Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NC · 35.22673, -83.02556
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 Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,556 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bear Creek Lake Dispersed CampsiteNIFC · 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 Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite · National Forests in North Carolina · NC
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- MMechanic9 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- WWater10 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- EVEV fast charger14 mi
- DDump17 mi
- ShShower20 mi
- AAir-up25 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 8 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 — Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
2,556 ft
State
NC
Coordinates
35.22673, -83.02556
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite · National Forests in North Carolina · NC (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNeddie Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townIsland Ford · ~0.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCitgo · ~8.3 mi
- Propane / LPGFreeman Gas · ~9.1 mi
- Dump station~17.4 mi
- GroceriesIngles · ~8.2 mi
- PharmacyGordon Family Pharmacy Inc · ~16.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicToxaway Health Center · ~9.3 mi
- HardwareOur Country Store · ~13.1 mi
EV charging — from Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite · National Forests in North Carolina · NC — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger14.5 mi straight-line NW — Sylva, NC - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach9 within 25 mi · 62 within 50 · 224 within 100 · 659 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS16.5 mi — Haywood Community College West Waynesville Annex, Waynesville
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO16.5 mi — Haywood Community College West Waynesville Annex, Waynesville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)5.7 mi — VALLEY BEAR VALLEY BEAR 2, Balsam Grove, NC · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, 10.7 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for student, faculty, and visitor use only · AFDC lists it “$2 per hour; pay lot from 8am-5pm daily”
- 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 330568 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite · National Forests in North Carolina · NC — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMoss Knob Shooting Range · ~10.2 mi W · USFS
- RestroomBGAP MP 418.8 B1081 GF Vault Toilet · ~12.0 mi NE · NPS
- Highway rest areaHaywood County Rest Area · ~15.3 mi N
- Vault / pit toiletSloan Bridge · ~15.5 mi S · USFS
Open Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite elsewhere
Other camps near Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Tanasee Lake Dispersed Campsites~1.8 mi
- Wolf Creek Lake Dispersed Campsites~1.9 mi
- Panthertown Shelter~4.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — NC #2~8.0 mi
The unit that manages Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite are set by National Forests in North Carolina, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
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 Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
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 — Bear Creek Lake Dispersed Campsite
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →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 →