Agency-listedUSFSFree
Richardson Cg
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.54084, -110.73057
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 Richardson Cg
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,860 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Richardson CgNIFC · 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 Richardson Cg · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- ShShower9 mi
- WWater31 mi
- OOutfitter39 mi
- DDump40 mi
- HHardware41 mi
- +Urgent care43 mi
- MMechanic49 mi
- EVEV fast charger58 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 31-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 8 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 58-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 — Richardson Cg
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,860 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
46.54084, -110.73057
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Richardson Cg · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townRobinson · ~5.5 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~8.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMathis Food Farm · ~8.2 mi
- PharmacyCastle Mountain Drug · ~8.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicMountainview Medical Center · ~8.3 mi
EV charging — from Richardson Cg · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger57.6 mi straight-line SW — Belgrade, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a rest stop) · 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 · 20 within 100 · 31 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS59.5 mi — Target T1237 (Bozeman, MT), Bozeman
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO61.1 mi — L146 DC 2, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)42.2 mi — Silos's Junction - Tesla Destination, Townsend, MT · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 314456 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Richardson Cg · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletRichardson Cg · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGrasshopper Cg · ~0.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSpring Creek · ~12.9 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHunters Cabin · ~14.9 mi NE · USFS
Open Richardson Cg elsewhere
Other camps near Richardson Cg
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Four Mile-211-07~0.1 mi
- Four Mile-211-05~0.3 mi
- Four Mile-211-13~0.3 mi
- Four Mile-211-03~0.6 mi
The unit that manages Richardson Cg
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Richardson Cg are set by Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Elk Peak Alt at 7,820 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 1,960 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 — Richardson Cg
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: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest's own site page for Richardson Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/helena-lewisclark/recreation/richardson-campground (read 2026-08-24; page "Last updated" May 12, 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 2026-08-24), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "No drinking water is available". Channels agree; nightshift fire 1660.
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 Richardson Cg
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 — Richardson Cg
Water on public land →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 →