Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Road538B-1
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.30900, -114.77675
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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 Road538B-1
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 Road538B-1NIFC · 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 Road538B-1 · Flathead National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail15 mi
- GGrocery16 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- HHardware21 mi
- +Urgent care21 mi
- WWater21 mi
- EVEV fast charger21 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- OOutfitter21 mi
- LLaundry21 mi
- ShShower36 mi
- DDump40 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 16 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 — Road538B-1
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
48.30900, -114.77675
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Road538B-1 · Flathead National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureHand Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townRhodes · ~14.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~15.7 mi
- Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~22.2 mi
- GroceriesBitterroot Quick Stop · ~15.6 mi
- PharmacyBig Sky I.V Care · ~21.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicKalispell Oral Surgery · ~20.7 mi
- HardwareMontana Fence · ~20.7 mi
EV charging — from Road538B-1 · Flathead National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger20.9 mi straight-line E — TOWN PUMP WF#2 STA 4, Whitefish, MT · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach8 within 25 mi · 8 within 50 · 17 within 100 · 67 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)21.2 mi — Kalispell, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Kalispell
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)20.9 mi — TOWN PUMP WF#2 STA 5, Whitefish, MT · 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 aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Whitefish TLC Bed and Breakfast - Tesla Destination, Whitefish, 20.8 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 204510 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Road538B-1 · Flathead National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSylvia Lake Campground · ~3.2 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletStar Meadows Guard Station · ~5.9 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAshley Lake Boat · ~9.9 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAshley Lake North · ~9.9 mi SE · USFS
Open Road538B-1 elsewhere
Other camps near Road538B-1
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Road 1167~1.5 mi
- Griffin Creek #8784~1.7 mi
- Sylvia-4~3.0 mi
- Sylvia-5~3.1 mi
The unit that manages Road538B-1
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Road538B-1 are set by Flathead National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Hand Creek at 5,030 ft, about 3 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 — Road538B-1
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 Road538B-1
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 — Road538B-1
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →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 →