Mapped · not agency-listedPublic land · dispersedFree
free campsite
Drive-up · public land · CA · 36.71450, -121.79211
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 →A mapped lead, not an agency listing. Somebody marked this as a campsite; we could not match it to a land-manager record. Worth checking rather than counting on. 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 free campsite
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 53 ft.
Fire & smoke — around free campsiteNIFC · 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 free campsite · public land · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump1 mi
- WWater1 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- RxPharmacy2 mi
- LLaundry2 mi
- HHardware2 mi
- MMechanic2 mi
- +Urgent care2 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- OOutfitter3 mi
- EVEV fast charger4 mi
- PPropane8 mi
- ShShower9 mi
- AAir-up22 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — free campsite
Access
Drive-up
Land
public land · dispersed
Elevation
53 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
36.71450, -121.79211
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around free campsite · public land · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSalinas River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townMorocojo · ~2.3 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~1.4 mi
- FuelBeacon · ~2.0 mi
- Propane / LPGSteve's 76 · ~21.7 mi
- Dump station~1.0 mi
- GroceriesWalmart Supercenter · ~1.6 mi
- PharmacyWalmart Pharmacy · ~1.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicQuest Diagnostics · ~2.1 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~2.0 mi
EV charging — from free campsite · public land · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger3.5 mi straight-line S — Marina, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 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 reach67 within 25 mi · 203 within 50 · 701 within 100 · 1124 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS3.5 mi — DC CORRIDOR TARGET M DC4, Marina
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO3.5 mi — DC CORRIDOR TARGET M DC4, Marina
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)1.2 mi — MRWMD EV MRWMD - MIDDLE, Salinas, 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 aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Monterey Beachfront, Marina, 1.2 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only · AFDC lists it “$0.45 per kWh”
- 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 201315 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around free campsite · public land · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomFtord Parker Flat Trailhd Cxt Toilet · ~6.6 mi S · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletFtord Npld Site -Vault Toilet · ~7.8 mi SE · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletFtord Creekside Terrace -Vault Toilet · ~8.2 mi SE · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletFtord Creekside Terrace -Vault Toilet · ~8.2 mi SE · BLM
Coming out here — free campsite · public land · CA
- Surface water mapped nearby: Salinas River (river). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open free campsite elsewhere
Other camps near free campsite
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Free Campsite. Sunset-Sunrise~0.1 mi
- Bottchers Gap~24.9 mi · fee
How we know this — free campsite
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.
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
Contributed, not agency-listed. A mapper marked this as a campsite. We have not matched it to a land-manager record, so it stays at Likely.
What we don’t know about free campsite
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 — free campsite
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 →