Agency-listedUSFSFee
Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.68098, -120.64664
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 Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,417 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.NIFC · 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 Cottonwood Springs Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery5 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- MMechanic6 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- WWater8 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- RxPharmacy22 mi
- LLaundry22 mi
- OOutfitter22 mi
- DDump25 mi
- +Urgent care31 mi
- PPropane34 mi
- AAir-up39 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,417 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.68098, -120.64664
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood Springs Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townGraeagle · ~4.9 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~7.9 mi
- FuelChevron · ~6.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~25.2 mi
- GroceriesBassett's Station General Store · ~5.3 mi
- PharmacyLoyalton Pharmacy, Barber, Haire Faire · ~21.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicCamp Nurse · ~30.9 mi
- HardwareMountain Hardware & Sports · ~7.1 mi
EV charging — from Cottonwood Springs Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.8 mi straight-line NE — Caboose Park - Portola (at a public site) · EVRANGE · CCS · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 34 within 50 · 279 within 100 · 590 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)23.4 mi — Quincy, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Quincy
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.3 mi — DC CORRIDOR LUCKYS SS DC2, Soda Springs
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)23.9 mi — DAME SHIRLEY DSP-EAST, Quincy, 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 — Whitehawk Lodge and Golf - Tesla Destination, Clio, 5.9 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 357432 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood Springs Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood Springs Family Cg. · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCow Creek Fishing Site · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCrocker Family Cg. · ~0.4 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCrystal Fishing Access · ~0.6 mi SE · USFS
Open Cottonwood Springs Family Cg. elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Crocker Family Cg.~0.4 mi
- Goose Lake Campground~0.6 mi
- Haven Lake Campground~1.0 mi
- Gold Lake 4X4 Campground~1.2 mi
The unit that manages Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cottonwood Springs Family Cg. are set by Plumas National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
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: $34 per night, single site; the two group sites are $100 per night (up to 25 people, site B) and $140 per night (up to 50 people, site D), reservation only. WARNING, OUR PIN IS WRONG: the Forest Service places Cottonwood Springs Campground at 39.89066,-120.21250 near Frenchman Lake on the Beckwourth Ranger District, which is 27.2 mi from the coordinate we publish; our pin actually sits 0.2 mi from Gold Lake Campground in the Lakes Basin. The Forest Service recreation-sites dataset agrees with the forest page, not with us. The price here is the agency's; the location on this page is not. Beckwourth Ranger District, 530-836-2575. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/plumas/recreation/cottonwood-springs-campground.
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 Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
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 — Cottonwood Springs Family Cg.
What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →Leave no trace →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 →