Fee-exempt Camping at National Forest Campgrounds
Through an agreement between participating GLIFWC member bands and the US Forest Service, tribal members exercising treaty rights may camp for free and without length of stay restrictions for most campgrounds in the Chequamegon-Nicolet, Ottawa, Hiawatha, and Huron-Manistee National Forests.
Member bands that have ratified the agreement include Bad River, Bay Mills, Keweenaw Bay, Lac du Flambeau, Lac Vieux Desert, Mille Lacs, Red Cliff, and Sokaogon (Mole Lake). Member bands that have not yet ratified the agreement include Lac Courte Oreilles and St. Croix.
Some fee-exempt campgrounds still maintain length of stay restrictions between June 15 and August 15. The Forest Service states that these campgrounds experience high visitation rates during these summer months. This provision will be periodically reviewed to ensure that these restrictions are not interfering with the exercise of treaty rights.
In addition, some campgrounds operated by concessionaires will not have fee or length of stay exemptions until the solicitation and awarding of new concessionaire contracts.
Related Documents:
Fee Exempt Campgrounds
NOTE: click icons for campground name.
Fee Exempt Campground
Length-of-stay Limits, Concesssionaires, Reservations
NOTE: click National Forest to view summary table.
- Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
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Campground Length-of-Stay Limits Consessionaires (Expiration Date) Reservations Ada Lake Waived No No Anvil Lake Waived No No Bagley Rapids Waived No No Bear Lake Waived No No Beaver Lake Waived No No Black Lake Waived No No Boot Lake 14 (6/15-8/15) No No Boulder Lake 14 (6/15-8/15) No Yes Brule River Waived No No Chipmunk Rapids Waived No No Chippewa Waived Day Lake Waived No Yes East Twin Waived No Yes Eastwood Waived No Yes Emily Lake Waived No No Franklin Lake 14 (6/15-8/15) No Yes Franklin Lake 14 (6/15-8/15) No Yes Horseshoe Lake Waived No No Kathryn Lake Waived No No Kentuck Lake Waived No No Lac Vieux Desert 14 No No Lake Three Waived No Yes (some sites) Laura Lake Waived No No Laurel Lake Waived No No Lost Lake Waived No No Luna-White Deer 14 (6/15-8/15) No No Mineral Lake Waived No Yes (some sites) Moose Lake Waived No Yes Morgan Lake Waived No No Namekagon Waived No Yes North Twin Lake Waived No No Perch Lake North 14 No No Perch Lake South 14 No No Picnic Point Waived No Yes Pine Lake Waived No No Richardson Lake Waived No No Sailor Lake Waived No Yes Sevenmile Lake Waived No No Smith Rapids Waived No Yes Spearhead Point Waived No Yes Spectacle Lake Waived No No Stevens Lake Waived No No Stockfarm Bridge Waived No No Twin Lakes Waived No Yes Two Lakes 14 (6/15-8/15) Yes (expires 2018) Yes Wabasso Lake Waived No No Wanoka Waived No No West Point Waived No No Windsor Dam Waived No No - Ottawa National Forest
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Campground Length-of-Stay Limits Consessionaires (Expiration Date) Reservations ASH-1 14 No Yes ASH-2 14 No Yes BADGER-1 14 No Yes BADGER-2 14 No Yes BALSAM-1 14 No Yes BALSAM-2 14 No Yes BASS 14 No Yes BEAR-1 14 No Yes BEAR-2 14 No Yes BEAVER-1 14 No Yes BEAVER-2 14 No Yes BIRCH 14 No Yes Black River Harbor Campground Waived Yes No Bob Lake Campground Waived Yes No BOBCAT 14 No Yes Bobcat Lake Campground Waived Yes No Burned Dam Campground Waived No No CEDAR-1 14 No Yes CEDAR-2 14 No Yes CHIPMUNK 14 No Yes Clark Lake (Sylvania) Campground 14 Yes No Courtney Lake Campground Waived Yes No COYOTE 14 No Yes DEER-1 14 No Yes DEER-2 14 No Yes EAGLE-1 14 No Yes EAGLE-2 14 No Yes ERMINE-1 14 No Yes ERMINE-2 14 No Yes FISHER-1 14 No Yes FISHER-2 14 No Yes FOX-1 14 No Yes FOX-2 14 No Yes Golden Lake Campground Waived No No Henry Lake Campground Waived Yes No Imp Lake Campground 14 (6/15-8/15) Yes No Lake Ottawa Campground 14 Yes No Lake Sainte Kathryn Campground Waived Yes No Langford Lake Campground Waived No No LOON 14 No Yes LYNX-1 14 No Yes LYNX-2 14 No Yes MALLARD-1 14 No Yes MALLARD-2 14 No Yes MAPLE-1 14 No Yes MAPLE-2 14 No Yes Marion Lake Group Campground 14 (6/15-8/15) Yes Yes (group site) Marion Lake NE Campground Waived No No Marion Lake NW Campground Waived No No MINK-1 14 No Yes MINK-2 14 No Yes Moosehead Lake Campground Waived Yes No Norway Lake Waived Yes No OSPREY-1 14 No Yes OSPREY-2 14 No Yes Paint River Forks Campground Waived No No PERCH-1 14 No Yes PERCH-2 14 No Yes Perch Lake Campground Waived Yes No PIKE-1 14 No Yes PIKE-2 14 No Yes PINE-1 14 No Yes PINE-2 14 No Yes Pomeroy Lake Campground Waived Yes No PORCUPINE-1 14 No Yes PORCUPINE-2 14 No Yes RACCOON 14 No Yes Robbins Pond Campground Waived No No Sparrow Rapids Campground Waived No No SQUIRREL-1 14 No Yes SQUIRREL-2 14 No Yes Sturgeon River Campground Waived No No WOLF 14 No Yes - Hiawatha National Forest
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Campground Length-of-Stay Limits Consessionaires (Expiration Date) Reservations Bass Lake Site Waived No Yes Bay View 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Bear Lake Site Waived No Yes Brevoort Lake Complex 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Camp Cook Sites Waived No Yes Carp River 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Carr Lake Site Waived No Yes Chicago Lake Sites 14 No Yes Cookson Lake Campground Waived No Yes Council Lake Sites Waived No Yes Crooked Lake Sites Waived No Yes Crooked Lake Sites Waived No Yes East Lake Sites Waived No Yes East Lake Sites Waived No Yes Ewing Point Site Waived No Yes Foley Creek Campground 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Gooseneck Lake Sites Waived No Yes Ironjaw Lake Sites Waived No Yes Jackpine Lake Sites Waived No Yes Jackpine Lake Sites Waived No Yes Lake Michigan 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Lake Nineteen Site Waived No Yes Leg Lake Sites Waived No Yes Leg Lake Sites Waived No Yes Little Bass Lake Campground Waived No Yes Lyman Lake Sites 14 No Yes Minerva Lake Site Waived No Yes Monocle Lake Complex 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Mowe Lake Sites Waived No Yes Soldier Lake Complex 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Steuben Lake Sites Waived No Yes Steuben Lake Sites Waived No Yes Swan Lake Sites 14 No Yes Swan Lake Sites 14 No Yes Three Lakes 14 Yes (expires 2012) Yes Triangle Lake Sites Waived No Yes Triangle Lake Sites 14 No Yes - Huron-Manistee National Forest
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Campground Length-of-Stay Limits Consessionaires (Expiration Date) Reservations Bear Track Campground 14 Yes (expires 2017) No Benton Lake Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Maybe Bowman Bridge Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Yes Gleason's Landing Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Yes Hemlock Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) No Highbanks Campground 14 Yes (expires 2017) Maybe Kneff Lake Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Maybe Lake Michigan Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Yes (25%) Lake Michigan Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Yes (25%) Nichols Lake South Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Maybe Old Grade Campground 14 Yes (expires 2017) Maybe Peterson Bridge Campground 14 Yes (expires 2017) No Pine Lake Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) No Pines Point Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Maybe Ravine Campground Waived No No Sand Lake Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Yes (60 %) Sand Lake Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) Yes (60 %) Seaton Creek Recreation Area 14 Yes (expires 2017) No Timber Creek Recreation Area Waived No No
National Forest Campgrounds, Fees and Length of Stay Restrictions
COLUMN 1 – CAMPGROUNDS
Column 1 list attempts to list all campgrounds found on Forest Service lands that are
addressed by the Exemption Agreement and Implementation Plan. As used in this
document, “campground” means those campgrounds and campsites where a fee would
otherwise have to be paid by the general public to spend the night and where some
process, such as registration, is used to identify the camper and the specific campsite that
will be used.
At this time, Column 1 includes some campgrounds that are not fee-exempt for tribal
members. These are included in the interest of providing complete information. As
campgrounds change status, Column 1 will be amended.
COLUMN 2 – LENGTH-OF-STAY LIMITATIONS
Column 2 deals with how long tribal members may camp at a particular site. Under
general Forest Service rules, people are not permitted to remain in a campsite for more
than two weeks or 16 days, depending on the particular National Forest. For tribal
members camping while exercising their treaty rights, these length-of-stay restrictions do
not apply for most campgrounds. The term “waived” is used in Column 2 where there
are no length-of-stay restrictions for tribal members.
Where the Tribes have agreed, some campgrounds have a length-of-stay restriction
during the period June 15 through August 15, the peak tourist season. Column 2 shows
these the length-of-stay restrictions in number of days and the dates within which these
restrictions apply in parentheses.
Tribal members must comply with the existing length-of-stay restrictions in campgrounds
operated by concessionaires that presently are not fee-exempt. These length-of-stay
restrictions apply at all times and are listed in Column 2 in number of day.
COLUMN 3 – CONCESSIONAIRES (EXPIRATION DATES)
Column 3 identifies those campgrounds that are operated by concessionaires under contract with the Forest Service. The year the contracts are up for renewal is listed in the parentheses for those campgrounds that currently do not have fee or length-of-stay exemptions.
COLUMN 4 – RESERVATIONS
Column 4 identified with a “yes” are campgrounds that have campsites that are available for reservations.
