Free camping near Buck Meadows, CA
Yes. 6 of the 20 camps within 25 straight-line miles of Buck Meadows, CA are listed as free; 12 charge a fee and 2 have no price on record. The closest free one is South Fork, 2.7 miles northeast, on U.S. Forest Service land. The closest camp of any kind is The Pines, 1.3 miles northwest, a fee campground.
All 20 camps near Buck Meadows, CA
| Camp | Miles | Cost | Water | Nearest town | Season today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Pines | 1.3 | Fee | — | 1.3 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Lost Claim | 1.7 | Fee | — | 1.7 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Lumsden | 2.6 | Fee | South Fork Tuolumne River (river) | 1.8 mi to Colfax Spring | — |
| South Fork | 2.7 | Free | — | 2.7 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Lumsden Bridge | 3.7 | Fee | — | 3.7 mi to Buck Meadows | Open |
| Sweetwater | 4.0 | Fee | Middle Tuolumne River (river) | 1.3 mi to Colfax Spring | — |
| Spinning Wheel | 5.8 | Fee | — | 5.8 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Montgomery Gulch | 9.5 | Free | Bull Creek (stream) | 5.7 mi to Clearing House | — |
| Joe Walt Run | 9.7 | Free | Jawbone Creek (stream) | 1.8 mi to Femmons | — |
| Anderson Valley | 10 | Free | Bull Creek (stream) | 4.7 mi to Sequoia | — |
| Dimond "O" | 12 | Fee | Mud Lake (water) | 1.5 mi to Mather | — |
| Railroad Flat Campground | 13 | Unpriced | Merced River (river) | 6.3 mi to Bagby | — |
| Cherry Borrow Site | 14 | Free | Cherry Creek (stream) | 6.3 mi to Femmons | — |
| Hacienda | 14 | Fee | — | 4.0 mi to Twain Harte | — |
| Cherry Valley | 15 | Fee | Cherry Creek (stream) | 6.2 mi to Femmons | — |
| McCabe Flat Campground | 15 | Unpriced | Good Gulch (stream) | 5.8 mi to Midpines | — |
| Dirt Flat Campground | 16 | Fee | — | 2.8 mi to El Portal | — |
| Dry Gulch Campground | 16 | Fee | — | 2.5 mi to El Portal | — |
| Hull Creek | 20 | Fee | — | 4.7 mi to Cold Springs | — |
| Jerseydale | 22 | Free | Snow Creek (stream) | 1.9 mi to Darrah | — |
Who manages the camps near Buck Meadows, CA
Who manages them: 18 on the Forest Service; 2 on the BLM.
- Stanislaus National Forest — 15 camps: 5 free, 10 fee
- Sierra National Forest — 3 camps: 1 free, 2 fee
- Mother Lode Field Office — 2 camps: 2 unpriced
Season read for these camps, today
Today's season read covers 1 of the 20: 1 open, 0 closed, 0 worth a call. It comes from each camp's own record, so a camp with no season word is not counted either way.
Forecast near Buck Meadows, CA
This is the Weather Service forecast for the town, fetched when the page opens. It is not a forecast for any camp in the table; ground higher up or in a canyon can run colder or windier. It needs JavaScript; without it, see weather.gov.
Camping near other towns close by
The nearest towns that have their own page, with the straight-line miles between the towns.
Every distance on this page is a straight line from Buck Meadows, CA, not a driving distance — a camp four miles out across a canyon can be an hour of road. Cost is the audited three-state verdict on each camp's own record: free, fee, or unpriced where we could not confirm a price. A blank column is a gap in the record, not a statement that the thing is absent. Camps come from state and federal agency records, not from a visit, except the ones marked. Seasons, permits and fire rules change: confirm with the managing office before you go. Found a fee where we show free? Tell us on the contact page.