Agency-listedUSFSFee
Frenchman Family Cg.
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.90478, -120.17420
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 Frenchman Family Cg.
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,646 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Frenchman 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 Frenchman Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel10 mi
- GGrocery12 mi
- RxPharmacy16 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- EVEV fast charger17 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- MMechanic25 mi
- WWater29 mi
- DDump29 mi
- OOutfitter29 mi
- PPropane30 mi
- AAir-up30 mi
- ShShower34 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 29-mi drive, 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 — Frenchman Family Cg.
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,646 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.90478, -120.17420
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Frenchman Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townChilcoot-Vinton · ~7.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~10.1 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~29.7 mi
- Dump station~29.1 mi
- GroceriesHallelujah Junction Market · ~11.6 mi
- PharmacyLoyalton Pharmacy, Barber, Haire Faire · ~16.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicATS Physical Therapy · ~24.9 mi
- HardwareSierra Valley Home Center · ~16.2 mi
EV charging — from Frenchman Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger17.0 mi straight-line SW — 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 30 within 50 · 131 within 100 · 382 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.3 mi — Verdi, NV - Tesla Supercharger, Verdi
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO39.8 mi — DC CORRIDOR TRUCKEE DC1, Truckee
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)24.1 mi — Silver Lake Apartments, Reno, NV · OpConnect · 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 — Chalet View Lodge - Tesla Destination, Graeagle, 20.5 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — The Top Story, Loyalton, 16.2 mi · J1772 · hours: 8am-11pm daily; guest use only; Also accepts Venmo · AFDC lists it “$20 per session” - 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 Frenchman Family Cg. · Plumas National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Flush restroomFrenchman Family Cg. · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Cove Family Cg. · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCoot Bay (Fishing & Picnic Site) · ~0.7 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletFrenchman Lake Picnic Area · ~0.7 mi SW · USFS
Open Frenchman Family Cg. elsewhere
Other camps near Frenchman Family Cg.
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Spring Creek Family Cg.~0.7 mi · fee
- Ross Camp~0.8 mi
- Conklin Park Family Cg.~1.1 mi · fee
- Chilcoot Family Cg.~2.3 mi · fee
The unit that manages Frenchman Family Cg.
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Frenchman Family Cg. are set by Plumas National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Frenchman 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 2026-08-20: $38 per night, single site; $5 per night per additional vehicle. recreation.gov confirms $38 for the 2026-05-22 to 2026-09-06 season. Our pin sits 0.73 mi from the coordinates printed on the forest's Frenchman Campground page. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/plumas/recreation/frenchman-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 Frenchman 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 — Frenchman Family Cg.
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →Picking a spot →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 →