Agency-listedUSFSFee
Spinning Wheel
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 37.84011, -119.97833
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 Spinning Wheel
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,063 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Spinning WheelNIFC · 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 Spinning Wheel · Stanislaus National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater2 mi
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- EVEV fast charger5 mi
- LLaundry7 mi
- ShShower7 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- DDump12 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- RxPharmacy14 mi
- MMechanic15 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- PPropane19 mi
- OOutfitter23 mi
- AAir-up50 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, 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 — Spinning Wheel
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,063 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
37.84011, -119.97833
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Spinning Wheel · Stanislaus National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townBuck Meadows · ~5.8 mi
- Drinking waterwater pump · ~1.8 mi
- FuelValero · ~2.7 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~19.4 mi
- Dump station~11.9 mi
- GroceriesYosemite Lakes Country Store · ~2.7 mi
- PharmacyGroveland Pharmacy · ~13.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicTuolumne MeWuk Indian Health Center · ~16.7 mi
- HardwareHardware · ~10.9 mi
EV charging — from Spinning Wheel · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger4.7 mi straight-line W — Innsight Buck Meadows Lodge (Groveland, CA) · Electrify America · CHAdeMO, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach10 within 25 mi · 29 within 50 · 396 within 100 · 1155 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)13.8 mi — Groveland, CA, Groveland
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)5.7 mi — GF4EVA RUSH CREEK L2, Groveland, CA · 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 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 192748 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Spinning Wheel · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSpinning Wheel · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSweetwater · ~1.8 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRainbow Pool · ~2.3 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLumsden Bridge · ~2.9 mi W · USFS
Open Spinning Wheel elsewhere
Other camps near Spinning Wheel
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sweetwater~1.8 mi · fee
- Lumsden Bridge~2.9 mi · fee
- South Fork~3.7 mi
- Lumsden~4.0 mi · fee
The unit that manages Spinning Wheel
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Spinning Wheel are set by Stanislaus National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Spinning Wheel
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 2026-08-22: $25 per night, single site. SOURCE IS WEAKER THAN USUAL: Stanislaus publishes no recreation page for this campground (every slug probed returned 404) and there is no recreation.gov listing within 30 mi, so the only agency source is the live EDW recreation-sites record, which gives fee_charged=Y, STANDARD AMENITY FEE and 'Overnight Use: Single Site: $25 per night'. Source: https://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0/query?where=site_name='SPINNING WHEEL' AND region='05'.
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 Spinning Wheel
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 — Spinning Wheel
What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →Bugs & critters →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 →