Free camping near El Portal, CA
Within 25 straight-line miles of El Portal, CA there are 41 camps: 22 free, 17 fee, 2 unpriced. The closest is Dry Gulch Campground, 2.5 miles west of town. The closest one our audit calls free is Anderson Valley, 8.2 miles out. Today's season read covers 1 of them: 1 open, 0 closed, 0 worth a call.
Who manages them: 38 on the Forest Service; 2 on the BLM; 1 on an agency our record does not name.
| 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 | — |
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.