Agency-listedUSFSFee
Bear River Group
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 38.53319, -120.23084
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Bear River Group
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,185 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bear River GroupNIFC · 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 Bear River Group · Eldorado National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel11 mi
- GGrocery11 mi
- OOutfitter11 mi
- WWater12 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- RxPharmacy22 mi
- EVEV fast charger22 mi
- DDump22 mi
- ShShower22 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- LLaundry27 mi
- PPropane27 mi
- +Urgent care33 mi
- AAir-up35 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 11 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 — Bear River Group
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,185 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
38.53319, -120.23084
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Bear River Group · Eldorado National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townBear Valley · ~10.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~11.3 mi
- Propane / LPGChevron · ~27.4 mi
- Dump station~21.8 mi
- GroceriesKit Carson Store · ~11.3 mi
- PharmacyMeadowmont Pharmacy · ~21.5 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~20.1 mi
EV charging — from Bear River Group · Eldorado National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.6 mi straight-line S — Arnold, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 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 reach4 within 25 mi · 46 within 50 · 418 within 100 · 1111 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS24.5 mi — GF4EVA POLLOCK P. DC, Pollock Pines
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO24.5 mi — GF4EVA POLLOCK P. DC, Pollock Pines
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)13.7 mi — VIP LOT STATION1, Kirkwood, 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 — Bear Valley Lodge - Tesla Destination, Bear Valley, 11.3 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas 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 332093 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bear River Group · Eldorado National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBear River Group · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPardoes Point Cg · ~0.4 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPardoes Point Day Use · ~0.6 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSouth Shore Cg · ~0.8 mi W · USFS
Open Bear River Group elsewhere
Other camps near Bear River Group
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Pardoes Point Cg~0.4 mi · fee
- South Shore Cg~0.8 mi · fee
- Sugar Pine Point Cg~1.1 mi · fee
- Cole Creek Camping Area~1.3 mi
The unit that manages Bear River Group
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Bear River Group are set by Eldorado National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Bear River Group
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-21: $115-$145 per night for the whole GROUP site -- this is a group campground and there is no single-site rate. Eldorado publishes no live page for it (every slug probed under fs.usda.gov/r05/eldorado/recreation/ returns 404 or a page with no coordinates), so the rate is recreation.gov's booking rate for Bear River Group Campground, whose listed coordinates are 0.65 mi from our pin: $115 and $145 group tent-only nonelectric. Source: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234172.
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 Bear River Group
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 — Bear River Group
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →First-night troubleshooting →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 →