Agency-listedUSFSFee
Headquarters
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 35.79711, -118.44985
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 Headquarters
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,847 ft.
Fire & smoke — around HeadquartersNIFC · 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 Headquarters · Sequoia National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- DDump10 mi
- WWater13 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- EVEV fast charger32 mi
- AAir-up33 mi
- MMechanic36 mi
- LLaundry37 mi
- RxPharmacy37 mi
- PPropane42 mi
- ShShower45 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 32-mi run (and back).
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 — Headquarters
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,847 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
35.79711, -118.44985
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Headquarters · Sequoia National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townKernville · ~3.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFastrip · ~3.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~10.2 mi
- GroceriesPrimo's · ~3.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicTule River Indian Health Center · ~25.2 mi
- HardwareTuff Shed · ~19.5 mi
EV charging — from Headquarters · Sequoia National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger31.6 mi straight-line NW — EFTP#1, Porterville, CA (at a public site) · CHAEVI · J1772, CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 55 within 50 · 173 within 100 · 1113 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO33.2 mi — DC CORRIDOR INYOKERN DC2, Inyokern
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)31.6 mi — EFTP#1, Porterville, CA (at a public site) · CHAEVI · J1772, CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 1 Level 2 port 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 395255 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Headquarters · Sequoia National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHeadquarters · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCamp 3 · ~0.9 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRiverkern Beach · ~1.0 mi S · USFS
- Portable toiletChico Flat · ~2.0 mi N · USFS
Open Headquarters elsewhere
Other camps near Headquarters
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Camp 3~0.9 mi · fee
- Sequoia National Forest~1.9 mi
- Hospital Flat~2.2 mi · fee
- Corral Creek~4.1 mi
The unit that manages Headquarters
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Headquarters are set by Sequoia National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Headquarters
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: $36 per night, single site, plus $8 per additional vehicle; yurts are $111 per night. recreation.gov's 2026 season lists the same $36 and $111. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sequoia/recreation/headquarters-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 Headquarters
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 — Headquarters
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →Getting unstuck →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 →