Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFreeRoad season: open (MVUM)
Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · IN · 38.98721, -86.32026
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.
Nearest places named on the USFS map sheet: Maumee and Yellowstone (unincorporated). Hoosier NF supervisor office is in Bedford, IN.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) · Hoosier National Forest · IN
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is FR 4511.070, 440 ft from the pin. The MVUM lists it as crushed aggregate or gravel surface and maintenance level 2 – high-clearance vehicles.
Road season: open (MVUM) The MVUM lists FR 4511.070, 440 ft from the pin, open to high-clearance vehicles year-round.
MVUM record for FR 4511.070: “01/01-12/31” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 851 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)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 Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) · Hoosier National Forest · IN
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- @Mail5 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- OOutfitter7 mi
- WWater7 mi
- ShShower7 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- +Urgent care8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- DDump9 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- AAir-up45 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out.
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 — Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
851 ft
Ground slope
24.3% · steep
State
IN
Coordinates
38.98721, -86.32026
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) · Hoosier National Forest · IN (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMcPike Branch · ~0.1 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Nearest townHeltonville · ~4.9 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~7.4 mi
- FuelHeltonville Store · ~5.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~9.0 mi
- GroceriesFarmers Market · ~7.9 mi
- PharmacyEngleking Rx · ~12.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicHealth Lodge · ~7.5 mi
- HardwareBriggs & Straton Dealer Small Engine Repair · ~12.6 mi
EV charging — from Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) · Hoosier National Forest · IN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.5 mi straight-line SW — Bedford · EV Connect · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach10 within 25 mi · 31 within 50 · 185 within 100 · 339 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)15.2 mi — Bloomington, IN - East 3rd Street - Tesla Supercharger, Bloomington
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)15.0 mi — Curry Collision Center, Bloomington, IN · EV Connect · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: Mon: 7:00am-5:00pm; Tue: 7:00am-5:00pm; Wed: 7:00am-5:00pm; Thu: 7:00am-5:00pm; Fri: 7:00am-5:00pm
- 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 331332 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) · Hoosier National Forest · IN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHickory Ridge Campgound · ~1.6 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlackwell Campground · ~4.3 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBrooks Cabin · ~4.6 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHardin Ridge Recreation Area · ~6.0 mi W · USFS
Coming out here — Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) · Hoosier National Forest · IN
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps McPike Branch as an intermittent stream, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 24.3% — steep. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on it.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) elsewhere
Other camps near Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 18 (Hoosier NF)~0.5 mi
- Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 15 (Hoosier NF)~0.9 mi
- Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 12 (Hoosier NF)~1.1 mi
- Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 21 (Hoosier NF)~1.2 mi
The unit that manages Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF) are set by Hoosier National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
Stay limit
14 nights (14 days in a 28-day period)
Area rules
All dispersed camp sites must be at least 200 feet away from trails, trailheads, roads, water sources, rock shelters, caves, and historic structures, unless in a designated campsite. Personal property must not be left unattended overnight.
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
Designated roadside campsite in the Hoosier NF "Hickory Ridge Area", Brownstown Ranger District, Pleasant Run Unit. Official map sheet: https://www.fs.usda.gov/media/241276 (dated 2/9/2024, read 2026-08-14). Hoosier NF dispersed-camping rules (read 2026-08-14 at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/hoosier/recreation/dispersed-camping): "There is no charge for dispersed camping." Stays limited to 14 days in a 28-day period and 28 days total per calendar year. Personal property must not be left unattended overnight. Camp at least 200 ft from trails, trailheads, roads, water, rock shelters, caves and historic structures unless in a designated site. "Firewood restrictions apply throughout the Forest" - check for fire bans before you go. Map sheet adds: campsite may be occupied up to 14 days in a 30-day period but no more than 30 days in a calendar year; use the existing campfire pit and dead-and-down wood only; bury human waste at least 200 ft from campsite and water; pack everything out. COORDINATE IS DERIVED, NOT PUBLISHED. The USFS publishes these campsites only as symbols on a raster map sheet. The sheet was georeferenced against two USFS EDW recreation-site points that the sheet itself draws as icons, then the campsite symbol centres were read off by colour detection. Cross-checked: the two control points agree on scale to 0.4%%, and both land dead-centre on their icons. Expect roughly +/- 40 m. EDW source: https://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0 | 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.
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
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 Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
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.
- Whether that MVUM road is the way in, and the last stretch beyond it
- Whether the site itself closes on its own schedule — only the road's season is on record
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- 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 — Hickory Ridge Roadside Dispersed Campsite 17 (Hoosier NF)
What “dispersed” means here →Forest road numbers →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading your camp page →All field notes →