Agency-listedUSFSFee
Shelley Lake Recreation Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 43.71282, -85.81402
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 Shelley Lake Recreation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 970 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Shelley Lake Recreation AreaNIFC · 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 Shelley Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- DDump7 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- EVEV fast charger15 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- ShShower16 mi
- WWater16 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- OOutfitter20 mi
- AAir-up28 mi
- PPropane48 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — Shelley Lake Recreation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
970 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
43.71282, -85.81402
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Shelley Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWhite Cloud · ~10.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelMobil · ~1.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~6.8 mi
- GroceriesEZ Mart · ~1.5 mi
- PharmacyPattie Drug of Baldwin · ~12.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicBaldwin Family Health Care Clinic · ~13.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~12.4 mi
EV charging — from Shelley Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.0 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 reach5 within 25 mi · 53 within 50 · 200 within 100 · 528 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS15.2 mi — JOHNNY'S MARKET BIG RAPIDS DC1, Big Rapids
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO15.2 mi — JOHNNY'S MARKET BIG RAPIDS DC1, Big Rapids
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.1 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 Shelley Lake Recreation Area · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletShelley Lake Recreation Area · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletIndian Lake Recreation Area · ~2.9 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletNichols Lake Campground · ~4.5 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletNichols Lake North Recreation Area · ~4.6 mi W · USFS
Open Shelley Lake Recreation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Shelley Lake Recreation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Indian Lake Recreation Area~2.9 mi · fee
- Nichols Lake Campground~4.5 mi · fee
- Walkup Lake Campground~4.8 mi
- Benton Lake Recreation Area~4.8 mi · fee
The unit that manages Shelley Lake Recreation Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Shelley Lake Recreation Area are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Shelley Lake Recreation Area
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: $10 per night, single site. Season of use is May 1 - October 31. This campground has no recreation.gov listing, so the forest page is the only source. Interagency Senior and Access passes take 50% off single campsites only. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/huron-manistee/recreation/shelley-lake-campground.
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 Shelley Lake Recreation Area
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 — Shelley Lake Recreation Area
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 →