Agency-listedUSFSFreeRoad season: open (MVUM)
USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · Mason County, MI · 44.11500, -86.42524
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 — Mason County, MI · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is FR 5972-B (Oak Loop Lmra Cg), 120 ft from the pin. The MVUM lists it as bituminous surface treatment surface and maintenance level 5 – high degree of user comfort.
Road season: open (MVUM) The MVUM lists FR 5972-B (Oak Loop Lmra Cg), 120 ft from the pin, open to passenger vehicles year-round.
MVUM record for FR 5972-B (Oak Loop Lmra Cg): “01/01-12/31” 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 →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 643 ft.
Fire & smoke — around USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MINIFC · 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 — Mason County, MI · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- ShShower4 mi
- DDump4 mi
- GGrocery4 mi
- WWater6 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- HHardware10 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- EVEV fast charger11 mi
- AAir-up13 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- PPropane59 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
643 ft
Ground slope
0.9% · flat
Nearest rail line
~9.5 mi · other track
County
Mason County, MI
Coordinates
44.11500, -86.42524
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featurePorter Creek · ~0.3 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Also mapped (OSM)Cooper Creek (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townHamlin Lake · ~6.6 mi
- Nearest rail line~9.5 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.4 mi
- FuelFuel · ~7.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~3.9 mi
- GroceriesStore · ~3.9 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~9.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicSpectrum Health Ludington Hospital · ~10.9 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~10.9 mi
EV charging — from USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.1 mi straight-line S — Wesco Ludington 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 reach8 within 25 mi · 14 within 50 · 145 within 100 · 398 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)11.2 mi — Ludington, MI - Tesla Supercharger, Ludington
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.8 mi — BLARNEY CASTLE MANISTERY 1, Manistee
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.9 mi — HAMPTON101 HAMP INN MANIST, Manistee, MI · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Cartier Mansion Bed & Breakfast, Ludington, 11.0 mi · J1772 · hours: 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 351313 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLake Michigan Recreation Area Beach Trailhead · ~0.2 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLake Michigan Recreation Area Day Use · ~0.2 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLake Michigan Recreation Area · ~0.2 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletNordhouse Dunes Nurnberg Trailhead · ~2.1 mi S · USFS
Coming out here — USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI · Huron-Manistee National Forest · MI
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Porter Creek as an intermittent stream, ~0.3 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 0.9% — flat. 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.
- Rail line mapped ~9.5 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. The nearest track the atlas classes as a main line is ~9.6 mi from the pin. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in 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 — Mason County, MI elsewhere
Other camps near USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lake Michigan Recreation Area~0.2 mi · fee
- Marzinski Horse Campground~15.3 mi
- Whelan Lake Area Primitive Campground~19.4 mi
- Bear Track Campground~19.7 mi
The unit that manages USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI are set by Huron-Manistee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — USFS dispersed camp — Mason County, MI
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)
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 — Mason County, MI
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 — Mason County, MI
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →How to read this page →All field notes →