Agency-listedUSFSFee
Ponderosa
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WA · 47.01973, -121.12557
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 Ponderosa
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,786 ft.
Fire & smoke — around PonderosaNIFC · 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 Ponderosa · Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest · WA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- WWater9 mi
- DDump14 mi
- ShShower14 mi
- EVEV fast charger14 mi
- HHardware14 mi
- AAir-up14 mi
- RxPharmacy15 mi
- +Urgent care15 mi
- MMechanic15 mi
- OOutfitter15 mi
- @Mail15 mi
- PPropane28 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 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 — Ponderosa
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,786 ft
State
WA
Coordinates
47.01973, -121.12557
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Ponderosa · Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest · WA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townCliffdell · ~7.8 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~9.1 mi
- Fuel76 · ~6.2 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~28.2 mi
- Dump station~13.6 mi
- GroceriesWhistlin' Jack · ~6.2 mi
- PharmacySafeway · ~14.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicCle Elum Medical Center · ~14.7 mi
- HardwareCle Elum Hardware · ~14.5 mi
EV charging — from Ponderosa · Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest · WA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger13.9 mi straight-line N — WCEH Cle Elum · EVCS · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 46 within 50 · 365 within 100 · 615 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)14.5 mi — Cle Elum, WA - West Davis Street - Tesla Supercharger, Cle Elum
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)13.9 mi — WCEH Cle Elum · EVCS · 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 73431 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Ponderosa · Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest · WA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPonderosa · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletKaner Flat Campground · ~0.6 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCrow Creek · ~0.7 mi SW · USFS
- Flush restroomKaner Flat Group Campground · ~0.7 mi S · USFS
Open Ponderosa elsewhere
Other camps near Ponderosa
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Crow Creek Campground~0.6 mi
- Kaner Flat Campground~0.6 mi · fee
- Long Meadow Campground~0.7 mi
- Longmire Meadow~1.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Ponderosa
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Ponderosa are set by Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Ponderosa
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 2026-08-24: $8 per vehicle per night -- the forest prices this one per vehicle, not per site. Payment is by the recreation.gov mobile app; the campground's recreation.gov listing publishes the same $8 for the 2026 season (May 22 - Sep 30). Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/recreation/ponderosa-camp and https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/10314747.
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 Ponderosa
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 — Ponderosa
Camping near a reservoir →What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →Reading the aerial →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 →