Agency-listedUSFSFeeOpen today
Thatcher Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 44.36818, -115.14539
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Can I go now? — Thatcher Campground · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID
Open today Opened May 25; the record gives no closing date.
U.S. Forest Service record: “5/25” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Thatcher Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,606 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Thatcher CampgroundNIFC · 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 Thatcher Campground · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel15 mi
- GGrocery15 mi
- LLaundry19 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- WWater34 mi
- @Mail38 mi
- HHardware45 mi
- MMechanic45 mi
- RxPharmacy45 mi
- OOutfitter46 mi
- +Urgent care46 mi
- DDump49 mi
- EVEV fast charger60 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 34-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 15 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 60-mi run (and back).
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 — Thatcher Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,606 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
44.36818, -115.14539
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Thatcher Campground · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townStanley · ~15.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelMountain Village Service Station · ~14.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMountain Village Convenience Store · ~14.8 mi
EV charging — from Thatcher Campground · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger59.9 mi straight-line NW — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 1 · ChargePoint Network · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · none within 50 · 35 within 100 · 56 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO59.9 mi — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 4, McCall
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.9 mi — Stanley RV and Camp (at a campground) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-10-13 · 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 325580 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Thatcher Campground · Salmon-Challis National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletThatcher Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletVader Creek Picnic Area · ~1.9 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMarsh Creek Transfer Camp Trailhead · ~3.5 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTrap Creek Cg · ~4.2 mi SE · USFS
Open Thatcher Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Thatcher Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lola Creek Campground~3.2 mi · fee
- Beaver Creek Campground~3.3 mi · fee
- Banner Creek Campground~3.6 mi · fee
- Trap Creek Cg~4.2 mi · fee
The unit that manages Thatcher Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Thatcher Campground are set by Salmon-Challis National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Banner Summit at 7,040 ft, about 6 miles away. It sits about 434 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 — Thatcher Campground
Open season
5/25
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-22: $10 per night for a single unit; the page says so twice. No recreation.gov listing. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/salmon-challis/recreation/thatcher-campground (page last updated June 15, 2026). || Water: Salmon-Challis National Forest's own site page for Thatcher Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/salmon-challis/recreation/thatcher-campground (read 2026-08-24; page "Last updated" June 15, 2026), "Facility and Amenity Information > Water": "Potable water is available at this site.". Corroborated by the USFS EDW Recreation Sites layer (apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0, re-queried live 2026-08-24 for SITE_ID 32258 / MANAGING_ORG 041302), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "Yes, drinking water is available from a hand pump". Page "Seasons of Use": "5/25" -- that is the season of the SITE, not a statement about when the water is turned on. No natural water anywhere near this site is claimed to be potable. Agency record only -- not field-verified. Nightshift fire 1680 (Idaho batch 2).
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
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 Thatcher Campground
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
- 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 — Thatcher Campground
Winter vs summer roads →Water on public land →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 →