Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Upper Payette Lake Dispersed
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 45.13301, -116.02368
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 Upper Payette Lake Dispersed
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 Payette Lake DispersedNIFC · 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 Payette Lake Dispersed · Payette National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- ShShower15 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- GGrocery16 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- RxPharmacy16 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- @Mail17 mi
- +Urgent care24 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- LLaundry28 mi
- WWater39 mi
- DDump39 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 39-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 15 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 — Upper Payette Lake Dispersed
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
ID
Coordinates
45.13301, -116.02368
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Upper Payette Lake Dispersed · Payette National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureUpper Payette Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townMcCall · ~15.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~15.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesFood Mart · ~15.8 mi
- PharmacyAlbertsons Pharmacy · ~15.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicSaint Luke's McCall Medical Center · ~16.0 mi
- HardwareMay Ace Hardware · ~15.9 mi
EV charging — from Upper Payette Lake Dispersed · Payette National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.9 mi straight-line S — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 2 · 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 reach5 within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 19 within 100 · 69 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)15.9 mi — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 1, McCall
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)15.9 mi — Shore Lodge, McCall, ID · Blink 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 325581 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Upper Payette Lake Dispersed · Payette National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Payette Lake Dispersed · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Payette Lake Group Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Payette Lake Campground · ~0.6 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTwenty Mile · ~0.6 mi E · USFS
Open Upper Payette Lake Dispersed elsewhere
Other camps near Upper Payette Lake Dispersed
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Upper Payette Lake Group Campground~0.2 mi · fee
- Upper Payette Lake Campground~0.6 mi · fee
- North Fork Meadows~2.6 mi
- Granite Lake Dispersed~3.7 mi
The unit that manages Upper Payette Lake Dispersed
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Upper Payette Lake Dispersed are set by Payette National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Secesh Summit at 6,530 ft, about 5 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 Payette Lake Dispersed
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 Payette Lake Dispersed
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 Payette Lake Dispersed
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Camping with a dog →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 →