Lolo National Forest

47.1241° N, 113.1465° W · 4,157 ft · Free dispersed · USFS — Lolo National Forest · Powell County

A remote base for a self-contained rig. Water runs out first, around day 6 — and the nearest reset (water) is 24 miles out, so plan your resupply deliberately.

Prepared for Test ClientRig on file 4×4 van · 2pWindow Aug-OctIssued 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.

“A free campground in Lolo National Forest with vault toilet, fire rings, and picnic tables. Great area for hiking and horseback.”— From the field · a world-class overlander Dave vouches for

Matched to your rig

How long you can live here

4×4 van2 people40 gal fresh water25 gal greypropane furnace + cooktopno hookups

6days before a town run · water runs out first

At about 7 gallons a day for 2, your 40-gallon fresh tank is the first thing to send you in — roughly day 6. Change the rig and these numbers change with it.

Fresh water~5.7 dGrey tank~6.0 dPropane~10 dFood (carried)~9.0 dFuel (parked)weeks

The constraint: water is 24 miles away, so day 6 is a real deadline here — carry more water, or line up your move before you run down.

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 water24.2 mi
Grocery13.4 mi
Fuel — gas & diesel13.5 mi
Propane refill31.7 mi
Dump station13.4 mi

The run to reset your clock

Grocery
Fuel
Potable water
Propane refill

One loop, ~76 mi round trip.

Also close: urgent care 15.7 · pharmacy 43.7 · hardware 16.2 · mechanic 43.3 · laundry 16.3 · shower 11.9 · outfitter 43.1.

Before you commit

Access & what to watch for

SEASON
Check the road and weather window before you go — dirt access turns greasy after rain, and shoulder-season storms move fast.
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.