Agency-listedBLM · dispersedFree
Stepladder Mountains Wilderness
Drive-up · Bureau of Land Management · CA · 34.55820, -114.83940
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 →Bureau of Land Management 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 Stepladder Mountains Wilderness
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,704 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Stepladder Mountains WildernessNIFC · 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 Stepladder Mountains Wilderness · Bureau of Land Management · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care23 mi
- GGrocery23 mi
- WWater23 mi
- FFuel23 mi
- MMechanic23 mi
- EVEV fast charger23 mi
- @Mail24 mi
- HHardware25 mi
- RxPharmacy29 mi
- ShShower40 mi
- DDump40 mi
- LLaundry42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 23-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 23 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
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 — Stepladder Mountains Wilderness
Access
Drive-up
Land
Bureau of Land Management · dispersed
Elevation
1,704 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.55820, -114.83940
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Stepladder Mountains Wilderness · Bureau of Land Management · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelShell · ~23.1 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMobil Mart · ~23.6 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~28.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicNeedles Public Health Clinic · ~22.7 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~28.8 mi
EV charging — from Stepladder Mountains Wilderness · Bureau of Land Management · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger23.1 mi straight-line NE — Needles, CA - E Broadway St - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 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 reach5 within 25 mi · 10 within 50 · 52 within 100 · 318 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS23.4 mi — City of Needles Charging Depot (Needles, CA), Needles
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.5 mi — Najah Hi Sahara Oasis (Essex Fenner, CA), Essex Fenner
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)26.9 mi — ANDERSON TOYOTA SERV PEDESTAL, Lake Havasu City, AZ · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port 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 256047 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Stepladder Mountains Wilderness · Bureau of Land Management · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~23.7 mi NE · FWS
- Highway rest areaJohn Wilkie Eastbound · ~27.7 mi NW
- Highway rest areaJohn Wilkie Westbound · ~27.7 mi NW
Open Stepladder Mountains Wilderness elsewhere
Other camps near Stepladder Mountains Wilderness
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Browns Camp~8.2 mi
- Lisa Dawn Camp~8.4 mi
- Lost Arch Historic Mining Camp~8.6 mi
- Snaggeltooth Primitive Rv Camp~11.8 mi
How we know this — Stepladder Mountains Wilderness
Source
Bureau of Land Management 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 Stepladder Mountains Wilderness
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 — Stepladder Mountains Wilderness
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Dumping grey & black →Power off-grid →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 →