Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Tobacco River Ds#17
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.89721, -115.12560
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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 Tobacco River Ds#17
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Tobacco River Ds#17NIFC · 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 Tobacco River Ds#17 · Kootenai National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump2 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- LLaundry3 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- MMechanic4 mi
- WWater19 mi
- +Urgent care40 mi
- HHardware40 mi
- RxPharmacy40 mi
- OOutfitter49 mi
- EVEV fast charger51 mi
- ShShower58 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 51-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 — Tobacco River Ds#17
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
48.89721, -115.12560
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Tobacco River Ds#17 · Kootenai National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMadden Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townRexford · ~2.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~1.4 mi
- FuelConoco · ~14.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~1.7 mi
- GroceriesWatson's Market · ~3.2 mi
EV charging — from Tobacco River Ds#17 · Kootenai National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger50.8 mi straight-line SE — TOWN PUMP WF#2 STA 1, Whitefish, MT · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 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 · 11 within 100 · 64 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)58.2 mi — Kalispell, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Kalispell
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)49.2 mi — City of Whitefish Parking Garage (at a hospital) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-06-06 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — 22 - Tesla Destination, Whitefish, 49.1 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 204514 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Tobacco River Ds#17 · Kootenai National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Flush restroomKamloops Terrace · ~1.6 mi W · USFS
- Flush restroomRexford Bench Boat Ramp · ~1.7 mi W · USFS
- Flush restroomRexford Bench Beach · ~1.8 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTobacco Plains Boat Ramp · ~4.5 mi N · USFS
Open Tobacco River Ds#17 elsewhere
Other camps near Tobacco River Ds#17
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Tobacco River Ds#22~0.1 mi
- Tobacco River Ds#23~0.1 mi
- Tobacco River Ds#5~0.4 mi
- Tobacco River Ds#14~0.5 mi
The unit that manages Tobacco River Ds#17
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Tobacco River Ds#17 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 Stahl Peak at 6,040 ft, about 12 miles away. 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 — Tobacco River Ds#17
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 Tobacco River Ds#17
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 — Tobacco River Ds#17
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →First-night troubleshooting →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 →