Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Crane Lake Site 4
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MN · 48.27544, -92.51171
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 Crane Lake Site 4
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,127 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Crane Lake Site 4NIFC · 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 Crane Lake Site 4 · Superior National Forest · MN
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail1 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- OOutfitter2 mi
- HHardware21 mi
- GGrocery21 mi
- MMechanic21 mi
- WWater29 mi
- +Urgent care29 mi
- RxPharmacy30 mi
- ShShower33 mi
- DDump33 mi
- LLaundry34 mi
- EVEV fast charger51 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 29-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 2 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 51-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 — Crane Lake Site 4
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
1,127 ft
State
MN
Coordinates
48.27544, -92.51171
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Crane Lake Site 4 · Superior National Forest · MN (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureVermilion River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townCrane Lake · ~1.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelAnderson's · ~2.3 mi
- Propane / LPGFerrellgas · ~22.2 mi
- GroceriesPelican Bay Foods · ~21.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicNett Lake Heath Clinic · ~29.3 mi
EV charging — from Crane Lake Site 4 · Superior National Forest · MN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger51.4 mi straight-line S — 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 · none within 50 · 6 within 100 · 23 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)91.0 mi — Tofte, MN - Tesla Supercharger, Tofte
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO51.9 mi — VIRGINIA PU VETS MEMORIAL, Virginia
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)1.1 mi — CRANE LAKE VC AFPQO000003XW8C, Crane Lake, MN · ChargePoint Network · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 Crane Lake Site 4 · Superior National Forest · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomNSP B245 Casareto Day Use Comfort Station · ~2.6 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomNSP B107 King Williams Campground Comfort Station · ~2.8 mi NE · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletVermilion Falls Picnic Area · ~2.8 mi W · USFS
- RestroomNSP B100 Mukooda Lake Campground Comfort Station · ~4.3 mi N · NPS
Open Crane Lake Site 4 elsewhere
Other camps near Crane Lake Site 4
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Vermilion River Site 9~1.5 mi
- Vermilion River Site 8~2.3 mi
- Crane Lake Site 2~2.4 mi
- Crane Lake Site 3~2.5 mi
The unit that manages Crane Lake Site 4
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Crane Lake Site 4 are set by Superior National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Crane Lake Site 4
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 Crane Lake Site 4
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 — Crane Lake Site 4
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading the aerial →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 →