Agency-listedUSFSFee
Howard Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.87849, -122.99187
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 Howard Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,919 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Howard Lake 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 Howard Lake Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- EVEV fast charger10 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- GGrocery15 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- @Mail15 mi
- LLaundry29 mi
- MMechanic29 mi
- +Urgent care29 mi
- ShShower35 mi
- WWater35 mi
- DDump38 mi
- RxPharmacy39 mi
- AAir-up42 mi
- OOutfitter52 mi
- PPropane57 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 35-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 15 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 — Howard Lake Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,919 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.87849, -122.99187
Cost
Fee · Forest Service inventory: fee charged
Nearby & resupply — around Howard Lake Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureHoward Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townHardy Place · ~5.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCovelo Redwood Oil Co Station · ~14.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesTienda Su Pais · ~14.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicLong Valley Clinic · ~29.3 mi
- HardwareM & M Feed · ~12.5 mi
EV charging — from Howard Lake Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.6 mi straight-line W — South Leggett (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 reach1 within 25 mi · 22 within 50 · 111 within 100 · 572 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.2 mi — Laytonville, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Laytonville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.6 mi — South Leggett (at a public site) · EVRANGE · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 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 462384 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Howard Lake Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Meadows · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Lake Cg · ~0.2 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLittle Doe · ~1.1 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWells Cabin · ~3.6 mi SE · USFS
Open Howard Lake Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Howard Lake Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Howard Lake Cg~0.2 mi · fee
- Little Doe Campground~1.1 mi
- Wells Cabin~3.6 mi
- Sugar Spring Campground~4.2 mi
The unit that manages Howard Lake Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Howard Lake Campground are set by Mendocino National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Howard Lake 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.
How it was placed
no road or trail found nearby — check manually
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 Howard Lake 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 — Howard Lake Campground
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →How to read this 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 →