Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Sandbar Creek 003
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 47.00772, -112.38630
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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 Sandbar Creek 003
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,374 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Sandbar Creek 003NIFC · 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 Sandbar Creek 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- HHardware14 mi
- FFuel14 mi
- GGrocery14 mi
- @Mail15 mi
- WWater21 mi
- OOutfitter29 mi
- DDump30 mi
- +Urgent care30 mi
- MMechanic30 mi
- EVEV fast charger32 mi
- RxPharmacy32 mi
- LLaundry32 mi
- PPropane43 mi
- ShShower47 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 14 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 32-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 — Sandbar Creek 003
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,374 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
47.00772, -112.38630
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Sandbar Creek 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townStrom · ~8.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~14.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~29.7 mi
- GroceriesMountain View Co-Op · ~14.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicVeterans Administration Medical Center · ~30.1 mi
- HardwareGrizzly Home Center · ~14.2 mi
EV charging — from Sandbar Creek 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger31.8 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 · 5 within 50 · 17 within 100 · 38 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)32.3 mi — Helena, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Helena
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO32.9 mi — L146 DC1, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)32.0 mi — Bill Roberts Golf Course, Helena, MT (at a recreation facility) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-04-14 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 Sandbar Creek 003 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletFlesher Pass Trailhead · ~2.8 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCummings Cabin · ~5.5 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Grove Picnic Area · ~7.1 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Grove Campground · ~7.1 mi W · USFS
Open Sandbar Creek 003 elsewhere
Other camps near Sandbar Creek 003
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sandbar Creek 001~0.1 mi
- Sandbar Crk-Rd 4090-006~0.2 mi
- Sandbar Crk-Rd 4090-007~0.3 mi
- Sandbar Creek 002~0.4 mi
The unit that manages Sandbar Creek 003
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Sandbar Creek 003 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 Copper Bottom at 5,200 ft, about 10 miles away. That is about the height of this camp, so it is a fair proxy. 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 — Sandbar Creek 003
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 Sandbar Creek 003
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 — Sandbar Creek 003
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Reading the aerial →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 →