Agency-listedUSFSFree
Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 34.13688, -108.47251
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 Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,682 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1NIFC · 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 Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1 · Gila National Forest · NM
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- PPropane14 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- FFuel14 mi
- GGrocery14 mi
- MMechanic14 mi
- +Urgent care34 mi
- WWater42 mi
- HHardware43 mi
- LLaundry47 mi
- DDump56 mi
- ShShower56 mi
- RxPharmacy58 mi
- EVEV fast charger68 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 42-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 14 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 68-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 — Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,682 ft
State
NM
Coordinates
34.13688, -108.47251
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1 · Gila National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureEl Caso Spring Canyon (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townMangas · ~8.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~14.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesApache Creek Store · ~22.6 mi
EV charging — from Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1 · Gila National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger67.9 mi straight-line N — Major Market Inc, Zuni, NM · LOOP · CHAdeMO, CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · none within 50 · 21 within 100 · 74 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)79.3 mi — Milan, NM - Tesla Supercharger, Milan
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)83.7 mi — CHARLIE CLARKS C.C. CHARGING 1, Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast charger$1 activation fee; $0.59 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 348906 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1 · Gila National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletQuemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1 · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLargo · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletQuemado Lake - El Caso Cg #2 · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletQuemado Lake - El Caso Cg #3 · ~0.3 mi E · USFS
Open Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1 elsewhere
Other camps near Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- El Caso I-III Campground~0.2 mi
- Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #3~0.3 mi
- Piñon Campground~0.6 mi
- El Caso Throwdown Campground~0.6 mi
The unit that manages Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1 are set by Gila National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
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 Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
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 — Quemado Lake - El Caso Cg #1
When the high country opens →Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →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 →