Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Sparrow Rapids Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MI · 46.50434, -88.94715
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 Sparrow Rapids Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,159 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Sparrow Rapids 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 Sparrow Rapids Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery3 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- FFuel11 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- OOutfitter16 mi
- DDump26 mi
- ShShower27 mi
- RxPharmacy27 mi
- HHardware29 mi
- MMechanic29 mi
- WWater30 mi
- LLaundry31 mi
- EVEV fast charger40 mi
- AAir-up43 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 30-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 40-mi run (and back).
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 — Sparrow Rapids Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,159 ft
State
MI
Coordinates
46.50434, -88.94715
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Sparrow Rapids Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureEast Branch Ontonagon River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townKenton · ~2.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~11.5 mi
- Propane / LPGLaCourt Bottled Gas · ~28.5 mi
- Dump station~25.6 mi
- GroceriesThe White Door General Store · ~3.4 mi
- PharmacyLand O' Lakes Health Care Pharmacy · ~27.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicAspirus U.P. Clinic - Bruce Crossing · ~11.2 mi
- HardwareErickson's True Value · ~28.9 mi
EV charging — from Sparrow Rapids Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger39.9 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 reachnone within 25 mi · 6 within 50 · 31 within 100 · 66 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO40.7 mi — Crystal Falls MI Public Parking, Crystal Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.1 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, 31.7 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 Sparrow Rapids Campground · Ottawa National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSparrow Rapids · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSparrow Rapids · ~0.2 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSparrow-Kenton Wayside · ~3.0 mi SE · USFS
- RestroomBob Lake Boat · ~11.0 mi N · USFS
Open Sparrow Rapids Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Sparrow Rapids Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bob Lake Camp~11.0 mi · fee
- Lake Ste. Kathryn Camp~13.2 mi · fee
- Norway Lake Camp~14.0 mi · fee
- Burned Dam~14.1 mi
The unit that manages Sparrow Rapids Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Sparrow Rapids Campground are set by Ottawa National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Sparrow Rapids 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 Sparrow Rapids 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 — Sparrow Rapids Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Camping with a dog →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 →