Agency-listedUSFSFee
Sweetwater
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 37.82391, -120.00504
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 Sweetwater
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,991 ft.
Fire & smoke — around SweetwaterNIFC · 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 Sweetwater · Stanislaus National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater0 mi
- EVEV fast charger3 mi
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- ShShower9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- DDump10 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- MMechanic13 mi
- +Urgent care16 mi
- PPropane19 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- AAir-up51 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 — Sweetwater
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,991 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
37.82391, -120.00504
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Sweetwater · Stanislaus National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMiddle Tuolumne River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townColfax Spring · ~1.3 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.1 mi
- FuelBuck Meadows Gas Station · ~3.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~10.4 mi
- GroceriesBuck Meadows General Store · ~3.2 mi
- PharmacyGroveland Pharmacy · ~12.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicTuolumne MeWuk Indian Health Center · ~16.1 mi
- HardwarePML True Value · ~13.4 mi
EV charging — from Sweetwater · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger3.0 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 reach11 within 25 mi · 27 within 50 · 404 within 100 · 1158 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)12.4 mi — Groveland, CA, Groveland
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.8 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 Sweetwater · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSweetwater · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRainbow Pool · ~0.5 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSpinning Wheel · ~1.8 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRim Of The World · ~1.9 mi W · USFS
Open Sweetwater elsewhere
Other camps near Sweetwater
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Spinning Wheel~1.8 mi · fee
- Lumsden Bridge~2.1 mi · fee
- South Fork~2.4 mi
- Lost Claim~2.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Sweetwater
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Sweetwater are set by Stanislaus National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Sweetwater
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 2026-08-26: $29 per night, single site. Run by American Land & Leisure under special use permit. The forest page also carries a concessionaire line reading "Fees are currently $37.00 per night (+fees and taxes)" -- but recreation.gov listing 10174943 books it at $29 for the 26 Apr - 13 Oct 2026 season, matching the forest's own fee field, so $29 is the current price and the $37 line is stale. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/stanislaus/recreation/sweetwater-campground.
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 Sweetwater
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 — Sweetwater
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →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 →