale · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureEast Fork Otter Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townWillow Crossing · ~3.5 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Groceriesnone within 30 mi
- Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.
EV charging — from Red Shale · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger58.9 mi straight-line N — Miles City, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · 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 · none within 50 · 8 within 100 · 19 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS59.4 mi — Town Pump Miles City (Miles City, MT), Miles City
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO64.7 mi — SHERIDAN MOTORS CPE250, Sheridan
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)64.7 mi — SHERIDAN MOTORS CT4000 · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Broadus Motels, Broadus, 36.7 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see front desk for access
- 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 163531 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Red Shale · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletRed Shale · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWhite Tail Cabin · ~9.6 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlacks Pond · ~16.8 mi SW · USFS
- RestroomCow Creek · ~18.5 mi S · USFS
Open Red Shale elsewhere
Other camps near Red Shale
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Spur Off Hwy 212D~0.4 mi
- Forest Rd 4773A~1.2 mi
- Forest Rd 44601~3.7 mi
- Spur Off Hwy 212~4.1 mi
The unit that manages Red Shale
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Red Shale are set by Custer Gallatin National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Red Shale
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 Red Shale Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/custergallatin/recreation/red-shale-campground (read 2026-08-13; page "Last updated" April 30, 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 Red Shale
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 — Red Shale
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →