Free Campgrounds in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California
no charge camp, no fee camping, free campgrounds
No fee camping: Bare bones. California Sierra Campgrounds without the fee.
Developed BLM or NFS campgrounds, where you can still have a campfire. Vault toilets, panic tables and fire rings. Use bear boxes when provided for proper food storage.
secluded campgrounds
Below is a good long list of some favorite free developed campgrounds in the Sierras. Many will require dirt road driving, as most are located well of the highway. Perhaps the 12 mile rough road will thin out the crowds. Free overnight stay!
2020 update: this list is shrinking, as more California National Forests start charging for the smallest of campgrounds.
Pack in your drinking water and pack out your trash. Campfire permits are not required at developed campgrounds; but a bringing a water bucket and shovel is necessary for tending your campfire. Piped water is not always available, or perhaps, not in working order at these primitive style camps. Be prepared to rough it a little.
Sierra National Forest – Central Sierra
Mammoth Pool Area
Redinger Lake 
open all year long; no campfires
Courtright Reservoir
no-fee OHV
Huntington Lake
no-fee OHV
Kaiser Pass Road
no-fee camping
Dinkey Creek Road
Kings River Campground
free river camping
- Kirch Flat Campground
Kings River @ Sycamore Springs Creek - Bretz Mill Campground
@ Big Creek; Blue Canyon OHV
Stanislaus National Forest – Central Sierra
Highway 4 – Ebbetts Pass
Highway 108 – Sonora Pass
Hwy 120 – West of Yosemite NP
Tuolumne Wild & Scenic River
Eldorado National Forest – Central Sierra
- Airport Flat Campground
- Azalea Cove @ Union Valley Reservoir
- Lone Rock @ Union Valley Reservoir
- Pleasant Campground @ Loon Lake
- Wentworth Springs Campground
Tahoe National Forest – Northern Sierra
- Bowman Lake (high clearance vehicle)
- Canyon Creek Campground
- Grouse Ridge Campground
- Jackson Creek Campground
- Mumford Bar Campground
- Snag Lake @ Lakes Basin Recreation Area
Highway 89 – Truckee
- Bear Valley Campground
- Sagehen Creek Campground
no campfires
Interstate 80 – Donner Pass
French Meadows Reservoir
- French Meadows Campground – winter is free of charge / fees charged in summer
- Talbot Campground
Plumas National Forest – Northern Sierra
Brady’s Camp
NFS Campground
West of Quincy, CA
Highway 70
Sequoia National Forest – Southern Sierra
Breckenridge Campground
Forest Rd# 28S06
South of Kern River
Giant Sequoia Area
Kings River Area
see also – Walk-In Campsites