Free camping and cell signal in Sierra Nevada
Where dispersed camping is allowed in Sierra Nevada: Tahoe, Yosemite & Mammoth, which carrier will reach you to work or call for help, and what's on the road in. One map, saved to your phone for use with no signal.
Open Sierra Nevada in the mapCan you camp for free in Sierra Nevada?
On most national forest and Bureau of Land Management land, yes: dispersed camping is allowed outside developed sites, usually for up to 14 days, unless an area is posted closed. California state parks and wildlife areas are not open for dispersed camping, and a free campfire permit is needed on public land. National and state parks, wildlife refuges, tribal land and private timberland are not. In Sierra Nevada the map shows who manages every piece of public land, wilderness boundaries and the land with no public record, which you should treat as private.
Where will I have cell signal?
From the carriers' own coverage filings with the FCC, strong (in-vehicle) LTE covers about 38% of Sierra Nevada for AT&T, 35% of Sierra Nevada for Verizon, 28% of Sierra Nevada for T-Mobile, 0% of Sierra Nevada for worldmobilenetworksllc. Carriers model their coverage optimistically in the mountains, so the map also collects speed tests from other campers. Canadian phones usually roam on AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon here: check which one your plan uses.
Remote spots with coverage in Sierra Nevada
Ranked by distance from town and signal. Tap one to open it on the map.
- Public land near Indian Garden Creek · gravel road · 18.8 km from Deep Springs · Verizon
- Mammoth Pool Campground · paved road · 11.2 km from Whisky Falls · Verizon
- Campsite near Rock Creek Lake · hike-in · 16.1 km from Lake Mary · Verizon
- Public land near Graveyard Creek · unpaved track · 20 km from Central Camp · Verizon
- Little Yosemite Valley Campground · hike-in · 19.3 km from White Wolf · AT&T, Verizon
- Goose Meadow Campground · paved road · 6.3 km from Stanford (historical) · AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon
- Clover Meadow Campground · gravel road · 25.9 km from Lake Mary · Verizon
- Public land near Kirkwood Spring · gravel road · 9.4 km from Bodie · AT&T, Verizon
- Bowler Group Camp · gravel road · 22.5 km from Central Camp · Verizon
- Campsite near Dana Fork · hike-in · 10.9 km from Bennettville (historical) · Verizon
Road access and wildfires
The map shows which roads in Sierra Nevada are paved, gravel, rough or unpaved tracks, plus parking lots and trailheads, and live wildfire hotspots and perimeters while you're online.
Open Sierra Nevada in the mapCosmic's Camp Map puts all of this on one map with land status, cell coverage by carrier, recreation sites, wildfires, services and road reports, and saves it to your phone for use without signal. See everything the map does.