Agency-listedUSFSFee
German Ridge Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · IN · 37.95514, -86.58117
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 German Ridge Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 679 ft.
Fire & smoke — around German Ridge 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 German Ridge Campground · Hoosier National Forest · IN
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- @Mail9 mi
- HHardware10 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- DDump16 mi
- +Urgent care21 mi
- ShShower25 mi
- EVEV fast charger26 mi
- WWater30 mi
- OOutfitter30 mi
- AAir-up31 mi
- PPropane36 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 30-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 6 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 — German Ridge Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
679 ft
State
IN
Coordinates
37.95514, -86.58117
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around German Ridge Campground · Hoosier National Forest · IN (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureEast Deer Pond (water) · nearby
- Nearest townHardingrove · ~2.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~15.5 mi · fee
- GroceriesThe Derby Market · ~6.0 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~10.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicPerry County Memorial Hospital · ~8.2 mi
- HardwareHardware · ~9.6 mi
EV charging — from German Ridge Campground · Hoosier National Forest · IN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger26.5 mi straight-line NW — Sternberg Ford, Dale, IN (at a public site) · FORD_CHARGE · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 27 within 50 · 94 within 100 · 365 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)42.1 mi — Beaver Dam, KY - Tesla Supercharger, Beaver Dam
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO29.7 mi — MOORE HYUNDAI DON MOORE 2, Owensboro
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.3 mi — RMC, Tell City, IN · Blink Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, 19.3 mi · J1772 · hours: School business hours; call 812-357-6611 if you wish to make a reservation · AFDC lists it “$1.50 per hour”
- 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 454184 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around German Ridge Campground · Hoosier National Forest · IN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletGerman Ridge Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGerman Ridge Beach · ~0.3 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGerman Ridge Campground Trailhead · ~0.3 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGerman Ridge Picnic Area · ~0.3 mi W · USFS
Open German Ridge Campground elsewhere
Other camps near German Ridge Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- German Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 2 (Hoosier NF)~1.1 mi
- German Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 1 (Hoosier NF)~2.1 mi
- Yellowbank WMA~4.1 mi
- Mogan Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 5 (Hoosier NF)~6.2 mi
The unit that manages German Ridge Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at German Ridge Campground are set by Hoosier National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — German Ridge Campground
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified.
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 German Ridge 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 — German Ridge Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →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 →