Agency-listedUSFSFee
Bear Lake
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WI · 45.51317, -88.53011
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Lake
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,393 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bear 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 Bear Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care4 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- HHardware15 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- DDump18 mi
- ShShower18 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- OOutfitter32 mi
- WWater35 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 35-mi drive, 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 Lake
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,393 ft
State
WI
Coordinates
45.51317, -88.53011
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Bear Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townLaona · ~7.5 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelShell · ~7.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~18.3 mi
- GroceriesShell · ~7.8 mi
- PharmacyPharmacy · ~7.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicBlackwell Job Corps Center Health & Wellness Center · ~4.1 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~14.7 mi
EV charging — from Bear Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger16.0 mi straight-line W — Fireside Market Stone Lake, Crandon, WI (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 11 within 50 · 58 within 100 · 121 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)32.8 mi — Kwik Trip #1101, Crivitz
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO35.5 mi — NORWAY MI DC FAST EV 1, Norway
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)32.4 mi — Crivitz Lodge - Tesla Destination · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 451553 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bear Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletAda Lake · ~13.9 mi SW · USFS
Open Bear Lake elsewhere
Other camps near Bear Lake
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Rat River Bridge Dispersed~4.7 mi
- Richardson Lake Campground~10.2 mi · fee
- Himley Ca~11.3 mi · fee
- Laura Lake~13.2 mi · fee
The unit that manages Bear Lake
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Bear Lake are set by Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Bear 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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-30: $15 per night, single site; $7.50 with an Interagency access or senior pass, on the pass holder's own site only. Separate $5 day use pass for the boat landing beach, waived for registered campers; $30 forest annual pass. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/chequamegon-nicolet/recreation/bear-lake-recreation-area.
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 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 — Bear Lake
Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Leave no trace →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 →