Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Picayune
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.17468, -120.31526
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 site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. 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 Picayune
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,332 ft.
Fire & smoke — around PicayuneNIFC · 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 Picayune · Tahoe National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater3 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- PPropane7 mi
- DDump9 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- ShShower24 mi
- AAir-up34 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Picayune
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
6,332 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.17468, -120.31526
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Picayune · Tahoe National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLittle Needle Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townAlpine Meadows · ~4.7 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~2.8 mi
- FuelFuel · ~9.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~8.8 mi
- GroceriesAlice's Mountain Market · ~4.6 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~11.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicUrgent Care · ~12.6 mi
- HardwareVillage Ace Hardware · ~20.2 mi
EV charging — from Picayune · Tahoe National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.2 mi straight-line E — Tahoe City, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a municipal building) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach22 within 25 mi · 76 within 50 · 303 within 100 · 812 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS11.5 mi — Truckee, CA, Truckee
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.8 mi — DC CORRIDOR TRUCKEE DC2, Truckee
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.8 mi — Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort, Olympic Valley, CA (at a public site) · EVRANGE · J1772 · 12 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Resort at Squaw Creek, Olympic Valley, 4.5 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see valet for access · AFDC lists it “Variable fee”
- 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 153419 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Picayune · Tahoe National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletTalbot · ~3.2 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTalbot Equestrian · ~3.3 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAhart · ~5.4 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGates · ~5.7 mi SW · USFS
Open Picayune elsewhere
Other camps near Picayune
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Little Needle Lake~1.0 mi
- Mildred Lakes~1.2 mi
- Head Waters Middle Fork~1.4 mi
- Little American Valley~1.6 mi
The unit that manages Picayune
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Picayune are set by Tahoe National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Picayune
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
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
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 Picayune
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 — Picayune
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →