Agency-listedUSFSFee
Island Lake Recreation Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 44.51022, -84.14167
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 Island Lake Recreation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,299 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Island Lake Recreation AreaNIFC · 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 Island Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel1 mi
- MMechanic4 mi
- ShShower6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- LLaundry6 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- DDump9 mi
- PPropane11 mi
- RxPharmacy15 mi
- +Urgent care15 mi
- WWater18 mi
- EVEV fast charger18 mi
- OOutfitter25 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 1 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 — Island Lake Recreation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,299 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
44.51022, -84.14167
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Island Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townRose · ~6.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~1.1 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~11.2 mi
- Dump station~8.7 mi
- GroceriesForward · ~6.2 mi
- PharmacyFairview Pharmacy · ~15.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicThunder Bay Community Health Service, Incorporated · ~15.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~6.8 mi
EV charging — from Island Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger18.5 mi straight-line S — 2980 Cook Rd, West Branch, MI · SHELL_RECHARGE · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 20 within 50 · 120 within 100 · 342 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.6 mi — Grayling, MI, Grayling
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO34.6 mi — SUNRISE STORES, SUN #27 - NORTH, Houghton Lake
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.8 mi — West Branch (at a public site) · RED_E · 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 429694 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Island Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletIsland Lake Recreation Area · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLoon Lake Day Use Area · ~0.4 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletM-33 Orv Trailhead · ~1.3 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWagner Lake Recreation Area · ~3.1 mi N · USFS
Open Island Lake Recreation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Island Lake Recreation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Wagner Lake Recreation Area~3.1 mi · fee
- Mack Lake Orv Campground~6.1 mi · fee
- Luzerne Trail Camp~9.0 mi
- Ambrose Lake State Forest Campground~9.1 mi · fee
The unit that manages Island Lake Recreation Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Island Lake Recreation Area are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Island Lake Recreation Area
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 2026-08-26: $15 per night, single site. recreation.gov publishes the same $15 in every one of its 2026 rate windows. The two sources give different seasons -- the forest page says May 1 - September 30, recreation.gov's rate windows run to October 31 -- so check before a late-season trip. Interagency Senior and Access passes take 50% off single campsites only. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/huron-manistee/recreation/island-lake-campground and https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/10214347.
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 Island Lake Recreation Area
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 — Island Lake Recreation Area
Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Leave no trace →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 →