Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Road 196C-02
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.33822, -112.56370
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 Road 196C-02
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Road 196C-02NIFC · 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 Road 196C-02 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater8 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- FFuel27 mi
- GGrocery27 mi
- HHardware27 mi
- RxPharmacy33 mi
- MMechanic33 mi
- OOutfitter36 mi
- LLaundry37 mi
- +Urgent care37 mi
- ShShower43 mi
- DDump44 mi
- PPropane54 mi
- EVEV fast charger56 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 27 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 56-mi run (and back).
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 — Road 196C-02
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
47.33822, -112.56370
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Road 196C-02 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townUpper Ellis Place · ~10.7 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~7.8 mi
- FuelExxon · ~27.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesAllen's Manix Store · ~13.4 mi
- HardwareGrizzly Home Center · ~27.0 mi
EV charging — from Road 196C-02 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger55.8 mi straight-line SE — Target T1282 (Helena, MT) · Electrify America · CCS · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · none within 50 · 19 within 100 · 36 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)56.2 mi — Helena, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Helena
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO56.8 mi — L146 DC1, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)37.5 mi — Old Trail Museum Parking Lot, Choteau, MT · CHARGELAB · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Trixi's Saloon - Tesla Destination, Ovando, 34.2 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas 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 279481 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Road 196C-02 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletElk Creek Th · ~2.1 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDearborn River Recreation Site - Vault Toilet #1 · ~5.2 mi SE · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletDearborn Th · ~5.2 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSmith Creek Th · ~5.9 mi NW · USFS
Coming out here — Road 196C-02 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
- No surface water within about a mile and a half in our records — which is not proof there is none, only that we found none. Plan to carry washing water as well as drinking water.
- 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 Road 196C-02 elsewhere
Other camps near Road 196C-02
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Road 196B-01~0.2 mi
- Road 196A-01~0.5 mi
- Road 8974B-04~1.5 mi
- Road 8974B-01~1.6 mi
The unit that manages Road 196C-02
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Road 196C-02 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 Wood Creek at 5,970 ft, about 14 miles away. 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 — Road 196C-02
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 Road 196C-02
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 — Road 196C-02
What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Reading a forest MVUM →Picking a spot →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 →