Free camping near El Portal, CA
Yes. 22 of the 41 camps within 25 straight-line miles of El Portal, CA are listed as free; 17 charge a fee and 2 have no price on record. The closest free one is Anderson Valley, 8.2 miles northwest, on U.S. Forest Service land. The closest camp of any kind is Dry Gulch Campground, 2.5 miles west, a fee campground.
All 41 camps near El Portal, CA
| Camp | Miles | Cost | Water | Nearest town | Season today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Gulch Campground | 2.5 | Fee | — | 2.5 mi to El Portal | — |
| Dirt Flat Campground | 2.8 | Fee | — | 2.8 mi to El Portal | — |
| Anderson Valley | 8.2 | Free | Bull Creek (stream) | 4.7 mi to Sequoia | — |
| Jerseydale | 9.3 | Free | Snow Creek (stream) | 1.9 mi to Darrah | — |
| Montgomery Gulch | 9.6 | Free | Bull Creek (stream) | 5.7 mi to Clearing House | — |
| Summit Camp | 12 | Free | East Fork Chowchilla River (stream) | 2.9 mi to Wawona | — |
| McCabe Flat Campground | 13 | Unpriced | Good Gulch (stream) | 5.8 mi to Midpines | — |
| Railroad Flat Campground | 13 | Unpriced | Merced River (river) | 6.3 mi to Bagby | — |
| Dimond "O" | 14 | Fee | Mud Lake (water) | 1.5 mi to Mather | — |
| Summerdale | 15 | Fee | — | 0.8 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| Goat Meadow Dispersed Campsite | 15 | Free | Rainier Creek (stream) | 1.2 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| Spinning Wheel | 16 | Fee | — | 5.8 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Sweetwater | 16 | Fee | Middle Tuolumne River (river) | 1.3 mi to Colfax Spring | — |
| Lost Claim | 18 | Fee | — | 1.7 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Lumsden Bridge | 18 | Fee | — | 3.7 mi to Buck Meadows | Open |
| Big Sandy | 18 | Fee | — | 3.3 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| South Fork | 18 | Free | — | 2.7 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Lumsden | 18 | Fee | South Fork Tuolumne River (river) | 1.8 mi to Colfax Spring | — |
| The Pines | 20 | Fee | — | 1.3 mi to Buck Meadows | — |
| Middle Bridge | 20 | Free | Miami Creek (stream) | 2.4 mi to Sugar Pine | — |
| Miami Staging Area 1 | 20 | Free | — | — | — |
| Miami Staging Area | 20 | Free | Lewis Fork (stream) | 1.6 mi to Sugar Pine | — |
| Boggy Meadow 1 | 20 | Free | — | 5.1 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| Fish Camp/Big Creek | 20 | Free | Big Creek (stream) | 5.2 mi to Sugar Pine | — |
| Grizzly Pass | 20 | Free | Bare Island Lake (water) | 8.3 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| Fresno Dome | 20 | Fee | — | 5.3 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| Nelder Grove | 20 | Free | California Creek (stream) | 2.9 mi to Sugar Pine | — |
| Grizzly Creek | 20 | Free | Grizzly Creek (stream) | 9.9 mi to South Wawona | — |
| Lower Bridge | 21 | Free | Miami Creek (stream) | 2.2 mi to Yosemite Forks | — |
| Kelty Meadow | 21 | Fee | North Fork Willow Creek (stream) | 4.9 mi to Sugar Pine | — |
| Quartz Mountain | 21 | Free | — | 10 mi to Wawona | — |
| Joe Walt Run | 21 | Free | Jawbone Creek (stream) | 1.8 mi to Femmons | — |
| Cherry Borrow Site | 22 | Free | Cherry Creek (stream) | 6.3 mi to Femmons | — |
| D Spur | 22 | Free | Lost Lake Creek (stream) | 10 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| Texas Flat | 22 | Fee | — | 6.6 mi to Fish Camp | — |
| Soquel | 22 | Fee | California Creek (stream) | 4.3 mi to Old Corral | — |
| Cherry Valley | 22 | Fee | Cherry Creek (stream) | 6.2 mi to Femmons | — |
| Greys Mountain | 23 | Fee | — | 4.9 mi to Bass Lake | — |
| Upper Chiquito | 24 | Free | East Fork Chiquito Creek (stream) | 11 mi to Central Camp | — |
| Beasore/Chiquito | 24 | Free | East Fork Chiquito Creek (stream) | 11 mi to Central Camp | — |
| Muggler Creek | 25 | Free | Mugler Creek (stream) | 8.9 mi to Central Camp | — |
Who manages the camps near El Portal, CA
Who manages them: 38 on the Forest Service; 2 on the BLM; 1 on an agency our record does not name.
- Sierra National Forest — 26 camps: 17 free, 9 fee
- Stanislaus National Forest — 13 camps: 5 free, 8 fee
- Mother Lode Field Office — 2 camps: 2 unpriced
Season read for these camps, today
Today's season read covers 1 of the 41: 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 El Portal, 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 El Portal, 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.