Agency-listedUSFSFree
Van Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 45.42740, -116.13790
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 Van Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,869 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Van CreekNIFC · 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 Van Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care8 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- GGrocery9 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- @Mail9 mi
- WWater30 mi
- RxPharmacy34 mi
- HHardware34 mi
- MMechanic34 mi
- ShShower35 mi
- EVEV fast charger36 mi
- DDump42 mi
- LLaundry48 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 30-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 9 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 36-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 — Van Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,869 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
45.42740, -116.13790
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Van Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureVan Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townRiggins · ~8.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesRiggins Whitewater Market · ~8.7 mi
- Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.
EV charging — from Van Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger35.8 mi straight-line S — McCall, ID - Tesla Supercharger (at a municipal building) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 8 within 50 · 24 within 100 · 78 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS35.9 mi — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 2, McCall
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO35.9 mi — MCCALL CHARGEPO MC CHARGE 2, McCall
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)34.4 mi — Super 8 by Wyndham Grangeville - Tesla Destination (at a hotel) · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 3 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 405687 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Van Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSpring Bar · ~0.8 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAllison Creek · ~1.3 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLower Elkhorn - Vault Toilet · ~2.9 mi SE · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Elkhorn - Vault Toilet · ~3.0 mi SE · BLM
Coming out here — Van Creek · Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest · ID
- Surface water mapped nearby: Van Creek (stream). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Dave gets service credit if you sign up through it. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Van Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Van Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Spring Bar~0.8 mi · fee
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #13~2.0 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #422~2.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — ID #619~2.3 mi
The unit that manages Van Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Van Creek are set by Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Van Creek
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
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 Van Creek
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 — Van Creek
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →