Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Cole Creek Camping Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 38.52528, -120.20940
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 Cole Creek Camping Area
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 Cole Creek Camping AreaNIFC · 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 Cole Creek Camping Area · Eldorado National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- OOutfitter10 mi
- WWater11 mi
- @Mail15 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- EVEV fast charger22 mi
- DDump23 mi
- ShShower23 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- LLaundry26 mi
- PPropane26 mi
- +Urgent care34 mi
- AAir-up36 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 10 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 — Cole Creek Camping Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
CA
Coordinates
38.52528, -120.20940
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cole Creek Camping Area · Eldorado National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCole Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townAllen · ~8.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~10.0 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~25.7 mi
- Dump station~22.7 mi
- GroceriesBear Valley General Store · ~10.0 mi
- PharmacyMeadowmont Pharmacy · ~21.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicBarton Memorial Hospital · ~29.1 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~20.0 mi
EV charging — from Cole Creek Camping Area · Eldorado National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.5 mi straight-line SW — 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 reach2 within 25 mi · 44 within 50 · 411 within 100 · 1111 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS25.7 mi — GF4EVA POLLOCK P. DC, Pollock Pines
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO25.7 mi — GF4EVA POLLOCK P. DC, Pollock Pines
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)13.4 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, 10.0 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 Cole Creek Camping Area · Eldorado National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCole Creek Camping Area · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBear River Group · ~1.3 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPardoes Point Cg · ~1.7 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSalt Springs Day Use · ~1.8 mi S · USFS
Open Cole Creek Camping Area elsewhere
Other camps near Cole Creek Camping Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bear River Group~1.3 mi · fee
- Pardoes Point Cg~1.7 mi · fee
- South Shore Cg~2.0 mi · fee
- Sugar Pine Point Cg~2.3 mi · fee
The unit that manages Cole Creek Camping Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cole Creek Camping Area are set by Eldorado National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Cole Creek Camping Area
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 Cole Creek Camping Area
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 — Cole Creek Camping Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Power off-grid →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 →