Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Ridge Top
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.83497, -112.99700
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 Ridge Top
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,779 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Ridge TopNIFC · 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 Ridge Top · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- OOutfitter4 mi
- LLaundry4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- GGrocery20 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- EVEV fast charger22 mi
- WWater25 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- ShShower25 mi
- DDump25 mi
- AAir-up26 mi
- PPropane58 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — Ridge Top
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
6,779 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.83497, -112.99700
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Ridge Top · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWise River · ~3.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~3.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationRV Dump · ~25.4 mi
- GroceriesThriftway Super Stop · ~20.4 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~20.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicBig Sky Diagnostic Imaging · ~24.7 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~20.4 mi
EV charging — from Ridge Top · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger22.0 mi straight-line NE — Butte, MT - Grizzly Trail - 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 reach2 within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 26 within 100 · 41 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS22.2 mi — Flying J Town Pump (Butte, MT), Butte
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO71.0 mi — L146 DC1, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)20.6 mi — ApocWorld, Anaconda, MT · AMPUP · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2023-12-13 · hours: Contact site for information
- 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 327427 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Ridge Top · Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletDickie Bridge Recreation Site - Vault Toilet #1 · ~3.6 mi W · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletEast Bank Recreation Site - Vault Toilet South (Camping) · ~4.5 mi W · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletEast Bank Recreation Site - Vault Toilet North (Boat Ramp) · ~4.5 mi W · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletDorhoffer Outhouse · ~4.7 mi NW · BLM
Open Ridge Top elsewhere
Other camps near Ridge Top
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Turd Tree~0.9 mi
- Shotgun Shells~1.1 mi
- Aspen~1.9 mi
- Knapp Weed~2.8 mi
The unit that manages Ridge Top
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Ridge Top are set by Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Ridge Top
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 Ridge Top
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 — Ridge Top
Winter vs summer roads →Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Off-grid communication →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 →