Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
South Fork Tamarack
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 37.19106, -119.20486
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 South Fork Tamarack
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,125 ft.
Fire & smoke — around South Fork TamarackNIFC · 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 South Fork Tamarack · Sierra National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery3 mi
- +Urgent care4 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- DDump8 mi
- WWater8 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- MMechanic8 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- LLaundry17 mi
- ShShower17 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- EVEV fast charger26 mi
- PPropane39 mi
- AAir-up44 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 3 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 — South Fork Tamarack
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
7,125 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
37.19106, -119.20486
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around South Fork Tamarack · Sierra National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townBig Creek · ~2.6 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~7.9 mi
- FuelShaver Lake Gas · ~8.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~7.6 mi
- GroceriesTrading Post · ~3.4 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~20.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicFirst Aid Lodge · ~3.5 mi
- HardwareYoung's Shaver Lake Hardware · ~8.6 mi
EV charging — from South Fork Tamarack · Sierra National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger26.1 mi straight-line W — Oakhurst, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 68 within 50 · 165 within 100 · 551 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS26.7 mi — Central Valley Bank (Oakhurst, CA), Oakhurst
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.8 mi — DC CORRIDOR OAKHURST DC2, Oakhurst
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)20.1 mi — Prather · NOODOE · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports 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 206268 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around South Fork Tamarack · Sierra National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCoyote · ~0.3 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTamarack Ridge · ~2.0 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDowville · ~3.2 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBilly Creek · ~3.5 mi N · USFS
Coming out here — South Fork Tamarack · Sierra National Forest · CA
- No surface water within about a mile and a half in our records — which is not proof there is none, only that we found none. Plan to carry washing water as well as drinking water.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open South Fork Tamarack elsewhere
Other camps near South Fork Tamarack
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Billy Creek, Lower~3.5 mi · fee
- Billy Creek, Upper~3.6 mi · fee
- Strawberry Lake~3.9 mi
- Strawberry Lake Camp 1~4.1 mi
The unit that manages South Fork Tamarack
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at South Fork Tamarack are set by Sierra National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — South Fork Tamarack
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
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
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 South Fork Tamarack
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 — South Fork Tamarack
What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Stay limits →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 →