Agency-listedUSFSFee
Nichols Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 43.72306, -85.90362
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 Nichols Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 843 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Nichols Lake 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 Nichols Lake Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- DDump9 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- LLaundry18 mi
- EVEV fast charger20 mi
- ShShower21 mi
- WWater21 mi
- OOutfitter22 mi
- AAir-up24 mi
- PPropane50 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 3 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 — Nichols Lake Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
843 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
43.72306, -85.90362
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Nichols Lake Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWalkerville · ~11.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~2.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~8.7 mi
- GroceriesBitely Grocery · ~2.7 mi
- PharmacyPattie Drug of Baldwin · ~12.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicBaldwin Family Health Care Clinic · ~12.8 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~11.8 mi
EV charging — from Nichols Lake 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 reach7 within 25 mi · 48 within 50 · 187 within 100 · 517 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)9.6 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 Nichols Lake Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletNichols Lake Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletNichols Lake North Recreation Area · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWalk Up Lake Campground · ~0.8 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCondon Lake Backcountry Campsites · ~2.4 mi N · USFS
Open Nichols Lake Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Nichols Lake Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Walkup Lake Campground~0.8 mi
- Condon Lakes West~2.4 mi
- Sawkaw Lake Campsites~2.7 mi
- Highbanks Campground~3.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Nichols Lake Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Nichols Lake Campground are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Nichols Lake 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. The forest publishes this camp as Nichols Lake South Campground, and recreation.gov books it under the same name at the same $30 for the 2026 season (May 9 - Oct 12). Interagency Senior and Access passes take 50% off single campsites only. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/huron-manistee/recreation/nichols-lake-south-campground and https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/251845.
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 Nichols Lake 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 — Nichols Lake Campground
Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Dispersed camping tips →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 →