Agency-listedUSFSFee
East Seelye Bay Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MN · 47.52435, -94.09554
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 East Seelye Bay Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,310 ft.
Fire & smoke — around East Seelye Bay 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 East Seelye Bay Campground · Chippewa National Forest · MN
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- OOutfitter19 mi
- LLaundry19 mi
- HHardware19 mi
- MMechanic20 mi
- WWater25 mi
- +Urgent care26 mi
- ShShower30 mi
- RxPharmacy33 mi
- DDump34 mi
- EVEV fast charger34 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 34-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 — East Seelye Bay Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,310 ft
State
MN
Coordinates
47.52435, -94.09554
Cost
Fee · Forest Service inventory: fee charged
Nearby & resupply — around East Seelye Bay Campground · Chippewa National Forest · MN (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureDry Creek Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townWiiams Narrows Resort and Mobile Home Court · ~2.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMax Mini Store · ~6.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicEssentia Health-Deer River · ~18.9 mi
- HardwareLakeside Lumber & Hardware LLC · ~19.5 mi
EV charging — from East Seelye Bay Campground · Chippewa National Forest · MN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger34.1 mi straight-line SE — GRAND RAPIDS CHEVROLET GMC INC · 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 · 4 within 50 · 19 within 100 · 77 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)37.9 mi — Bemidji, MN - Tesla Supercharger, Bemidji
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO35.6 mi — Bemidji, Bemidji
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)25.5 mi — Blackduck · CHARGELAB · 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 254393 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around East Seelye Bay Campground · Chippewa National Forest · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletEast Seelye Bay · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Seelye Bay · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Seelye Bay · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDeer Lake · ~0.9 mi SW · USFS
Open East Seelye Bay Campground elsewhere
Other camps near East Seelye Bay Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- West Seelye Bay Campground~0.3 mi · fee
- West Seelye Overflow~0.4 mi
- Deer Lake~0.9 mi · fee
- Cut Foot Dispersed Campsites~1.9 mi
The unit that manages East Seelye Bay Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at East Seelye Bay Campground are set by Chippewa National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — East Seelye Bay 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.
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 East Seelye Bay 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 — East Seelye Bay Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Dispersed camping tips →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 →