Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 44.63998, -83.91771
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 Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 877 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Buttercup Backcountry CampsitesNIFC · 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 Buttercup Backcountry Campsites · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- WWater7 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- RxPharmacy9 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- EVEV fast charger11 mi
- DDump16 mi
- PPropane23 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
877 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
44.63998, -83.91771
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Buttercup Backcountry Campsites · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNinemile Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townMcKinley · ~1.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~6.8 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.6 mi
- Propane / LPGBlue Flame Propane · ~28.8 mi
- Dump station~16.4 mi
- GroceriesCurtisville Mall · ~6.6 mi
- PharmacyFairview Pharmacy · ~8.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicHale Saint Joseph Medical Clinic · ~19.0 mi
- HardwareLuzerne Hardware · ~17.5 mi
EV charging — from Buttercup Backcountry Campsites · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.0 mi straight-line SE — Rogers Family Foods Glennie 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 20 within 50 · 113 within 100 · 281 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)38.9 mi — Grayling, MI, Grayling
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO31.0 mi — Harbor Ln Harrisville MI, Harrisville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)18.8 mi — Washington St Hale MI (at a public site) · RED_E · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- 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 351315 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Buttercup Backcountry Campsites · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletButtercup Backcountry Campsites · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMckinley Landing Access · ~1.2 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMckinley Horse Trail Campground · ~2.7 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDavis Rest Stop · ~3.7 mi W · USFS
Open Buttercup Backcountry Campsites elsewhere
Other camps near Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Buttercup Campground~0.2 mi
- Bear Island Primitive Campsite~1.3 mi
- Bear Island Backcountry Campsites~1.4 mi
- Mckinley Horse Trail Campground~2.7 mi
The unit that manages Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Buttercup Backcountry Campsites are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
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 Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
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 — Buttercup Backcountry Campsites
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Getting unstuck →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 →