Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Alder Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 35.87501, -121.38751
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.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Alder Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,234 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Alder CreekNIFC · 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 Alder Creek · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- WWater5 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- @Mail18 mi
- ShShower24 mi
- EVEV fast charger27 mi
- MMechanic27 mi
- LLaundry27 mi
- RxPharmacy27 mi
- HHardware27 mi
- DDump36 mi
- AAir-up40 mi
- OOutfitter43 mi
- PPropane57 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 3 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 — Alder Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
2,234 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
35.87501, -121.38751
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Alder Creek · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureAlder Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townGorda · ~3.3 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.3 mi
- FuelFuel · ~3.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesGorda General Store · ~3.3 mi
- PharmacyCambria Drug & Gifts · ~27.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicAgile Occupational Medicine · ~26.7 mi
- HardwareCambria Hardware · ~27.6 mi
EV charging — from Alder Creek · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger26.8 mi straight-line NE — King City, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a restaurant) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 16 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 reachnone within 25 mi · 28 within 50 · 187 within 100 · 859 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS26.9 mi — DC CORRIDOR KC SHOPS DC1, King City
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.9 mi — DC CORRIDOR KC SHOPS DC1, King City
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)26.9 mi — DC CORRIDOR KC SHOPS L2, King City, CA · 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 aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Hearst Castle - Tesla Destination, San Simeon, 19.2 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — San Simeon Lodge, San Simeon, 22.5 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see front desk for access · 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 311244 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Alder Creek · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletWilliams Hill -Bldg Vault Toilet · ~22.3 mi E · BLM
Open Alder Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Alder Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- North Buckeye Camp~2.4 mi
- Dispersed camp — Monterey County, CA~2.6 mi
- Plaskett Creek Group~5.3 mi · fee
- Plaskett Creek~5.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Alder Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Alder Creek are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Alder Creek
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
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
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
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 Alder Creek
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.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- 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 — Alder Creek
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Gear & rig loadout →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 →