Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Birch Lake Site 16
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MN · 47.75257, -91.85490
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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.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — Birch Lake Site 16 · Superior National Forest · MN
No MVUM road within a quarter mile of the pin; the nearest mapped segment is FR 192 (Beaver Farm), 0.7 mi away. Access may be a county road or unmapped.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Birch Lake Site 16
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,420 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Birch Lake Site 16NIFC · 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 Birch Lake Site 16 · Superior National Forest · MN
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- HHardware10 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- OOutfitter10 mi
- ShShower11 mi
- DDump11 mi
- WWater17 mi
- +Urgent care22 mi
- EVEV fast charger35 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 35-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 — Birch Lake Site 16
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
1,420 ft
Nearest rail line
~5.5 mi · other track
State
MN
Coordinates
47.75257, -91.85490
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Birch Lake Site 16 · Superior National Forest · MN (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBirch Lake · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Also mapped (OSM)Kangas Creek (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townBabbitt · ~5.1 mi
- Nearest rail line~5.5 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~18.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~10.9 mi
- GroceriesZup's · ~5.1 mi
- PharmacyEssentia · ~10.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicEly Bloomenson Community Hospital · ~10.2 mi
- HardwareHardware Hank · ~10.3 mi
EV charging — from Birch Lake Site 16 · Superior National Forest · MN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger35.4 mi straight-line SW — Ken Waschke Auto Plaza, VIRGINIA, MN · EV Connect · 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 · 4 within 50 · 19 within 100 · 30 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)48.2 mi — Tofte, MN - Tesla Supercharger, Tofte
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO35.4 mi — VIRGINIA PU VETS MEMORIAL, Virginia
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.4 mi — Dairy Queen Grill & Chill - Tesla Destination, Ely, MN (at a restaurant) · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 6 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 353736 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Birch Lake Site 16 · Superior National Forest · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBirch Lake Boat Access · ~3.2 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBirch Lake Campground · ~3.4 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOne Pine Lake Boat Access · ~4.0 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSouth Kawishiwi River Picnic Area · ~7.1 mi NE · USFS
Coming out here — Birch Lake Site 16 · Superior National Forest · MN
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Birch Lake as a perennial lake or pond, under 0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Rail line mapped ~5.5 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. The nearest track the atlas classes as a main line is ~5.9 mi from the pin. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Birch Lake Site 16 elsewhere
Other camps near Birch Lake Site 16
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Birch Lake Site 10~0.5 mi
- Birch Lake Site 9~0.8 mi
- Birch Lake Site 12~0.8 mi
- Birch Lake Site 11~1.0 mi
The unit that manages Birch Lake Site 16
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Birch Lake Site 16 are set by Superior National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Birch Lake Site 16
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).
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
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 Birch Lake Site 16
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 — Birch Lake Site 16
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Dispersed camping tips →All field notes →