Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Yaak Ford
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MT · 48.85563, -115.66340
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 Yaak Ford
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 Yaak FordNIFC · 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 Yaak Ford · Kootenai National Forest · MT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater21 mi
- @Mail23 mi
- DDump23 mi
- GGrocery28 mi
- LLaundry28 mi
- FFuel28 mi
- MMechanic28 mi
- HHardware29 mi
- EVEV fast charger31 mi
- +Urgent care32 mi
- RxPharmacy33 mi
- OOutfitter55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 28 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 31-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 — Yaak Ford
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MT
Coordinates
48.85563, -115.66340
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Yaak Ford · Kootenai National Forest · MT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureVinal Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townYaak · ~2.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~22.9 mi
- GroceriesHeavens Peak Organics Market · ~27.7 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~29.4 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 Yaak Ford · Kootenai National Forest · MT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger31.4 mi straight-line W — 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 reachnone within 25 mi · 1 within 50 · 18 within 100 · 64 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)74.4 mi — Kalispell, MT - Tesla Supercharger, Kalispell
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)55.1 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 — Paradise Valley Chalet - Tesla Destination, Bonners Ferry, 32.8 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 169454 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Yaak Ford · Kootenai National Forest · MT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPete Creek · ~5.0 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWhitetail · ~7.1 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Creek Baldy Warming Shelter · ~16.0 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Creek Baldy · ~16.2 mi S · USFS
Open Yaak Ford elsewhere
Other camps near Yaak Ford
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- 7460Sforkyaakriver~2.4 mi
- Hoskins Lake~2.4 mi
- Pnt04 Tr9 Site B~3.6 mi
- Upper Ford Bridge~3.7 mi
The unit that manages Yaak Ford
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Yaak Ford 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 Garver Creek at 4,250 ft, about 11 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 — Yaak Ford
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 Yaak Ford
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 — Yaak Ford
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Off-grid communication →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 →