Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Sunlight-005A
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 45.12047, -111.08266
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 Sunlight-005A
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,974 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Sunlight-005ANIFC · 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 Sunlight-005A · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel13 mi
- GGrocery14 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- EVEV fast charger15 mi
- LLaundry15 mi
- OOutfitter15 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- ShShower24 mi
- HHardware32 mi
- DDump32 mi
- WWater35 mi
- RxPharmacy38 mi
- +Urgent care38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 35-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 13 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 — Sunlight-005A
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
7,974 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
45.12047, -111.08266
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Sunlight-005A · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureTrail Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townMiner · ~10.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelSinclair · ~16.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesCountry Market · ~14.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicBig Sky Medical Center · ~14.4 mi
EV charging — from Sunlight-005A · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger14.6 mi straight-line NW — Big Sky, MT - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 12 within 50 · 23 within 100 · 47 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS16.2 mi — GARDSINCLAIR DC FAST LEVEL 3, Gardiner
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO16.2 mi — GARDSINCLAIR DC FAST LEVEL 3, Gardiner
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)14.6 mi — BSCO BASE BASE, Big Sky, MT · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · 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 163999 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Sunlight-005A · Custer Gallatin National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletTom Miner · ~1.1 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBuffalo Horn · ~5.7 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRock Creek South · ~6.5 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSage Creek · ~6.5 mi SW · USFS
Open Sunlight-005A elsewhere
Other camps near Sunlight-005A
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sunlight-004~0.5 mi
- Sunlight-002~1.1 mi
- Tom Miner~1.1 mi · fee
- Sunlight 003~1.2 mi
The unit that manages Sunlight-005A
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Sunlight-005A are set by Custer Gallatin National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Carrot Basin at 9,200 ft, about 15 miles away. It sits about 1,226 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 — Sunlight-005A
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 Sunlight-005A
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 — Sunlight-005A
When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out 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 →