Agency-listedUSFSFree
Upper Hell Hole Cg
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.08190, -120.35789
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 Upper Hell Hole Cg
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,639 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Upper Hell Hole CgNIFC · 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 Upper Hell Hole Cg · Eldorado National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater6 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- DDump11 mi
- PPropane12 mi
- FFuel13 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- OOutfitter13 mi
- LLaundry13 mi
- ShShower17 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- +Urgent care18 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- AAir-up36 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 10 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 — Upper Hell Hole Cg
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
4,639 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.08190, -120.35789
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Upper Hell Hole Cg · Eldorado National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLagoon Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townGilberts · ~7.8 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~6.0 mi
- FuelFuel · ~12.7 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~24.9 mi
- Dump station~11.4 mi
- GroceriesAlice's Mountain Market · ~10.4 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~18.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicUrgent Care · ~18.5 mi
- Hardwareace hardware · ~22.2 mi
EV charging — from Upper Hell Hole Cg · Eldorado National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.9 mi straight-line NE — Tahoe City, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a municipal building) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach25 within 25 mi · 85 within 50 · 324 within 100 · 965 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS18.3 mi — Save Mart 627 (Truckee, CA), Truckee
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO18.6 mi — DC CORRIDOR LUCKYS SS DC1, Soda Springs
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.5 mi — Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort, Olympic Valley, CA (at a public site) · EVRANGE · J1772 · 12 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Resort at Squaw Creek, Olympic Valley, 10.2 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only; see valet for access · AFDC lists it “Variable fee”
- 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 153419 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Upper Hell Hole Cg · Eldorado National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Hell Hole Cg · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHell Hole Vista · ~3.1 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHell Hole Cg · ~3.2 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHell Hole Boat Ramp · ~3.3 mi SW · USFS
Open Upper Hell Hole Cg elsewhere
Other camps near Upper Hell Hole Cg
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Hell Hole Cg~3.2 mi · fee
- Big Meadows Cg~3.8 mi · fee
- French Meadows~4.1 mi · fee
- Gates~4.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Upper Hell Hole Cg
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Upper Hell Hole Cg are set by Eldorado National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Upper Hell Hole Cg
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
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 Upper Hell Hole Cg
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 — Upper Hell Hole Cg
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Picking a spot →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 →