Continuing my exploration into camping in Michigan next summer, I asked Google AI for some ideas. “Do you have suggestions for places to disperse camp at Huron-Manistee National Forest with a truck camper that are quiet and near many miles of dirt road good for mountain bike riding?”
For quiet dispersed camping with a truck camper and easy access to extensive dirt road networks for mountain biking, the Manistee portion of the forest—specifically near the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness and the Big M Trail System—offers the best opportunities. Truck campers are well-suited for these areas as the forest roads often feature large dips or sandy sections that require higher clearance.
Recommended Dispersed Camping Areas
These locations are known for their seclusion and proximity to unpaved road networks.
Green Road (Forest Road 5356): Located south of Manistee near the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, this is a premier spot for boondocking. The area is surrounded by numerous side roads and spur trails with large, spread-out sites that offer excellent privacy.
Biking Access: The road itself and the intersecting forest service roads provide miles of gravel and dirt riding through dense woods.
Truck Camper Tip: Use the east side of Green Road for legal car camping; some deeper sites may require 4WD depending on recent weather.
Forest Road 4103: This road stretches nearly 9 miles through the forest and provides access to over a dozen additional dirt roads.
Biking Access: It serves as a central hub for exploring spur trails on a mountain bike. While there are no “designated” campsites here, there are ample opportunities for dispersed camping along the various spur trails.
Biking Access: This area provides direct access to the rugged and hilly sections of the NCT that are open to biking.
Key Biking Destinations Nearby
If you base your camp near these systems, you will have access to both formal trails and endless forest service roads.Destination Miles of TrailTerrain TypeBig M Trail System37.9 milesChallenging loops through hardwood canopy.Hungerford Recreation Area50+ milesMulti-use trails for mountain biking and hiking.NCT (Timber Creek)12 milesOpen to biking with roughly 675 ft of vertical gain.NCT (Dillings to Marilla)15 milesRugged, hilly, and rarely busy; great for a workout.
Important Regulations for Dispersed Camping
The 200/100 Foot Rule: You must camp at least 200 feet away from any body of water (rivers, lakes, streams) and typically at least 100 feet from designated trails unless at a marked site.
Stay Limits: Camping is limited to 14 days within a 30-day period.
Permits: No fee or permit is required for dispersed camping in the National Forest, though you should check for local fire restrictions before starting a campfire.
Self-Sufficiency: These sites provide no water, trash, or toilet facilities. You must pack out all waste and follow Leave No Trace principles.
Nothing like a few giggles to start out the morning with some homemade bread, coffee and frozen fruit. In a little bit I am going to ride over to Glenmont on my mountain bike to get a few more groceries and supplies at Wally World. Probably go through the suburban sprawl neighborhoods and then out Bender Lane.
Supposed to have some sun and milder temperatures,☀️ but if it’s anything like yesterday, the sun will be little and far in between. It’s fine, it’s February and there is still a lot of snow around, so no big plans besides riding down to Glenmont today – and more reading and studying. Yesterday, did a few more hours in exploring the auto buying process, I think I have my stragety down for next week, make an appointment to look at three SuperDuty trucks I’m interested in, leave with the proposed buyer’s order with all fees, dealer add ons and taxes included, and then study that and make comparisons to what other dealers are offering by reaching out to Internet Sales Managers. I don’t want to negotiate on sales floor, I would rather do the talking over email or the phone. 📞 This gives me time to study and know exactly what I am getting at what price. And I just don’t want to sit down, waste time in dealerships while the stall for bathroom and smoke breaks while the salesman is talking to sales manager.
I thought about going out to Five Rivers yesterday, 🐦 but the snow is so deep and I got reading and hanging out. Made black beans in the morning, then later on followed it up with brown rice, onions and beans. Later in the afternoon I needed some bread 🍞 up and let that rise overnight. 📚 Books and even more YouTube yesterday, mostly just hanging out and trying to stay reasonably warm in the cold. ❄️ It’s just a few more weeks of this winter crap, in another month things should be moderating significantly. Today promises to be sunny and warmer, so I might go down later today. But first going to smoke some weed, as my neighbor is gone, and then hang out before heading over to Walmart. The way I look at it, it’s good exercise to ride at least a little bit each day. 🦵🏻Breaks up the bordum too.
I mean if I had Big Red 🛻 still on the road, I might have done Rensselearville State Forest this weekend but yesterday was kind of cold and gray, and while more sun is expected today, ☀️ hardly going to be a banner day weather wise. And same thing with Monday. I’m just kind of ready for winter to be done, to build the new rig and move on with life. Maybe I should be in more of a rush, as time is short, but winter is long, and honestly I don’t love it. Maybe when I have that off-grid cabin with the wood stove I’ll feel different about winter, but now it’s just kind of something to plow through and get it, maybe save money by staying home.
One of the most peculiar beliefs of man kind is that life should be prolonged as long as possible, anything less than that is considered to be mentally ill or at least tragic.
Hunter S. Thompson planned to live until age 50 before blowing his brains out. He ended up prolonging his life until age 67 when his declining health made him decide to end his life. But I would argue that is too young to die, as one can be of excellent physical shape and mental acuity well into one’s seventies, especially if one eats healthy and doesn’t have a life of hard labor or abuses rather than uses drugs.
Seventy seems like a good goal to live to. Like Hunter S. Thompson the year doesn’t have to be ultimatum but a goal to live in maximum health and experience, not so worried about trying to prolong every final year of life. Knowing you are shooting for a reasonable goal in life – is liberating as you can have some fun and risk – without worrying about the consequences in advanced age. And that you are in power, not hospital or person listed in a medical decision directive.
But I’m planning to at least somewhat retire by age 55 or at least do something with my life meaningful and worthwhile – long before age 70. A decade to discover who I am before it’s over on my own terms, turned to mush on the floor, my off grid cabin turned to ash and unburnable rubble soon to be overgrown in the wilderness. To become food for the coyotes, raccoons and other scavengers in the woods rather wrapped in plastic at some hospital a few meaningless decades later.
But what do I know…. Those days are 27 years from now. Things can change. And I could decide to rack up a few more years like Dr. Thompson did. But you got to live life, even if there are some costs to longevity.
Next summer I planning a trip to Michigan. I want to primarily camp on informal roadside campsites in the National Forest and are wondering about suggestions of places of both to camp and visit for scenery, hiking, mountain biking away from the crowds.
Michigan’s three National Forests—
Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha, and Ottawa—offer vast opportunities for informal roadside (“dispersed”) camping. In these forests, you can generally camp for free on most secondary forest roads as long as you are at least 200 feet from water sources and away from developed recreation areas.
The Ottawa is known for being rugged and less crowded than other regions, with over a million acres of deep woods.
Informal Camping Areas:
Trap Hills: Offers true wilderness dispersed camping. It is highly secluded with rewarding scenery.
Burned Dam Campground: While technically a “rustic” campground, it is very primitive with only 5 sites and provides easy access to the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River.
Hiking & Scenery: The Trap Hills segment of the North Country Trail is rugged and offers some of the best vistas in the Midwest.
Mountain Biking: Nearly the entire forest is open to mountain bikes, including closed or gated forest roads. For technical trails, the Agonikak National Recreation Trail (20 miles) connects Watersmeet to Black Oak Lake.
This forest spans between Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron, offering diverse coastal and inland experiences.
Informal Camping Areas:
Hovey Lake Area: Features free primitive sites that are excellent for birdwatching and avoiding crowds.
Secondary Forest Roads: Look for “telltale flat disturbed areas” along secondary roads, which indicate established informal sites.
Hiking & Scenery: The Bayshore and White Pine Trails offer scenic views along the Little Bay de Noc shoreline.
Mountain Biking: The Haywire Grade Trail is a 33-mile historic rail-trail running from Shingleton to Manistique, passing through secluded second-growth forest.
Essential Rules for Informal Camping
Permits: Generally, no permit is required for dispersed camping in these National Forests, but there is a 14-day stay limit.
Water: You must camp at least 200 feet away from any lake, river, or stream.
Vehicle Access: Some forest roads require high-clearance or 4WD vehicles, especially after rain.
LNT: You must pack out all trash, as these sites have no waste services.
You know, I had heard about the FIRE movement but never the Lean FIRE retirement strategy which emphasizes a frugal but early retirement. Google AI is really good at summarizing such things so I thought it best to ask it and share it’s results with you.
Lean FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) strategy is a minimalist approach to early retirement focused on drastically reducing living expenses to reach financial freedom as quickly as possible. By designing a life with very low baseline costs, practitioners can retire with a significantly smaller investment portfolio than traditional or “Fat” FIRE strategies require.
The Core Mechanics
Lean FIRE relies on two primary mathematical principles to determine when work becomes optional:
The Rule of 25: Your “FIRE number” is typically 25 times your annual expenses.
The 4% Rule: This safe withdrawal rate (SWR) suggests you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first year and adjust for inflation thereafter to sustain a 30-year retirement.
Note: Many Lean FIRE followers now aim for a more conservative 3% to 3.5% withdrawal rate to account for longer retirement horizons (50+ years) and market volatility.
Financial Targets and Lifestyle
Lean FIRE is generally defined by an annual budget of under $40,000 for a household.
Individual Target: Often $500,000 to $750,000 in invested assets to support annual spending of $20,000 to $30,000.
Couple Target: Typically $750,000 to $1 million to cover annual expenses of $30,000 to $40,000.
Savings Rate: During the accumulation phase, practitioners often save 50% to 70% of their income.
Key Strategies for Reducing Costs
Because the portfolio is small, success depends on keeping fixed costs low through “structural” changes rather than just minor budget cuts:
Geographic Arbitrage: Moving to a lower cost-of-living (LCOL) area or moving abroad (“Expat FIRE”) to reduce housing and tax burdens.
Minimalist Living: Emphasizing “free fundamentals” like nature, community, and libraries over paid consumption.
Healthcare Planning: This is often the most critical variable; practitioners may use ACA subsidies, health sharing plans, or medical tourism to manage costs.
Housing and Transit: House-hacking (renting out rooms), tiny homes, or living car-free to eliminate the two largest traditional expenses.
Lean FIRE vs. Other FIRE Variations
Strategy
Annual Spending Goal
Typical Portfolio Target
Lifestyle Focus
Lean FIRE
<$40,000
$500k – $1M
Minimalist, frugal, LCOL
Traditional FIRE
$40,000 – $80,000
$1M – $2M
Moderate, maintain current standard
Fat FIRE
$100,000+
$2.5M+
Luxurious, high-discretionary spending
Barista FIRE
Varies
Smaller target
Partial retirement; supplement with part-time work
Risks and Challenges
Low Margin for Error: A lean budget has little room for “lifestyle drift” or unexpected major expenses like dental emergencies or home repairs.
Sequence of Returns Risk: A market crash in the first few years of retirement can be devastating to a smaller portfolio.
Psychological Friction: Constant frugality can lead to burnout or social isolation if friends do not share similar values.
