Agency-listedUSFSFee
Welch Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · OR · 44.87702, -118.77878
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Welch Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,439 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Welch 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 Welch Creek · Umatilla National Forest · OR
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery11 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- FFuel20 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- WWater24 mi
- RxPharmacy29 mi
- ShShower30 mi
- HHardware33 mi
- LLaundry33 mi
- EVEV fast charger33 mi
- DDump35 mi
- +Urgent care45 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 24-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 11 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 33-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 — Welch Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
4,439 ft
State
OR
Coordinates
44.87702, -118.77878
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Welch Creek · Umatilla National Forest · OR (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townGreenhorn · ~18.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~19.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesDale Store · ~11.3 mi
- PharmacyPrairie Drug · ~28.8 mi
EV charging — from Welch Creek · Umatilla National Forest · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger32.9 mi straight-line S — OTEC OTEC OFFICE JD, John Day, OR · 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 · 9 within 50 · 51 within 100 · 140 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)47.8 mi — Baker City, OR - Tesla Supercharger, Baker City
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)46.8 mi — Hampton Inn & Suites La Grande - Tesla Destination · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Historic Hotel Prairie - Tesla Destination, Prairie City, 28.8 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 312972 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Welch Creek · Umatilla National Forest · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletWelch Creek · at this camp · USFS
- RestroomBattle Creek · ~3.0 mi NE · USFS
- RestroomBasin Creek · ~3.8 mi NE · USFS
- RestroomHoward Creek · ~3.8 mi SE · USFS
Open Welch Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Welch Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Oriental Campground~7.1 mi · fee
- Gold Dredge~8.8 mi · fee
- Head O' Boulder Forest Camp~9.4 mi
- Driftwood~10.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Welch Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Welch Creek are set by Umatilla National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Welch 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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-23: $8 per night, single site; $5 per extra vehicle per night, charged for each vehicle over the two-per-site allowance. Site 6 is a group site at $25 per night with no extra-vehicle charge. Umatilla NF publishes this as Welch Creek Campground and Trailhead. No recreation.gov listing within 0.5 mi of our pin, so the forest page is the only current source. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/recreation/welch-creek-campground-trailhead.
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 Welch 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 — Welch Creek
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →The town run →Reading your camp page →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 →