Agency-listedUSFSFree
Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 40.20189, -122.92990
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 Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,933 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)NIFC · 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 Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead) · Shasta-Trinity National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery11 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- FFuel11 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- EVEV fast charger27 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- WWater32 mi
- HHardware32 mi
- DDump36 mi
- OOutfitter36 mi
- MMechanic36 mi
- RxPharmacy37 mi
- AAir-up37 mi
- PPropane38 mi
- ShShower46 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 32-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 11 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 — Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,933 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
40.20189, -122.92990
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead) · Shasta-Trinity National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCold Fork (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townPayne · ~9.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelPlatina Store · ~11.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesPlatina Store · ~11.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicHayfork Clinic · ~27.8 mi
EV charging — from Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead) · Shasta-Trinity National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger27.4 mi straight-line SW — South Leggett (at a public site) · EVRANGE · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 2 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 · 49 within 50 · 108 within 100 · 438 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)35.8 mi — Weaverville, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Weaverville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)27.4 mi — South Leggett (at a public site) · EVRANGE · 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 462384 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead) · Shasta-Trinity National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletRat Trap Gap (Trailhead) · at this camp · USFS
- Portable toiletPost Creek Guard Station · ~2.3 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletStuart Gap (Trailhead) · ~2.9 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTomhead Saddle Cg-F · ~6.8 mi SE · USFS
Open Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead) elsewhere
Other camps near Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- White Rock Campground~6.1 mi
- Tomhead Saddle Cg-F~6.8 mi
- North Fork Beegum Creek Camp~7.7 mi
- Basin Gulch Cg-F~10.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead) are set by Shasta-Trinity National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
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 Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
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 — Rat Trap Gap (Trailhead)
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Getting unstuck →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 →