Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Potato Patch Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 40.18849, -121.53297
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 Potato Patch Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,448 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Potato Patch 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 Potato Patch Campground · Lassen National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery12 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- WWater15 mi
- HHardware18 mi
- FFuel18 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- DDump24 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- EVEV fast charger30 mi
- MMechanic33 mi
- RxPharmacy33 mi
- PPropane34 mi
- OOutfitter34 mi
- LLaundry34 mi
- AAir-up34 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 12 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 30-mi run (and back).
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 — Potato Patch Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,448 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
40.18849, -121.53297
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Potato Patch Campground · Lassen National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureDeer Creek (river) · nearby
- Nearest townJonesville · ~6.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelShell · ~17.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~24.0 mi
- GroceriesThe Village Mercantile · ~12.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicSeneca Hospital · ~17.7 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~17.6 mi
EV charging — from Potato Patch Campground · Lassen National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger30.5 mi straight-line S — Town of Paradise - 230 Pearson · EVCS · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 44 within 50 · 144 within 100 · 483 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)35.0 mi — Chico, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Chico
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)30.5 mi — Town of Paradise - 230 Pearson · EVCS · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — SWTCH Energy, Paradise, 29.9 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; For employee use 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 333168 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Potato Patch Campground · Lassen National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPotato Patch · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletAlder Creek · ~2.4 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletElam · ~6.0 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletElam Creek Picnic · ~6.0 mi NE · USFS
Open Potato Patch Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Potato Patch Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Alder Creek Campground~2.4 mi
- Upper Deer Creek~3.7 mi
- Elam Campground~6.0 mi
- Cherry Hill Campground~6.2 mi · fee
The unit that manages Potato Patch Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Potato Patch Campground are set by Lassen National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Potato Patch 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 Potato Patch 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 — Potato Patch Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →How to read this page →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 →