Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
South Branch Trail Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 44.48536, -83.79452
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 South Branch Trail Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 839 ft.
Fire & smoke — around South Branch Trail 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 South Branch Trail Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery2 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- ShShower6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- EVEV fast charger6 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- +Urgent care8 mi
- DDump12 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- PPropane19 mi
- WWater19 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- OOutfitter23 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 — South Branch Trail Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
839 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
44.48536, -83.79452
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around South Branch Trail Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSouth Branch River (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townThe Jackpines · ~2.2 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~9.1 mi
- FuelFuel · ~4.8 mi
- Propane / LPGBlue Flame Propane · ~24.8 mi
- Dump station~12.3 mi
- GroceriesJose Lake Store & Resort · ~1.5 mi
- PharmacyWalmart Pharmacy · ~20.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicHale Saint Joseph Medical Clinic · ~7.5 mi
- HardwareHale Hardware · ~7.5 mi
EV charging — from South Branch Trail Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger6.2 mi straight-line NE — Rogers Family Foods Glennie MI (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach6 within 25 mi · 15 within 50 · 110 within 100 · 361 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)46.4 mi — Grayling, MI, Grayling
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO20.3 mi — COYNE ENERGY N SHORE PARK 1, Tawas City
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.3 mi — Washington St Hale MI (at a public site) · RED_E · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- 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 351315 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around South Branch Trail Campground · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSouth Branch Horse Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletThompsons Carry-In Access · ~1.3 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRollways Recreation Area Campground · ~2.0 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRollways Recreation Area Picnic · ~2.3 mi SE · USFS
Open South Branch Trail Campground elsewhere
Other camps near South Branch Trail Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Rollways Recreation Area Campground~2.0 mi · fee
- Horseshoe Lake Campground~8.1 mi
- Au Sable River Backcountry Campsites~9.2 mi · fee
- Monument Campground~9.3 mi · fee
The unit that manages South Branch Trail Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at South Branch Trail Campground are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — South Branch Trail 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 South Branch Trail 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 — South Branch Trail Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →First-night troubleshooting →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 →