Agency-listedUSFSFee
Lac Vieux Desert
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WI · 46.13612, -89.15223
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 Lac Vieux Desert
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,694 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lac Vieux DesertNIFC · 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 Lac Vieux Desert · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- RxPharmacy4 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- DDump11 mi
- OOutfitter12 mi
- WWater16 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- AAir-up23 mi
- ShShower24 mi
- EVEV fast charger32 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 32-mi run (and back).
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 — Lac Vieux Desert
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,694 ft
State
WI
Coordinates
46.13612, -89.15223
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Lac Vieux Desert · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWatersmeet · ~11.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelGateway BP · ~3.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~11.0 mi
- GroceriesGateway BP · ~3.1 mi
- PharmacyLand O' Lakes Health Care Pharmacy · ~3.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicWatersmeet Medical Clinic · ~9.2 mi
- HardwareNelson's Ace Hardware · ~16.0 mi
EV charging — from Lac Vieux Desert · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger32.2 mi straight-line SW — Minocqua, WI - Tesla Supercharger (at a grocery store) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 7 within 50 · 36 within 100 · 94 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS34.9 mi — Rhinelander Cadillac, Rhinelander
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO39.4 mi — Crystal Falls MI Public Parking, Crystal Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)28.3 mi — Big Valley Ford, Ewen, MI (at a car dealership) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-07-03 · hours: Dealership business hours
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Stateline Chevrolet Buick GMC, Iron River, 24.0 mi · J1772 · hours: Dealership business hours; GMC vehicles only · AFDC lists it “Free”
- 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 237640 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lac Vieux Desert · Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest · WI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletImp Lake Picnic · ~6.7 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletImp Lake Boat · ~6.7 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletImp Lake Camp · ~6.9 mi NE · USFS
- Flush restroomOttawa National Forest Visitor Center · ~8.8 mi N · USFS
Open Lac Vieux Desert elsewhere
Other camps near Lac Vieux Desert
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Imp Lake Camp~6.9 mi · fee
- Marion Lake Camp~9.6 mi · fee
- Marion Lake Group Camp~9.7 mi · fee
- Clark Lake - Sylvania Camp~10.9 mi · fee
The unit that manages Lac Vieux Desert
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lac Vieux Desert are set by Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Lac Vieux Desert
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: $15 per night, single site, with a 50% discount for single-site camping on an Interagency Senior, Interagency Access, Golden Age or Golden Access pass, applied only to the site the pass holder occupies. recreation.gov listing 10238116 (Lac Vieux Desert Campground, 0.03 mi from this pin) is the same site. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/chequamegon-nicolet/recreation/lac-vieux-desert-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 Lac Vieux Desert
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 — Lac Vieux Desert
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Cold-weather camping →Reading your camp 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 →