Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Spruce Lakes
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.29817, -115.98046
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 Spruce Lakes
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,140 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Spruce LakesNIFC · 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 Spruce Lakes · Kootenai National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery7 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- FFuel12 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- +Urgent care20 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- OOutfitter26 mi
- EVEV fast charger26 mi
- WWater34 mi
- DDump36 mi
- ShShower49 mi
- PPropane57 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 34-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Spruce Lakes
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
4,140 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
48.29817, -115.98046
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Spruce Lakes · Kootenai National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSpruce Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townTroy · ~11.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelChevron · ~13.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesHalfway House · ~7.3 mi
- PharmacyNorthwest CHC Pharmacy (Highway 2) · ~20.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicFamily Health and Wellness · ~20.5 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~11.8 mi
EV charging — from Spruce Lakes · Kootenai National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger25.9 mi straight-line W — TAYLOR & SONS CHEVROLET, Ponderay, ID · EV Connect · CCS · 2 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 · 4 within 50 · 60 within 100 · 90 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)52.4 mi — 76 Station - Tesla Supercharger, Kellogg
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO31.4 mi — V.C. STATION BF FAST CHARGER, Bonners Ferry
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)26.1 mi — Best Western Plus, Ponderay, ID (at a hotel) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-11-13 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — City of Sandpoint - Tesla Destination, Sandpoint, 26.0 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Kootenai River Outfitters Lodge and Cabins, Troy, 5.6 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guests use 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 302440 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Spruce Lakes · Kootenai National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSpar Lake Boating Site · ~2.3 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSpar Lake Campground · ~2.3 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletKeeler Snowmobile Shelter · ~4.4 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDorr Skeels · ~6.2 mi E · USFS
Open Spruce Lakes elsewhere
Other camps near Spruce Lakes
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Spar Lake Campground~2.3 mi
- Rd 604 Camp 1~2.4 mi
- Rd 473 Camp 5~2.5 mi
- Rd 473 Camp 6~2.6 mi
The unit that manages Spruce Lakes
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Spruce Lakes are set by Kootenai National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Bear Mountain at 5,460 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 1,320 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 — Spruce Lakes
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 Spruce Lakes
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 — Spruce Lakes
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →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 →