Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Paint River Forks Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 46.23257, -88.71858
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 Paint River Forks Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,472 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Paint River Forks 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 Paint River Forks Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery10 mi
- +Urgent care10 mi
- FFuel10 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- DDump11 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- OOutfitter18 mi
- EVEV fast charger20 mi
- ShShower22 mi
- RxPharmacy25 mi
- MMechanic33 mi
- WWater33 mi
- LLaundry34 mi
- AAir-up45 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 33-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 10 mi out.
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 — Paint River Forks Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,472 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
46.23257, -88.71858
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Paint River Forks Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNorth Branch Paint River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townGibbs City · ~1.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelKrist · ~10.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~10.8 mi
- GroceriesSuper One Foods · ~10.3 mi
- PharmacyLand O' Lakes Health Care Pharmacy · ~24.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicUP Health System - Iron River · ~10.3 mi
EV charging — from Paint River Forks Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger19.8 mi straight-line SE — Crystal Fresh Market and Ace Hardware, Crystal Falls, MI (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 38 within 100 · 76 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO20.8 mi — Crystal Falls MI Public Parking, Crystal Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)34.1 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, 10.2 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 302980 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Paint River Forks Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPaint River Forks · at this camp · USFS
- RestroomJames Lake · ~8.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGolden Lake Camp · ~8.9 mi SW · USFS
- RestroomGolden Lake Boat · ~9.0 mi SW · USFS
Open Paint River Forks Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Paint River Forks Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Blockhouse Campground~4.1 mi
- Golden Lake Camp~8.9 mi · fee
- Perch Lake Camp~9.3 mi · fee
- Lake Ottawa Camp~10.7 mi · fee
The unit that manages Paint River Forks Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Paint River Forks Campground are set by Ottawa National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Paint River Forks Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Paint River Forks 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 — Paint River Forks Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →