Agency-listedWDNRFree
Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)
Dispersed · public land · WI · 45.86675, -92.72688
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 →The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Free special camp registration permit required, email forest HQ 7+ days ahead.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 912 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)NIFC · 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 Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required) · public land · WI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater3 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- ShShower9 mi
- FFuel12 mi
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- RxPharmacy19 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- DDump22 mi
- PPropane40 mi
- AAir-up41 mi
- OOutfitter46 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)
Access
Dispersed
Land
public land
Elevation
912 ft
State
WI
Coordinates
45.86675, -92.72688
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required) · public land · WI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSaint Croix River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townGrantsburg · ~6.4 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~3.0 mi
- FuelSpeedway · ~11.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~22.5 mi
- GroceriesBP · ~6.8 mi
- PharmacyThrifty White Pharmacy · ~19.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicBurnett General Hospital · ~6.6 mi
- HardwareLuck DO It Best Hardware · ~23.3 mi
EV charging — from Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required) · public land · WI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.6 mi straight-line W — Nordic Star LLC-Evergreen Square (Pine City, MN) · Electrify America · CCS · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach4 within 25 mi · 18 within 50 · 191 within 100 · 257 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)13.9 mi — Hinckley, MN - Tesla Supercharger, Hinckley
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO40.5 mi — MOOSE LAKE LEVEL 3, Moose Lake
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.4 mi — Northwest Passage Gallery, Webster, WI (at a parking lot) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-01-13 · 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 279493 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required) · public land · WI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomMD Snake River Landing Vault Toilet · ~3.6 mi SW · NPS
- RestroomMD Nelson Landing Vault Toilet · ~3.6 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomMD SandRock Cliff Vault Toilet · ~5.4 mi S · NPS
- RestroomMD Norway Vault Toilet · ~5.7 mi NE · NPS
Open Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required) elsewhere
Other camps near Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- St. Croix NSR - River Mile 99.4 Campsite (free, first-come)~1.8 mi
- St. Croix NSR - Nelsons Landing Campsites (free, first-come)~3.6 mi
- St. Croix NSR - Sandrock Cliffs Campsites (free, first-come)~5.4 mi
- St. Croix NSR - Norway Point Landing Campsites (free, first-come)~5.7 mi
How we know this — Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)
Permit
Reservations are required and a free special camp registration permit can be obtained by emailing the forest headquarters at least 7 days prior to occupying the site.
Source
public land records
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
FREE BUT PERMITTED, per the Wisconsin DNR's own page for Governor Knowles State Forest, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/StateForests/GovKnowles/recreation/camping read 2026-08-15: 'Governor Knowles State Forest offers nine primitive campsites along the hiking trails. Reservations are required and a free special camp registration permit can be obtained by emailing the forest headquarters at least 7 days prior to occupying the site.' Permit email: dnrgovknowlesbackpacksites@wisconsin.gov. There is NO camping fee -- the permit itself is free -- but you cannot show up unannounced; the DNR wants 7 days' notice. Forest HQ phone 715-463-2898. CAVEAT: the DNR names a COUNT (nine) but publishes no list of site names or coordinates I could read; the name here is OpenStreetMap's, transcribed by an OSM mapper who cited this same DNR page. Three of the nine are mapped; the other six were not found. The DNR page gives no stay limit and no seasonal closure for these sites -- I could not verify either, so do not state one. OSM capacity 6 people / 2 tents, access=permit, fee=no, picnic table yes, toilets=no, drinking_water=no, openfire=yes. Burnett County, WI (Town of West Marshland). COORDINATE PROVENANCE: OpenStreetMap, queried via Overpass 2026-08-15. It is NOT an agency coordinate and NOT a field visit. The agency page cited above is the authority for the site's existence, fee status and rules; OSM supplies only the position. Confirmed to fall in Wisconsin by Nominatim reverse geocode 2026-08-15. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.
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 Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)
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 — Governor Knowles State Forest - Brandt Pines Backpack Campsite (free, permit required)
Finding water out here →Cold-weather camping →Fire rules & restrictions →How to read this page →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 →