Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Emerson Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 41.26366, -120.13882
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 Emerson Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,785 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Emerson CampgroundNIFC · 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 Emerson Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail18 mi
- FFuel18 mi
- GGrocery18 mi
- HHardware26 mi
- MMechanic26 mi
- PPropane26 mi
- EVEV fast charger27 mi
- DDump51 mi
- ShShower51 mi
- +Urgent care52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: fuel & food sit about 18 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Water. Plan those before you head up.
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 — Emerson Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,785 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
41.26366, -120.13882
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Emerson Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureEmerson Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townMenlo Baths · ~3.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelRabbit Traxx · ~18.5 mi
- Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~26.2 mi
- GroceriesRabbit Traxx · ~18.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicSurprise Valley Hospital · ~18.6 mi
EV charging — from Emerson Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger27.1 mi straight-line NW — Alturas, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a grocery store) · 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 reachnone within 25 mi · 1 within 50 · 3 within 100 · 134 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS102.1 mi — Caboose Park - Portola, Portola
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO103.0 mi — KCC - 1 KCC#2, Klamath Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)63.6 mi — DMND MTN CSO DIAMOND MT1, Susanville, 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 — Niles Hotel - Tesla Destination, Alturas, 25.8 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 190479 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Emerson Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletEmerson Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPatterson · ~5.2 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Creek Equestrian Campground · ~5.4 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMill Creek Falls · ~7.8 mi W · USFS
Open Emerson Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Emerson Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Patterson Campground~5.2 mi · fee
- East Creek Campground~5.4 mi
- Soup Springs~7.8 mi · fee
- Mill Creek Falls Campground~7.8 mi
The unit that manages Emerson Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Emerson Campground are set by Modoc National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Emerson Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Emerson Campground
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 — Emerson Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading your camp page →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 →