Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Blacksmith Bayou Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 44.26170, -86.03627
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 Blacksmith Bayou Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 612 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Blacksmith Bayou CampgroundNIFC · 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 Blacksmith Bayou Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care3 mi
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- OOutfitter3 mi
- WWater5 mi
- DDump8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- MMechanic9 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- ShShower11 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- RxPharmacy14 mi
- AAir-up17 mi
- PPropane39 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out.
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 — Blacksmith Bayou Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
612 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
44.26170, -86.03627
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Blacksmith Bayou Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBlacksmith Bayou (water) · nearby
- Nearest townBrethren · ~3.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~4.8 mi
- FuelMarathon · ~4.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~7.5 mi
- GroceriesWhitetail Party Mart · ~4.4 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~13.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicWellston Medical Center · ~2.6 mi
- HardwareNugent Ace Hardware · ~24.1 mi
EV charging — from Blacksmith Bayou Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.7 mi straight-line E — CORNER EXPRESS Wellston MI (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach9 within 25 mi · 39 within 50 · 143 within 100 · 367 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)12.5 mi — Saddle Up - Bear Lake, Bear Lake
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.2 mi — BLARNEY CASTLE MANISTERY 1, Manistee
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)13.8 mi — Orchard Beach State Park, Manistee, MI (at a public site) · RIVIAN_WAYPOINTS · 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 — Little River Casino Resort, Manistee, 10.6 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; Customer use only
- 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 351314 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Blacksmith Bayou Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBlacksmith Bayou Access · ~0.3 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHighbridge Access · ~1.1 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUdell Rollways Day Use Area · ~2.2 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUdell Nct Trailhead · ~2.8 mi SW · USFS
Open Blacksmith Bayou Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Blacksmith Bayou Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Blacksmith Bayou Access~0.3 mi · fee
- Sawdust Hole River Access~4.2 mi
- Pine Lake Recreation Area~4.8 mi
- Marzinski Horse Campground~6.6 mi
The unit that manages Blacksmith Bayou Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Blacksmith Bayou Campground are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Blacksmith Bayou Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Blacksmith Bayou Campground
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 — Blacksmith Bayou Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →