Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Claybanks Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 43.87085, -85.88234
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 Claybanks Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 820 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Claybanks 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 Claybanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- HHardware2 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- RxPharmacy2 mi
- +Urgent care3 mi
- MMechanic17 mi
- EVEV fast charger18 mi
- DDump18 mi
- LLaundry18 mi
- AAir-up19 mi
- ShShower20 mi
- WWater23 mi
- OOutfitter31 mi
- PPropane59 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 23-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — Claybanks Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
820 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
43.87085, -85.88234
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Claybanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featurePere Marquette River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townMarlborough · ~2.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelBP · ~2.1 mi
- Propane / LPGWesco · ~17.9 mi
- Dump station~18.0 mi
- GroceriesEZ Mart · ~2.1 mi
- PharmacyPattie Drug of Baldwin · ~2.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicBaldwin Family Health Care Clinic · ~2.7 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~2.0 mi
EV charging — from Claybanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger17.9 mi straight-line E — Wesco Reed City 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 reach11 within 25 mi · 31 within 50 · 175 within 100 · 454 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)18.7 mi — Wevo Energy - Reed City Ace Hardware, Reed City
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO21.2 mi — GLE STATION 3, Scottville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)1.8 mi — Red Moose Lodge - Tesla Destination, Baldwin, MI · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 2 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 467639 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Claybanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletClaybanks Recreation Area · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGreen Cottage Access · ~0.7 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGleason'S Landing Campground · ~1.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGleason'S Landing River Access · ~2.0 mi W · USFS
Open Claybanks Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Claybanks Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Gleason'S Landing Campground~1.9 mi · fee
- Bowman Bridge Campground~2.8 mi · fee
- Bowman Bridge Campground~3.3 mi
- Leverentz Lake State Forest Campground~4.0 mi · fee
The unit that manages Claybanks Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Claybanks Campground are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Claybanks 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 Claybanks 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 — Claybanks Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Off-grid communication →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 →