American Adventurer
Agency-listedVillage of ExelandFree

Swan Creek Park

Drive-up · public land · WI · 45.66755, -91.23676
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The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

FREE small-town camping at Swan Creek Park in the village of Exeland, Sawyer County, northwest Wisconsin -- and please LEAVE A DONATION in town at the Exeland Depot gas station (that's how this little park stays free). There's a free tent area plus a center loop with about five free electric hookups, first-come with a 3-night maximum and no reservations; restrooms and water in season (shut off in cold weather), a ballfield and pavilions, and Windfall Lake a mile east for swimming and a boat ramp. This is bear country -- pack out ALL your trash. It's the honest camp-free, shop-and-eat- in-town spirit; the Village of Exeland closes it after Labor Day for the hard northern winters. NOTE this is a MEDIUM-confidence lead: the village's own site confirms the park and camping but doesn't state a price, so the 'free' comes from OpenStreetMap plus several traveler listings rather than an official price page -- please confirm the current fee and rules with the Village of Exeland (715-943-2200), leave a donation at the Depot, and be a courteous, self-contained guest.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Swan Creek Park
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Swan Creek Park
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Weather outlook — at Swan Creek Park
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Swan Creek ParkNIFC · 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 Swan Creek Park · public land · WI

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 16 miWDump · 17 miDBP · Fuel · 7 miFBP Shop · Grocery · 7 miGWalgreens · Pharmacy · 27 miRxAce Hardware · Hardware · 15 miHLake Ave Auto · Mechanic · 15 miMMaytag Coin Laundry · Laundry · 26 miLShower · 15 miShAir-up · 40 miAPrevea Ladysmith Health Center · Urgent care · 15 mi+Airtec Sports Rice Lake · Outfitter · 27 miOUnited States Post Office · Mail · 10 mi@FairBridge Inn Express - Ladysmith · EV fast charger · 16 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • FFuel7 mi
  • GGrocery7 mi
  • @Mail10 mi
  • ShShower15 mi
  • +Urgent care15 mi
  • HHardware15 mi
  • MMechanic15 mi
  • EVEV fast charger16 mi
  • WWater16 mi
  • DDump17 mi
  • LLaundry26 mi
  • RxPharmacy27 mi
  • OOutfitter27 mi
  • AAir-up40 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Swan Creek Park

Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
State
WI
Coordinates
45.66755, -91.23676
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Swan Creek Park · public land · WI (OpenStreetMap)

  • Nearest townNew Post · ~16.3 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelBP · ~7.2 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~16.6 mi
  • GroceriesBP Shop · ~7.2 mi
  • PharmacyWalgreens · ~26.6 mi
  • Hospital / clinicMarshfield Clinic Ladysmith Physical Therapy Center · ~15.1 mi
  • HardwareAce Hardware · ~15.3 mi

EV charging — from Swan Creek Park · public land · WI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Swan Creek Park · public land · WI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Swan Creek Park elsewhere

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Other camps near Swan Creek Park

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Swan Creek Park

Source
municipal park records
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
Source: OSM node/7214294528 'Swan Creek Park' tourism=camp_site fee=no addr:city=Exeland (api.openstreetmap.org, read 2026-07-27); coordinate 45.667552,-91.236757. Nominatim reverse -> Exeland, Sawyer County, WI. Village of Exeland's own .gov page villageofexeland.gov/recreation/ (read 2026-07-27) confirms Swan Creek Park + 'camping hookups available on a first-come, first-served basis' (a real village park where camping is allowed) BUT prints no price -- 'silence is not free,' so this is MED not HIGH. The FREE flag rests on OSM fee=no + THREE consistent community listings (read 2026-07-27): iOverlander (titled 'Swan Creek Park-Free Camp'), freecampsites.net, and ourbigescape.com's WI boondocking roundup -- all describe ~5 free sites, a 5-electric-hookup center loop, 3-night max, no reservations, and 'donations should be left in town at the Exeland Depot gas station.' Village of Exeland: 715-943-2200. fee=0 (donation requested), dispersed=0, camp_type NULL, water='yes' (park water/restrooms, shut off in cold weather), status pending. MED = same bar as Bruno MN / Cambridge NE (OSM fee=no + a .gov confirming the park + multiple reputable listings say free/donation, but no official source prints '$0'). Ingest 2026-07-27. --- NIGHTSHIFT REVIEW 2026-08-21 (fire 1220, leftover backlog) --- HOLDS UP. Re-read the Village of Exeland's own .gov page (https://villageofexeland.gov/recreation/) this fire; the operator still confirms the park and the camping verbatim: 'Exeland has the beautiful Swan Creek Park with a basketball/pickleball court, baseball field with bleachers, playground equipment, pavilions, and camping hookups available on a first-come, first-served basis.' It also still adds the useful warning 'Running through the park is Swan Creek, which regularly floods in the spring.' As at ingest the village prints NO price, so 'silence is not free' still applies and this stays MEDIUM. The free flag still rests on OSM node 7214294528, re-fetched live from api.openstreetmap.org this fire and still tagged tourism=camp_site, fee=no, drinking_water=yes, toilets=yes, addr:city=Exeland at this exact coordinate, plus the three community listings recorded at ingest. CONTACT CORRECTION: the village page now gives phone (715) 943-2026 and 11042W State Hwy 48, PO Box 163, Exeland WI 54835. The audit note had 715-943-2200; use the number on the village's current page. APPROVED at the same bar as Bruno MN.
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 Swan Creek Park

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.

Before you go — Swan Creek Park

Finding water out here →The town run →Cold-weather camping →Reading your camp page →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 →