Deschutes National Forest

43.8081° N, 121.9541° W · 5,568 ft · Free dispersed · USFS — Deschutes National Forest · Deschutes County

A free base with a town’s worth of resupply close by. Water forces a town run around day 4 — but water is 4 miles out, so you can hold this spot near the full 14-day limit on one short run.

Prepared for MiaRig on file Solo rig · 1pIssued Jul 2026

Why this one

The base camp

You asked for a base you could actually live at, not a parking lot. This is the pick: free, legal national-forest dispersed camping with the resupply that matters mapped from the campsite — so you know exactly what living here costs before you drive in.

“Wow! A beautiful, very remote, primitive campsite along the shore of Thomas Lake in Deschutes National Forest.”— From the field · a world-class overlander Dave vouches for

Matched to your rig

How long you can live here

Solo rig1 person15 gal fresh waterjug/portable waterpropane cooktopno hookups

4days before a town run · water runs out first

At about 4 gallons a day for 1, your 15-gallon fresh tank is the first thing to send you in — roughly day 4. Change the rig and these numbers change with it.

Fresh water~4.3 dPropane~16 dFood (carried)~7.0 dFuel (parked)weeks

The move: top off water on a quick 4-mile run around day 4 and you reset the clock — this camp holds close to the full 14-day limit without really packing up.

The layer nobody else maps

The one supply run — measured from camp

Nearest real business in each category, by bearing & distance. Straight-line; real roads run a touch longer.

Potable water4.5 mi
Grocery19.4 mi
Fuel — gas & diesel19.4 mi
Propane refill35.5 mi
Dump station38.5 mi

The run to reset your clock

Potable water
Fuel
Grocery
Propane refill

One loop, ~85 mi round trip. The dump is the lone outlier at 38 mi — run it on the way in or out, or use a town RV dump; don’t build your grey-tank plan around it.

Also close: urgent care 24.3 · pharmacy 24.3 · hardware 24.2 · mechanic 24.4 · laundry 24.4 · shower 23.7 · outfitter 21.2.

Before you commit

Access & what to watch for

SEASON
At 5,568 ft, snow can linger on the road into spring and spurs get muddy after rain — confirm the road is dry and open before you commit.
FIRE
Public land runs fire restrictions most summers — check the current burn status for this unit before you light anything, and carry a stove that’s legal under a ban.
STAY LIMIT
Dispersed camping on USFS/BLM land generally caps at 14 days in a 30-day period — confirm the current district rule; patrols do check popular corridors.
WATER
No potable water at the site. Treat anything you gather; your safe source is the nearest town water below. Haul enough that a run is a convenience, not an emergency.
CELL
No cell signal at camp — download maps offline and tell someone your plan before you turn onto dirt.

The honest part

This is decision support, not navigation. Every distance is straight-line from your camp to the nearest real business in OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); real drive-time runs a little longer, and a pin can close between our data and your arrival. The autonomy read is modeled from the rig you gave us — change the rig, the numbers change.

Confidence on this camp is Likely: a world-class recommendation Dave researched, not yet stood-on or crowd-confirmed. Coordinates are approximate; roads, closures, fire rules, and stay limits change. Confirm locally before you commit — and never assume natural water is potable.

Dave Lalande · American Adventurerdavelalande.comQuestions on this brief? Just reply.