Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.20612, -115.59063
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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 Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,335 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, MontanaNIFC · 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 Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery7 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- FFuel10 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- LLaundry13 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- WWater33 mi
- OOutfitter44 mi
- EVEV fast charger44 mi
- DDump49 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 33-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 7 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 44-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 — Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
3,335 ft
State
MT
Coordinates
48.20612, -115.59063
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSnowshoe Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townPioneer Junction · ~9.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelMac's Market · ~14.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesAmish Farm to Market · ~6.9 mi
- PharmacyNorthwest CHC Pharmacy (Highway 2) · ~12.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicFamily Health and Wellness · ~12.7 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~12.7 mi
EV charging — from Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger44.4 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 reachnone within 25 mi · 3 within 50 · 54 within 100 · 90 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)52.0 mi — 76 Station - Tesla Supercharger, Kellogg
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO47.3 mi — V.C. STATION BF FAST CHARGER, Bonners Ferry
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)44.6 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 aboveNACS-only Level 2 — City of Sandpoint - Tesla Destination, Sandpoint, 44.1 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Kootenai River Outfitters Lodge and Cabins, Troy, 13.7 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 Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Lake · ~7.8 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMc Millan Shooting Range · ~7.8 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSouth Flower X-C Th Sno827 · ~9.6 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBad Medicine · ~12.2 mi W · USFS
Open Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana elsewhere
Other camps near Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #322~1.8 mi
- 278Bearcr5013~2.0 mi
- Rd 6212 Site 1~2.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — MT #370~2.3 mi
The unit that manages Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana 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 Poorman Creek at 5,050 ft, about 6 miles away. It sits about 1,715 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 — Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
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 Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
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 — Dispersed camp #638, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Getting unstuck →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 →