Agency-listedUSFSFee
Highbanks Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 43.77084, -85.88889
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 Highbanks Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 876 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Highbanks 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 Highbanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- RxPharmacy9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- DDump11 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- EVEV fast charger20 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- WWater21 mi
- AAir-up24 mi
- OOutfitter25 mi
- PPropane53 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — Highbanks Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
876 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
43.77084, -85.88889
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Highbanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townBaldwin · ~8.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~2.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~11.4 mi
- GroceriesBitely Grocery · ~2.2 mi
- PharmacyPattie Drug of Baldwin · ~8.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicBaldwin Family Health Care Clinic · ~9.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~8.4 mi
EV charging — from Highbanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger19.5 mi straight-line E — Big Rapids, MI - Tesla Supercharger (at a grocery store) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 10 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach10 within 25 mi · 40 within 50 · 185 within 100 · 502 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS19.7 mi — JOHNNY'S MARKET BIG RAPIDS DC1, Big Rapids
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO19.7 mi — JOHNNY'S MARKET BIG RAPIDS DC1, Big Rapids
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.2 mi — Red Moose Lodge - Tesla Destination, Baldwin, MI · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 102224 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Highbanks Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHighbanks Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSawkaw Lake Campsites · ~0.8 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCondon Lake Backcountry Campsites · ~1.1 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWalk Up Lake Campground · ~2.6 mi S · USFS
Open Highbanks Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Highbanks Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sawkaw Lake Campsites~0.8 mi
- Condon Lakes West~1.1 mi
- Walkup Lake Campground~2.6 mi
- Nichols Lake Campground~3.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Highbanks Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Highbanks Campground are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Highbanks 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. | Fee 2026-08-24: $30 per night, single site, plus day use at $10 per vehicle per day. We carry this pin as Highbanks Campground and the Forest Service's own site record spells it the same way, but the Huron-Manistee publishes the page as HIGHBANK Lake Campground, singular -- which is why it looks missing if you search the forest site for the plural. The page prints 43.77083 / -85.88889, on our pin. It has no recreation.gov listing. Interagency Senior and Access passes take 50% off single campsites only. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/huron-manistee/recreation/highbank-lake-campground.
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 Highbanks 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 — Highbanks Campground
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Cold-weather camping →Getting unstuck →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 →