Agency-listedUSFSFee
Lake Alpine
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 38.47734, -120.00805
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 Lake Alpine
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,374 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lake AlpineNIFC · 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 Lake Alpine · Stanislaus National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater0 mi
- GGrocery0 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- OOutfitter2 mi
- @Mail19 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- LLaundry20 mi
- EVEV fast charger22 mi
- PPropane22 mi
- MMechanic23 mi
- HHardware24 mi
- RxPharmacy25 mi
- +Urgent care30 mi
- DDump31 mi
- AAir-up48 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 0 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 — Lake Alpine
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,374 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
38.47734, -120.00805
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Lake Alpine · Stanislaus National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townBear Valley · ~2.4 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~0.2 mi
- FuelFuel · ~2.1 mi
- Propane / LPGChevron · ~22.0 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~0.3 mi
- PharmacyMeadowmont Pharmacy · ~25.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicHealth Clinic · ~30.1 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~23.9 mi
EV charging — from Lake Alpine · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.9 mi straight-line S — Cold Springs Market - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-14 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 42 within 50 · 378 within 100 · 1093 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS28.6 mi — Walker Country Store, Coleville
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO30.1 mi — GF4EVA SOUTH LAKE DC1, South Lake Tahoe
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)14.6 mi — VIP LOT STATION 3, Kirkwood, 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 aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Bear Valley Lodge - Tesla Destination, Bear Valley, 1.9 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast charger$0.55 per kWh (as listed by AFDC)
- 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 466125 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lake Alpine · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLake Alpine · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMarmot · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLake Alpine · ~0.2 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLake Alpine · ~0.3 mi E · USFS
Open Lake Alpine elsewhere
Other camps near Lake Alpine
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Silvertip~0.6 mi · fee
- Lodgepole Overflow~0.8 mi · fee
- Pine Marten~1.0 mi · fee
- Silver Valley~1.2 mi · fee
The unit that manages Lake Alpine
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lake Alpine are set by Stanislaus National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Lake Alpine
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 2026-08-22: $31 per night, single site -- but the agency's own page contradicts itself. Its structured fee field reads 'Single Site: $30 per night' while the prose two lines below reads 'Campsites are $31 per night'; the Forest Service recreation-sites dataset carries $31, so $31 is the figure quoted here. Budget $31 and do not be surprised by $30. Day use is $5 per vehicle per day and the boat launch is $10 per vehicle or $40 for a season pass. Interagency Senior/Access and Golden Age/Access passes halve the camping fee. Published under the Lake Alpine Recreation Area page, whose coordinates are 0.25 mi from our pin. Calaveras Ranger District, (209) 795-1381. Sources: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/stanislaus/recreation/lake-alpine-recreation-area and https://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0.
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 Lake Alpine
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 — Lake Alpine
Camping near a reservoir →What “dispersed” means here →Dumping grey & black →Camping with a dog →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 →