Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Howard's Gulch Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 41.48574, -120.96976
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's Gulch Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,738 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Howard's Gulch 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's Gulch Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel20 mi
- GGrocery20 mi
- @Mail20 mi
- EVEV fast charger21 mi
- PPropane22 mi
- HHardware22 mi
- MMechanic22 mi
- +Urgent care26 mi
- WWater32 mi
- DDump32 mi
- RxPharmacy40 mi
- ShShower48 mi
- LLaundry55 mi
- AAir-up59 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 32-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 20 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's Gulch Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
4,738 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
41.48574, -120.96976
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Howard's Gulch Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureWashington Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townAmbrose · ~1.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelTimber Mountain Store Gas Station · ~20.0 mi
- Propane / LPGAmeriGas · ~22.1 mi
- GroceriesGrocery Outlet · ~20.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicModoc Medical Center · ~21.5 mi
EV charging — from Howard's Gulch Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.2 mi straight-line E — 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 1 within 50 · 62 within 100 · 121 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS61.6 mi — KCC - 1 KCC#2, Klamath Falls
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO61.6 mi — KCC - 1 KCC#2, Klamath Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)44.2 mi — TULELAKE TULE HQ 1 · 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, 22.1 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 Howard's Gulch Campground · Modoc National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletHowards Gulch · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDuncan Boat Ramp - South · ~2.1 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDuncan Boat Ramp - North · ~2.8 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPit River Th · ~5.2 mi SW · USFS
Open Howard's Gulch Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Howard's Gulch Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cottonwood Flat~6.1 mi
- Reservoir F Campground~8.1 mi
- Reservoir F~8.4 mi
- Lower Rush Creek Campground~14.1 mi
The unit that manages Howard's Gulch Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Howard's Gulch Campground are set by Modoc National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Howard's Gulch 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 Howard's Gulch 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's Gulch Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Gear & rig loadout →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 →