Agency-listedUSFSFee
Nickell Branch Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · KY · 36.98811, -88.20020
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.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — Nickell Branch Campground · Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area · KY
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is road 102-B (N.B. Campsite 1-3 Access), 30 ft from the pin. The MVUM record carries neither a surface type nor a maintenance level for it.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Nickell Branch Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 393 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Nickell Branch 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 Nickell Branch Campground · Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area · KY
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- @Mail2 mi
- WWater3 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- EVEV fast charger7 mi
- RxPharmacy9 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- OOutfitter12 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- AAir-up31 mi
- DDump36 mi
- PPropane42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Nickell Branch Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
393 ft
Ground slope
10.6% · noticeable
Nearest rail line
~1.5 mi · other track
Nearest highway
~5.0 mi · Interstate 69
State
KY
Coordinates
36.98811, -88.20020
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Nickell Branch Campground · Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area · KY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLake Barkley · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Nearest townGrand Rivers · ~2.1 mi
- Nearest rail line~1.5 mi · other track
- Nearest highway~5.0 mi · Interstate 69
- Drinking waterWater · ~3.4 mi
- FuelMarathon · ~5.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesLove's · ~6.6 mi
- PharmacyDraffenville Pharmacy · ~9.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~11.8 mi
- HardwareBenton Hardware · ~12.1 mi
EV charging — from Nickell Branch Campground · Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area · KY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger7.1 mi straight-line NE — Kuttawa, KY - US62 - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · 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 reach2 within 25 mi · 20 within 50 · 128 within 100 · 267 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS25.8 mi — LARRY STOVESAND STATION 1, Paducah
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO25.8 mi — LARRY STOVESAND STATION 1, Paducah
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)2.0 mi — GTB GTB 2, Grand Rivers, KY · ChargePoint Network · 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 353801 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Nickell Branch Campground · Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area · KY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletNickell Branch Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletN.B. Boating Ramp · at this camp · USFS
- Flush restroomNorth Welcome Station · ~1.2 mi S · USFS
- RestroomKentucky Lake Drive-Trailhead · ~1.2 mi W · USFS
Coming out here — Nickell Branch Campground · Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area · KY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Lake Barkley as a perennial lake or pond, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 10.6% — noticeable. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~1.5 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. No track the atlas classes as a main line is mapped within 10 mi. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Interstate 69 is mapped ~5.0 mi from the pin. Straight-line, from the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025) — the divided, limited-access highways, which is why a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not appear here.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Nickell Branch Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Nickell Branch Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Twin Lakes Backcountry Camping~1.8 mi · fee
- Demumbers Bay Backcountry Area & Boat Ramp at Land Between The Lakes~2.7 mi
- Demumbers Bay Backcountry Camping~2.8 mi · fee
- Hillman Ferry Campground~3.2 mi · fee
The unit that manages Nickell Branch Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Nickell Branch Campground are set by Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Nickell Branch 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.
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
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 Nickell Branch 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 — Nickell Branch Campground
What “dispersed” means here →Dumping grey & black →Fire rules & restrictions →Getting unstuck →All field notes →