Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
West Fork Lake
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 48.83830, -116.74933
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 West Fork Lake
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,801 ft.
Fire & smoke — around West Fork LakeNIFC · 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 West Fork Lake · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump16 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- GGrocery16 mi
- @Mail17 mi
- WWater18 mi
- EVEV fast charger22 mi
- LLaundry22 mi
- HHardware24 mi
- OOutfitter38 mi
- MMechanic38 mi
- +Urgent care38 mi
- RxPharmacy40 mi
- ShShower47 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 16 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 — West Fork Lake
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
5,801 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
48.83830, -116.74933
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around West Fork Lake · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelPorthill Mercantile · ~15.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~15.7 mi
- GroceriesPorthill Mercantile · ~15.8 mi
- HardwareTamrak Hardware Store · ~23.7 mi
EV charging — from West Fork Lake · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger22.2 mi straight-line SE — V.C. STATION BF FAST CHARGER, Bonners Ferry, ID · 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 6 within 50 · 49 within 100 · 75 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)78.1 mi — Coeur d'Alene, ID - Tesla Supercharger, Coeur d'Alene
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)23.3 mi — Priest Lake Motorsports, Priest River, ID · NOODOE · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- 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 169454 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around West Fork Lake · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletGeisinger · ~7.0 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTrapper · ~7.1 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletShorty Peak Lookout · ~7.6 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPlowboy · ~7.6 mi SW · USFS
Coming out here — West Fork Lake · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · ID
- No surface water within about a mile and a half in our records — which is not proof there is none, only that we found none. Plan to carry washing water as well as drinking water.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- 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 West Fork Lake elsewhere
Other camps near West Fork Lake
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- West Fork Lake~0.1 mi
- West Fork Lake~0.1 mi
- West Fork Lake~0.2 mi
- Hidden Lake~3.0 mi
The unit that manages West Fork Lake
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at West Fork Lake 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 Hidden Lake at 5,000 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 801 ft lower 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 — West Fork Lake
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 West Fork Lake
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 — West Fork Lake
Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Power off-grid →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 →