Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Watson Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.22396, -120.13734
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 Watson Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,781 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Watson Lake 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 Watson Lake Campground · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- PPropane3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- WWater3 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- LLaundry4 mi
- +Urgent care4 mi
- OOutfitter4 mi
- HHardware4 mi
- EVEV fast charger4 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- MMechanic6 mi
- DDump6 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- ShShower21 mi
- AAir-up25 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 — Watson Lake Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,781 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.22396, -120.13734
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Watson Lake Campground · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureWatson Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townCedar Flat · ~2.7 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~3.2 mi
- FuelFuel · ~4.0 mi
- Propane / LPGChevron ExtraMile Store · ~28.0 mi
- Dump station~6.0 mi
- Groceries7-Eleven · ~2.8 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~7.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicUrgent Care · ~3.6 mi
- HardwareVillage Ace Hardware · ~10.1 mi
EV charging — from Watson Lake Campground · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger3.9 mi straight-line S — 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 reach30 within 25 mi · 59 within 50 · 281 within 100 · 620 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS4.7 mi — Northstar - Castle Peak - Truckee, Truckee
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO4.7 mi — Northstar - Castle Peak - Truckee, Truckee
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)3.7 mi — Northstar Village L2 - Truckee (at a public site) · EVRANGE · J1772 · 6 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe - Tesla Destination, Truckee, 3.0 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Northstar Lodge, Truckee, 3.7 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only · AFDC lists it “Free” - 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 Watson Lake Campground · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSilver Creek Cg · ~3.5 mi W · USFS
- Portable toilet64 Acres Riverside · ~4.2 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGoose Meadow · ~4.6 mi NW · USFS
- Flush restroomWilliam Kent Beach · ~5.9 mi S · USFS
Open Watson Lake Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Watson Lake Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Silver Creek Cg~3.5 mi · fee
- Goose Meadow Campground~4.6 mi · fee
- William Kent Campground~6.0 mi · fee
- Granite Flat~6.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Watson Lake Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Watson Lake Campground are set by Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Watson Lake 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.
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 Watson Lake 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 — Watson Lake Campground
When the high country opens →Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Reading the aerial →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 →