Agency-listedUSFSFree
Sugar Spring Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.86022, -122.91567
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 Sugar Spring Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,472 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Sugar Spring CampgroundNIFC · 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 Sugar Spring Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- GGrocery18 mi
- FFuel18 mi
- @Mail18 mi
- LLaundry32 mi
- MMechanic32 mi
- +Urgent care32 mi
- ShShower36 mi
- WWater36 mi
- RxPharmacy38 mi
- AAir-up38 mi
- DDump40 mi
- OOutfitter52 mi
- PPropane56 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 36-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 18 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 — Sugar Spring Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,472 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.86022, -122.91567
Cost
Free · OpenStreetMap fee tag: no
Nearby & resupply — around Sugar Spring Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureGrindstone Creek (river) · nearby
- Nearest townBollinger Place · ~2.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCovelo Redwood Oil Co Station · ~18.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesKeith's Market IGA · ~18.3 mi
- HardwareM & M Feed · ~15.5 mi
EV charging — from Sugar Spring Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger13.4 mi straight-line W — 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 23 within 50 · 114 within 100 · 589 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)32.4 mi — Laytonville, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Laytonville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)13.4 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 Sugar Spring Campground · Mendocino National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSugar Springs · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWells Cabin · ~2.4 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Meadows · ~4.3 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Lake Cg · ~4.3 mi W · USFS
Open Sugar Spring Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Sugar Spring Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Wells Cabin~2.4 mi
- Howard Lake Campground~4.2 mi · fee
- Howard Lake Cg~4.3 mi · fee
- Little Doe Campground~4.4 mi
The unit that manages Sugar Spring Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Sugar Spring Campground are set by Mendocino National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Sugar Spring Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Sugar Spring Campground
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 — Sugar Spring Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Dispersed camping tips →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 →