Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Barker
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.07696, -120.23591
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 Barker
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around BarkerNIFC · 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 Barker · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- WWater6 mi
- DDump6 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- EVEV fast charger8 mi
- OOutfitter8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- PPropane9 mi
- +Urgent care15 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- ShShower17 mi
- RxPharmacy17 mi
- AAir-up36 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 — Barker
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
CA
Coordinates
39.07696, -120.23591
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Barker · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMiddle Fork (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townHomewood · ~4.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~1.4 mi
- FuelFuel · ~7.8 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~28.4 mi
- Dump station~6.0 mi
- GroceriesTahoma Market and Deli · ~5.7 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~16.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicUrgent Care - Olympic Valley · ~8.3 mi
- Hardwareace hardware · ~16.7 mi
EV charging — from Barker · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger8.0 mi straight-line NE — Tahoe City, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a municipal building) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach23 within 25 mi · 77 within 50 · 308 within 100 · 810 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS16.1 mi — Northstar - Castle Peak - Truckee, Truckee
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO16.1 mi — Northstar - Castle Peak - Truckee, Truckee
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.6 mi — Tahoe Tavern, Tahoe City, CA · INTERTIE · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Granlibakken Tahoe - Ski Hill Station, Tahoe City, 7.0 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only
- 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 153419 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Barker · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBarker Pass Pct · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlackwood Canyon Ohv Trailhead · ~2.5 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBunker Hill Lookout · ~3.6 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMckinney Rubicon Ohv Staging · ~4.2 mi SE · USFS
Open Barker elsewhere
Other camps near Barker
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bear Lake~1.9 mi
- Kaspian Campground~4.9 mi · fee
- Pleasant Cg~5.4 mi
- William Kent Campground~6.0 mi · fee
The unit that manages Barker
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Barker are set by Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Barker
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 Barker
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 — Barker
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Off-grid communication →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 →