Agency-listedUSFSFee
Kathryn Lake
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WI · 45.20034, -90.62016
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 Kathryn Lake
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,508 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Kathryn LakeNIFC · 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 Kathryn Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel9 mi
- +Urgent care10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- HHardware14 mi
- EVEV fast charger14 mi
- LLaundry15 mi
- WWater27 mi
- DDump28 mi
- OOutfitter36 mi
- AAir-up36 mi
- RxPharmacy42 mi
- PPropane50 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 27-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Kathryn Lake
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,508 ft
State
WI
Coordinates
45.20034, -90.62016
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Kathryn Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCenex · ~9.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~27.8 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~9.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicAspirus Gilman Clinic · ~9.5 mi
- HardwareMedford Farm-Home Center · ~14.4 mi
EV charging — from Kathryn Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger14.4 mi straight-line E — Wheelers Chevrolet of Medford · FLO · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 17 within 50 · 62 within 100 · 280 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)41.3 mi — Kwik Trip #1267, Chippewa Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)13.3 mi — Medford - Jaycee Diamond Park · FLO · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · 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 310772 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Kathryn Lake · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletKathryn Lake Bl · ~0.2 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletChippewa Bl · ~3.8 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBayview Bl · ~4.0 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletChippewa Campground · ~4.4 mi W · USFS
Open Kathryn Lake elsewhere
Other camps near Kathryn Lake
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Chippewa Campground~4.4 mi · fee
- North Twin~10.2 mi · fee
- Picnic Point~11.5 mi · fee
- West Point~12.0 mi · fee
The unit that manages Kathryn Lake
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Kathryn Lake are set by Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Kathryn Lake
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 2026-08-30: no rate published by the agency. The forest's own page for this site carries no fee section at all, describes an accessible boat landing with no restrooms and no potable water, and tells campers that 'Chippewa Campground is a nearby Forest Service campground that is near Kathryn Lake'. A recreation.gov search on this pin within 25 miles returns no campground listing here. Treat the fee flag in the agency database as unconfirmed and ask the Medford office (715-748-4875) before you count on camping here. Checked https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/chequamegon-nicolet/recreation/kathryn-lake-recreation-area.
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 Kathryn Lake
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 — Kathryn Lake
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 →