Best Dispersed Camping near Big Bar, CA

Plenty of dispersed camping spots. My flat spot that I found not too far from a Creek and I even had 2 bars on my cell phone and watch the movie.

Several areas along Blue Lakes Rd offer dispersed camping. We had a wildflower-filled meadow to ourselves in early August with plenty of near-by trails for dirt bikes, Jeeping, horses, mountain biking or hiking.

So disappointing this app has failed us like 5 times now on camping spots. Not the right location.

The coordinates listed on the app are simply for the entrance to the dispersed camping. There are infinite amounts of primitive roads to drive down and find camp. I stayed at N38.768811• W 120.238630° — on top of a peak that offered 360° views with sunrise and sunset right from my tent. At this specific sight, there are no overhead trees. Despite being primitive, the roads are well kept, even if you have a small SUV. It could get slightly tricky with a car. I stayed here for 7 days (10/31-11/6) and only saw one other person on the primivite roads. The above coordinates are about a 6 mile drive in from US50. You will see a campground on your right about 5 miles down when driving in, about a mile further down the road you will come up on the dirt road leading you up the mountain.

A couple of notes:

1. You are required to have a permit for any day/overnight use in Eldorado, including this area. They can be easily acquired at recreation.gov
2. Cell phone reception is very spotty, in and out of a couple of bars throughout the drive in. — AT&T coverage. At the above coordinates, there were 2 bars of low grade coverage allowing basic texts to send. Not enough service for web browsing or sending photos via text.
3. This area has been widely burnt by fires last year. There are still large areas unburnt. You will find yourself going in and out of them while driving.
4. KEEP IT CLEAN — this area is immaculate and besides dug out fire pits, human trace is non-existent. Leave it cleaner than you found it, pick up your trash (and other’s if you see any), respect the area and it will respect you.
5. NO CAMP SERVICES — There is no trash service or even dumpsters at the signed entrance; pack it in pack it out. There are no restrooms in the area either.

This is a nice little private camp spot for the most part, There's a campground with its own fence around it for private camping With signs posted very near it, "no camping here" in the other spots without the signs good to go.

We recently spent a night at this campsite and found it to be perfect for a quick overnight getaway. The area is spacious and conveniently located not too far off the main road, making it easy to access without feeling too isolated.

There are plenty of sites to choose from, catering to different preferences. However, we recommend taking some time to survey the land before setting up camp, as some spots are slightly sloped.

A huge plus is the gas station just about 5 minutes down the road. It’s well-stocked with all the convenient store items you might have forgotten at home, making it easy to grab any last-minute necessities.

Overall, it was a delightful stay. Just remember, always practice Leave No Trace principles—pack out what you pack in!

The site was covered in snow, and there was a sign saying no camping in snow clearing conditions. Additionally you aren’t allowed in without a Sno-park permit from November 1st to may 31st.

For those that can get it, I had no service with Verizon or t-mobile

The view from this area is spectacular. Beautiful sunsets too. It is a pretty open area with lots of room to camp. It is now an abandoned ski resort. The Mormon Emigrant Trail can be accessed from there (East side, going West to Sly Park.) You can hear the Highway a little, but nonetheless very peaceful area. We had 3 bars of AT&T connection there. Will be back

The views from this place are amazing. The abandoned ski lifts are pretty cool to look at and hike along them as well. I camped right on the edge where the view was as far from the highway as possible. The only downfall is that you can hear the highway. I went on a Tuesday. But I could tell the place gets busy at some point. I would go again.

Stayed at this location when there was about a foot of snow on the ground, so I didn't feel comfortable driving into the actual camping area, instead I stayed over night on the paved round about. Nice and quite and woke up to gorgeous views! It looks like they are cutting down trees in the area that you would camp at so there are big piles of logs everywhere.

Good place to hike around, I could see this place being perfect for the summer!

Great place to get off the road and sleep for the night.

Drive to the back area for tree shade and level grounds. Side of road camping. Camping on Ridgeline

We arrived when it was dark and had no problem finding a spot! It was open with plenty of spots & we were the only ones! Perfect spot for star gazing!!

Wooded campground, cool weather, good phone reception, many spots taken with no activity probably by locals. Lake, hiking, close shopping.

Stayed here for 2 nights during the 2019 Pursuit Norcal Event (outdoor adventure camp for adults). Due to the nature of the event, we were very close to other campers but the site itself had a lot of tree cover, shade and probably awesome camping at any other time. There is open field adjacent that was used as the event hub. Location was near trails to rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking.