Agency-listedUSFSFree
Condon Lakes West
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 43.75796, -85.90006
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 Condon Lakes West
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 848 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Condon Lakes WestNIFC · 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 Condon Lakes West · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- +Urgent care10 mi
- DDump11 mi
- EVEV fast charger20 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- ShShower20 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- WWater21 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- AAir-up24 mi
- PPropane52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-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 — Condon Lakes West
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
848 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
43.75796, -85.90006
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around Condon Lakes West · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCondon Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townBitely · ~2.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~2.1 mi
- Propane / LPGWesco · ~20.8 mi
- Dump station~10.8 mi
- GroceriesBitely Grocery · ~2.1 mi
- PharmacyPattie Drug of Baldwin · ~9.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicBaldwin Family Health Care Clinic · ~10.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~9.4 mi
EV charging — from Condon Lakes West · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger19.8 mi straight-line E — Big Rapids, MI - Tesla Supercharger (at a grocery store) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 10 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach10 within 25 mi · 41 within 50 · 185 within 100 · 503 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS20.0 mi — JOHNNY'S MARKET BIG RAPIDS DC1, Big Rapids
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO20.0 mi — JOHNNY'S MARKET BIG RAPIDS DC1, Big Rapids
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.3 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 102224 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Condon Lakes West · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCondon Lake Backcountry Campsites · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSawkaw Lake Campsites · ~0.3 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHighbanks Campground · ~1.1 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWalk Up Lake Campground · ~1.6 mi S · USFS
Open Condon Lakes West elsewhere
Other camps near Condon Lakes West
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sawkaw Lake Campsites~0.3 mi
- Highbanks Campground~1.1 mi · fee
- Walkup Lake Campground~1.6 mi
- Nichols Lake Campground~2.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Condon Lakes West
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Condon Lakes West are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Condon Lakes West
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.
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 Condon Lakes West
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 — Condon Lakes West
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →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 →