Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Upper Lightning -5A
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 48.36137, -116.17675
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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 Upper Lightning -5A
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 Upper Lightning -5ANIFC · 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 Upper Lightning -5A · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- HHardware15 mi
- @Mail15 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- OOutfitter17 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- EVEV fast charger17 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- LLaundry24 mi
- WWater26 mi
- DDump33 mi
- ShShower42 mi
- PPropane55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 26-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 10 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 — Upper Lightning -5A
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
ID
Coordinates
48.36137, -116.17675
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Upper Lightning -5A · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureQuartz Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townHope · ~9.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelChevron · ~14.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesPack River General Store · ~10.6 mi
- PharmacyNorthwest CHC Pharmacy (Highway 2) · ~28.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicBonner County Hospital · ~18.1 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~14.7 mi
EV charging — from Upper Lightning -5A · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger17.4 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 reach3 within 25 mi · 4 within 50 · 59 within 100 · 87 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)53.4 mi — Coeur d'Alene, ID - Tesla Supercharger, Coeur d'Alene
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO24.0 mi — V.C. STATION BF FAST CHARGER, Bonners Ferry
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.4 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 aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Kootenai River Outfitters Lodge and Cabins, Troy, 15.4 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 Upper Lightning -5A · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLunch Peak Lookout · ~1.2 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletKeeler Snowmobile Shelter · ~5.7 mi SE · USFS
- Flush restroomSam Owen · ~11.0 mi SW · USFS
- Flush restroomSam Owen · ~11.1 mi SW · USFS
Open Upper Lightning -5A elsewhere
Other camps near Upper Lightning -5A
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Upper Lightning 3A~0.4 mi
- Upper Lightning -4B~0.4 mi
- Upper Lightning -6~0.5 mi
- Upper Lightning -7~0.7 mi
The unit that manages Upper Lightning -5A
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Upper Lightning -5A are set by Idaho Panhandle National Forests, 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 6 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 — Upper Lightning -5A
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 Upper Lightning -5A
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 — Upper Lightning -5A
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Leave no trace →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 →