Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Stemple Rd 1879
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 46.87671, -112.58246
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 Stemple Rd 1879
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,092 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Stemple Rd 1879NIFC · 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 Stemple Rd 1879 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- HHardware7 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- +Urgent care29 mi
- MMechanic30 mi
- PPropane30 mi
- WWater31 mi
- LLaundry32 mi
- OOutfitter32 mi
- EVEV fast charger32 mi
- RxPharmacy32 mi
- DDump34 mi
- ShShower40 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 31-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Stemple Rd 1879
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,092 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
46.87671, -112.58246
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Stemple Rd 1879 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featurePoorman Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townLincoln · ~7.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~7.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMountain View Co-Op · ~7.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicVeterans Administration Medical Center · ~28.9 mi
- HardwareGrizzly Home Center · ~7.0 mi
EV charging — from Stemple Rd 1879 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger31.9 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 · 39 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)32.6 mi — Helena, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Helena
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO32.8 mi — L146 DC1, Helena
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)31.7 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
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Trixi's Saloon - Tesla Destination, Ovando, 27.3 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 Stemple Rd 1879 · Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletStemple Pass Trailhead · ~4.3 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Grove Picnic Area · ~7.4 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Grove Campground · ~7.4 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCummings Cabin · ~8.2 mi NE · USFS
Open Stemple Rd 1879 elsewhere
Other camps near Stemple Rd 1879
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Stemple Rd 601-015~0.7 mi
- Baldy Mtn-Rd 1826-008~2.4 mi
- S. Fk Poorman Crk Rd 4134-005~2.6 mi
- Stemple Rd-010~2.8 mi
The unit that manages Stemple Rd 1879
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Stemple Rd 1879 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 Nevada Ridge at 7,030 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 1,938 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 — Stemple Rd 1879
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 Stemple Rd 1879
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 — Stemple Rd 1879
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Power off-grid →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 →