Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Pineknot Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 34.23506, -116.88413
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 Pineknot Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,990 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Pineknot 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 Pineknot Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel1 mi
- GGrocery1 mi
- RxPharmacy1 mi
- MMechanic1 mi
- PPropane1 mi
- EVEV fast charger1 mi
- HHardware1 mi
- LLaundry1 mi
- @Mail1 mi
- WWater2 mi
- DDump3 mi
- ShShower3 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- AAir-up21 mi
- OOutfitter26 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 1 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 — Pineknot Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,990 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.23506, -116.88413
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Pineknot Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSimmons Trout Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townBig Bear Lake · ~1.6 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.0 mi
- Fuel7-Eleven · ~0.6 mi
- Propane / LPGMain Street Gas & Mart · ~27.3 mi
- Dump station~2.6 mi
- GroceriesGrocery Outlet · ~0.9 mi
- PharmacyRite Aid · ~16.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicBear Valley Community Hospital · ~0.8 mi
- HardwareRedlands Ace Hardware · ~20.9 mi
EV charging — from Pineknot Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger1.0 mi straight-line N — Homestreet Bank Big Bear, Big Bear Lake, CA · LOOP · CHAdeMO, CCS · 3 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach46 within 25 mi · 247 within 50 · 1077 within 100 · 1306 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)1.1 mi — Big Bear Lake, CA - Big Bear Boulevard - Tesla Supercharger, Big Bear Lake
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)0.7 mi — Sunnybrook Estate, Big Bear Lake, CA · LOOP · J1772 · 9 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Lake, 0.7 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only
- Pricing at the fast charger$1 activation fee; $0.45 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 398968 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Pineknot Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Flush restroomSerrano Cg · ~2.6 mi NW · USFS
- RestroomMomyer Trailhead · ~10.4 mi S · USFS
- RestroomVivian Trailhead · ~10.6 mi S · USFS
- RestroomBig Falls Trailhead · ~10.6 mi S · USFS
Open Pineknot Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Pineknot Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Buttercup Group Cg~0.3 mi · fee
- Deer Cg~2.2 mi · fee
- Serrano Cg~2.6 mi · fee
- Coldbrook Cg~2.6 mi
The unit that manages Pineknot Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Pineknot Campground are set by San Bernardino National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Pineknot 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 Pineknot 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 — Pineknot Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Off-grid communication →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 →