Agency-listedBLM · dispersedUnpriced · confirm
Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area
Drive-up · Bureau of Land Management · CA · 39.03883, -123.03833
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 →Bureau of Land Management 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 Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,909 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cow Mountain Recreation Management 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 Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- EVEV fast charger5 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- RxPharmacy6 mi
- WWater6 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- OOutfitter7 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- ShShower11 mi
- AAir-up11 mi
- DDump12 mi
- PPropane42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 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 — Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
Bureau of Land Management · dispersed
Elevation
2,909 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.03883, -123.03833
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBenmore Creek (river) · nearby
- Nearest townNacomis Indian Rancheria · ~3.8 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~6.4 mi
- FuelChevron · ~6.1 mi
- Propane / LPGFerrellgas · ~7.1 mi
- Dump station~12.0 mi
- GroceriesSafeway · ~6.1 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~6.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicSutter Lakeside Hospital · ~8.4 mi
- HardwareFriedman's · ~10.6 mi
EV charging — from Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger4.6 mi straight-line SW — Brutacao Family Vineyards - Hopland (at a public site) · EVRANGE · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach8 within 25 mi · 34 within 50 · 444 within 100 · 977 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)10.7 mi — Upper Lake, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Upper Lake
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.6 mi — Brutacao Family Vineyards - Hopland (at a public site) · EVRANGE · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- 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 462373 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area · Bureau of Land Management · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomCow Mtn - Buckhorn Toilet 10 Re4Placement · at this camp · BLM
- RestroomCow Mtn -Red Mtn Cg Toilet 2 Replacement · ~4.0 mi NW · BLM
- RestroomCow Mtn -Red Mtn Cg -Toilet 1 · ~4.0 mi NW · BLM
- RestroomCow Mtn - Red Mtn Cg Toilet 1 · ~4.0 mi NW · BLM
Open Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area elsewhere
Other camps near Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Jerky Camp~0.2 mi
- Knobcone Camp~0.4 mi
- Simms Camp~0.4 mi
- Tucker Camp~0.9 mi
How we know this — Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area
Source
Bureau of Land Management 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
BLM RIDB record, agency-listed. Its fee field is empty -- no fee statement -- so the cost is unpriced (field read 2026-09-19). 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 Cow Mountain Recreation Management 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 — Cow Mountain Recreation Management Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →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 →