Agency-listedUSFSFree
Wells Cabin
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 39.83779, -122.94983
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 Wells Cabin
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,300 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Wells CabinNIFC · 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 Wells Cabin · Mendocino National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- GGrocery16 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- LLaundry30 mi
- MMechanic30 mi
- +Urgent care30 mi
- ShShower34 mi
- WWater34 mi
- DDump38 mi
- RxPharmacy38 mi
- AAir-up40 mi
- OOutfitter50 mi
- PPropane58 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 34-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 16 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 — Wells Cabin
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,300 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
39.83779, -122.94983
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Wells Cabin · Mendocino National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureGrindstone Creek (river) · nearby
- Nearest townHardy Place · ~2.5 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelCovelo Redwood Oil Co Station · ~16.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesTienda Su Pais · ~16.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicLong Valley Clinic · ~30.2 mi
- HardwareM & M Feed · ~13.3 mi
EV charging — from Wells Cabin · Mendocino National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.6 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 · 25 within 50 · 115 within 100 · 589 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)30.1 mi — Laytonville, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Laytonville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)11.6 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 Wells Cabin · Mendocino National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletWells Cabin · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSugar Springs · ~2.4 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Meadows · ~3.6 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHoward Lake Cg · ~3.7 mi NW · USFS
Open Wells Cabin elsewhere
Other camps near Wells Cabin
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sugar Spring Campground~2.4 mi
- Howard Lake Campground~3.6 mi · fee
- Howard Lake Cg~3.7 mi · fee
- Little Doe Campground~4.4 mi
The unit that manages Wells Cabin
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Wells Cabin are set by Mendocino National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Wells Cabin
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 Wells Cabin
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 — Wells Cabin
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →