Agency-listedUSFSFee
The Pines
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 37.81761, -120.09501
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 The Pines
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,305 ft.
Fire & smoke — around The PinesNIFC · 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 The Pines · Stanislaus National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- EVEV fast charger2 mi
- WWater5 mi
- ShShower5 mi
- DDump6 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- MMechanic8 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- LLaundry14 mi
- PPropane17 mi
- OOutfitter29 mi
- AAir-up46 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 2 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 — The Pines
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,305 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
37.81761, -120.09501
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around The Pines · Stanislaus National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townBuck Meadows · ~1.3 mi
- Drinking waterwater pump · ~5.0 mi
- FuelBuck Meadows Gas Station · ~1.8 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~16.9 mi
- Dump station~5.5 mi
- GroceriesBuck Meadows General Store · ~1.8 mi
- PharmacyGroveland Pharmacy · ~7.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicTuolumne MeWuk Indian Health Center · ~12.9 mi
- HardwareHardware · ~5.7 mi
EV charging — from The Pines · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger2.0 mi straight-line E — 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 · 46 within 50 · 464 within 100 · 1171 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)7.6 mi — Groveland, CA, Groveland
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.3 mi — GF4EVA GROVELAND M L2 · 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 The Pines · Stanislaus National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletThe Pines · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletThe Pines · at this camp · USFS
- RestroomLittle Golden Forest Trail · ~0.4 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLost Claim · ~2.4 mi E · USFS
Open The Pines elsewhere
Other camps near The Pines
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lost Claim~2.4 mi · fee
- Lumsden~2.8 mi · fee
- South Fork~3.1 mi
- Lumsden Bridge~4.1 mi · fee
The unit that manages The Pines
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at The Pines are set by Stanislaus National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — The Pines
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 2026-08-20: $25 per night for a single family site, operated in summer (about May to September) by American Land & Leisure under Forest Service permit. The group site is listed at $150 per night in the forest's fee table and on recreation.gov for 2026, though the same page's text says $125 -- confirm before booking the group site. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/stanislaus/recreation/pines-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 The Pines
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 — The Pines
What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →Bugs & critters →Off-grid communication →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 →