Agency-listedUSFSFreeRoad season: open (MVUM)
USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · Macon County, NC · 35.02799, -83.22870
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 site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC · National Forests in North Carolina · NC
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is FR 367 (Little Yellow Mtn), 110 ft from the pin. The MVUM lists it as crushed aggregate or gravel surface and maintenance level 3 – suitable for passenger cars.
Road season: open (MVUM) The MVUM lists FR 367 (Little Yellow Mtn), 110 ft from the pin, open to passenger vehicles Mar 15 – Dec 31. That season ends after Dec 31.
MVUM record for FR 367 (Little Yellow Mtn): “03/15-12/31” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
What the record says about the site — USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC · National Forests in North Carolina · NC
- No tent camping
- Listed as a backcountry site
From the OpenStreetMap contributors listing for this site — their words, not our visit. Records go stale; treat it as a starting point and confirm anything your trip depends on.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,006 ft.
Fire & smoke — around USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NCNIFC · 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 USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC · National Forests in North Carolina · NC
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- GGrocery2 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- HHardware2 mi
- FFuel3 mi
- WWater4 mi
- MMechanic9 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- DDump16 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- ShShower22 mi
- AAir-up42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,006 ft
Ground slope
4.3% · gentle
County
Macon County, NC
Coordinates
35.02799, -83.22870
Cost
Free · OpenStreetMap fee tag: no
Nearby & resupply — around USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC · National Forests in North Carolina · NC (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBrooks Creek · ~0.1 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Nearest townHighlands · ~2.5 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~3.6 mi
- FuelSpinx · ~10.0 mi
- Propane / LPGFreeman Gas · ~9.0 mi
- Dump station~16.4 mi
- GroceriesBryson's Food Store · ~2.2 mi
- PharmacySmart Pharmacy · ~13.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicHighlands-Cashiers Hospital · ~4.7 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~9.4 mi
EV charging — from USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC · National Forests in North Carolina · NC — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger13.2 mi straight-line NW — Franklin, NC - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach8 within 25 mi · 57 within 50 · 281 within 100 · 690 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS13.7 mi — Town of Franklin-95 E Main St, Franklin
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO13.7 mi — Town of Franklin-95 E Main St, Franklin
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)2.3 mi — City of Highlands - 3rd St (at a standalone station) · ENVIROSPARK · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-11-13 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — 200 Main, Highlands, 2.4 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use 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 331818 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC · National Forests in North Carolina · NC — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBurrells Ford · ~7.5 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHwy 28 Chattooga River Access · ~8.7 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLong Bottom Ford · ~9.3 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletChattooga Pa · ~9.3 mi E · USFS
Coming out here — USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC · National Forests in North Carolina · NC
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Brooks Creek as an intermittent stream, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 4.3% — gentle. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC elsewhere
Other camps near USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Blue Valley Camp~1.2 mi
- Van Hook Glade Campground~3.5 mi · fee
- Van Hook Glade Campground~3.6 mi · fee
- Ammons Branch Camp~4.7 mi
The unit that manages USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC are set by National Forests in North Carolina, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
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)
Site details
The OpenStreetMap contributors listing's own fields for this site (site type, whether tents or trailers fit, capacity, toilet, water, campfires, reservations). Printed as the record states them, unchecked by us, and never used to make a cost claim -- the cost verdict above is decided separately and audited before every deploy.
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
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 USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
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.
- Whether that MVUM road is the way in, and the last stretch beyond it
- Whether the site itself closes on its own schedule — only the road's season is on record
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- 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 — USFS dispersed camp — Macon County, NC
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading your camp page →All field notes →