CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Forest Service · San Bernardino National Forest · CA

Barton Flats

5Heads up5 fires, nearest 18 mi

Wildfire

Orange 2 fire · 18 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 15, 2026

Wildfire

Mtz/Bdc/83A fire · 20 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 15, 2026

Wildfire

2026 Training fire · 21 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 14, 2026

Wildfire

Powerline fire · 23 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 14, 2026

Wildfire

Juniper fire · 23 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 14, 2026

Fires: NIFC/IRWIN via MTJP wildfire tracker · Oct 15, 2026

Reservable, and full this SaturdayEvery one of the 52 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and the record lists no site held back for a walk-up. read 15:47 UTC

We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →

Watch for a cancellation Book on recreation.gov ↗

Right now: Taking bookingsSites offered on 9 of the next 9 nights read 15:47 UTC
A night: $36–$71Across the site types the agency prices
Sites: 52All of them booked ahead

Photos · Local Staff

35 ftLongest rig

6,390 ftElevation

2,449 ftWater · Frog Creek

3.8 miSE of Big Bear Lake, CA

20%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices

In the agency’s own words

The Barton Flats Campground provides a taste of just about everything the San Bernardino National Forest has to offer. In addition to a nearby lake and river access, a variety hiking, biking and horseback riding trails can be accessed from the campground. Its location also provides a great place for visitors to relax, take in the fresh, mountain air, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Keep reading

Recreation

The campground provides access to the famed Santa Ana River Trail, which will someday run from the mountains to the seaside, providing spectacular views along the way. It is currently popular for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The 2.5-mile Rio Monte Trail is also accessed from the campground and ends at the Rio Monte Panorama, which overlooks the deep gorge of the Santa Ana River Valley. The Jenks Lake Trail begins at the Barton Flats Visitor Center on the Rio Monte Trail. It then follows Barton Road to an old logging road to Jenks Lake. At nearby Jenks Lake visitors can enjoy fishing and non-motorized boating, including canoeing and kayaking. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout and there are also some largemouth bass, bluegill, sunfish and catfish available. Fishing is also available in the nearby Santa Ana River.

Facilities

The campground offers dozens of single and double campsites, available for tent and RV camping. Some accessible sites are available as well. There are no hookups at the campground, however, the parking aprons are paved and a dump station is available. Each site is equipped with tables and campfire rings with grills. Accessible flush toilets, showers and drinking water are provided. Firewood is sold at the campground.

Natural Features

Located 36 miles northeast of San Bernardino, this campground is nestled in the San Bernardino Mountains, just off the Rim of the World Scenic Byway. The level campsites are tucked among a variety of pine and oak trees, at an elevation of 6,360 feet. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (909) 866-8550.

Nearby Attractions

The Grayback Amphitheater on State Route 38 provides evening educational programs throughout the summer months.

Charges & Cancellations

Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night’s recreation fee for a campsite or forfeit the entire day-use fee for a day-use facility.

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

What the agency tells you

Rule

Barton Flats is reservations Only, No First Come First Serve sites.

Rule

Bears frequent the area; carefully follow all food and garbage disposal regulations

Rule

Fee for use of dump station will be collected at the time of use.

Everything else this campground posts · 5

Rule

In accordance with standard industry practices, Mountain Top Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicles in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles. The fee will be collected at the campground if you did not pay for the Extra Vehicle Add On. Extra vehicles must fit on the parking spur at your site.

Rule

Click here for more information on the San Bernardino National Forest

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.

Rule

Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed

Rule

Check-in 2:00 pm and/or after. Late arrivals must occupy their reserved site no later than 4:00pm the following day. Check out time is at 12 noon.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Source: recreation.gov facility notices, quoted verbatim · Sep 9, 2026

Tents and rigs

Sites: 52
Hookups: None
Longest rig: 35 ft
Paved pads: All
Accessible sites: 7
Pets: Allowed
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: 27 of 29 sites

Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets: Flush Toilets; “…campfire rings with grills. Accessible flush toilets, showers and drinking water are provided. Firewood…”
Drinking water: Yes; “…Accessible flush toilets, showers and drinking water are provided. Firewood is sold at the campground.…”
Dump station: Yes; recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Firewood: Sold here
Stay limit: 14 nights; recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water: Lake, River; Biking; Boating; Fishing; Hiking; Ranger programs; Water sports
Night sky · 1112th darkest of 1,201 in CA: Bortle 4

Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Full this Saturdayread 15:47 UTC

How full the weekend is nationally.

OpenBooked

Every one of the 52 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 45 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 15:47 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t

Booking windowThrough October 24Bookable now through October 24, 2026, the end of this reservable season, and again for April 2, 2027 through April 16, 2027. Tomorrow at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 17, 2027.recreation.gov

Max stay14 nightsthe facility record

A night$36–$71plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$80–$150DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservation; this campground publishes its own terms toorecreation.gov’s schedule

Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record

Watch for a cancellation

Watch this campground

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Book on recreation.gov ↗

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 14

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service

A night, per site$36–$71

Standard Nonelectric$36

Standard Nonelectric-Double$71

Rates for the season the campground is in now, Apr 3, 2026 to Oct 24, 2026.

The booking feerecreation.gov

Reservation fee, booked online$8

One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.

Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.

What this campground addsits own record

Extra vehicle$8

“In accordance with standard industry practices, Mountain Top Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice

What a stay costs

One nightDerived$44–$79

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$80–$150

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $36–$71 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov

Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10

Cancellation fee$10

Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night

No-show$20 + your first night

“Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night’s recreation fee for…” · this campground’s own no-show terms

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 7

Sign price: recreation.gov facility rate schedule, quoted as the agency publishes it · Sep 10, 2026

Booking fee, change fee, cancellation fee, no-show: Rules and Reservation Policies, Recreation.gov, the published fee schedule, curated by hand into lib/reservation-fee-schedule.json (9 rows, each carrying its own verbatim sentence). The publisher states these policies were last updated September 2019. · Sep 9, 2026

What this campground adds: The U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record and notices for this campground, quoted verbatim. An extra-vehicle charge is set locally and appears on no national schedule, so it’s never assumed. · Sep 9, 2026

This campground’s own terms: recreation.gov facility cancellation policy for this campground, quoted verbatim. Recreation.gov states that policies listed for specific locations supersede its site-wide policies. · Sep 9, 2026

The two totals: Derived by CAMPANAC by adding the agency’s own published nightly rate to recreation.gov’s own published reservation fee. Both components are cited above; the addition is ours and is shown only where every component is known. · Sep 9, 2026

Who keeps the booking fee: Recreation.gov facility policy text, Dead Swede Campground (facility 234221) · Not on the national policy page. This is agency policy text recreation.gov publishes on individual campground pages; this site holds it verbatim on 45 active campgrounds (campground_rules.cancellation_description, scripts/load-facility-rules.mjs). · Sep 9, 2026

The contract: Reservation Gods: Who Stole Our Campsites and Sold Them Back to Us, More Than Just Parks, April 2025 · Apr 1, 2025

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

recreation.gov availability, read 15:47 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

53 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 52 mapped sites

80 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most room029 111 ft045 106 ft047 106 ft030 104 ft048 102 ft

Least room049 43 ft051 43 ft009 54 ft

Source: Derived by CAMPANAC from recreation.gov per-site coordinates (nearest-neighbor distance) · Oct 12, 2026

All 53 records

53 of 53 records located

Standard52Host pad1

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 HOST

Aerial · Esri World Imagery

Sites: recreation.gov (RIDB), coordinates as published · Aug 23, 2026

Imagery: Esri World Imagery

SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 53 of the 53 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 52 of the 53 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.


BARTON FLATS	001	standard nonelectric	35 ft		98 ft	2,678 ft	210 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	002	standard nonelectric	35 ft		67 ft	2,776 ft	106 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	003	standard nonelectric	35 ft		67 ft	2,775 ft	171 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	004	standard nonelectric	35 ft		79 ft	2,883 ft	135 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	005	standard nonelectric	35 ft		71 ft	2,915 ft	216 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	006	standard nonelectric	35 ft		79 ft	2,952 ft	161 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	007	standard nonelectric	35 ft		71 ft	2,976 ft	226 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	008	standard nonelectric	35 ft		100 ft	2,994 ft	182 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	009	standard nonelectric	35 ft		54 ft	3,091 ft	281 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	010	standard nonelectric	35 ft		54 ft	3,108 ft	302 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	011	standard nonelectric	35 ft		67 ft	3,010 ft	277 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	012	standard nonelectric	35 ft		76 ft	2,933 ft	182 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	013	standard nonelectric	35 ft		67 ft	2,945 ft	253 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	014	standard nonelectric	35 ft		89 ft	2,834 ft	214 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	015	standard nonelectric	35 ft		89 ft	2,833 ft	125 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	016	standard nonelectric	35 ft		80 ft	2,736 ft	198 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	017	standard nonelectric	35 ft		97 ft	2,723 ft	124 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	018	standard nonelectric	35 ft		80 ft	2,668 ft	211 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	019	standard nonelectric	35 ft		73 ft	2,564 ft	203 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	020	standard nonelectric	35 ft		73 ft	2,603 ft	216 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	021	standard nonelectric	35 ft		97 ft	2,513 ft	119 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	022	standard nonelectric	35 ft		73 ft	2,556 ft	201 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	023	standard nonelectric	35 ft		86 ft	2,260 ft	139 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	024	standard nonelectric	35 ft		86 ft	2,339 ft	105 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	025	standard nonelectric	35 ft	yes	102 ft	2,330 ft	132 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	026	standard nonelectric	35 ft		89 ft	2,423 ft	100 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	027	standard nonelectric	35 ft		79 ft	2,431 ft	189 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	028	standard nonelectric	35 ft		73 ft	2,510 ft	207 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	029	standard nonelectric	35 ft		111 ft	2,525 ft	317 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	030	standard nonelectric	35 ft		104 ft	2,414 ft	211 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	031	standard nonelectric	35 ft		99 ft	2,463 ft	291 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	032	standard nonelectric	35 ft	yes	99 ft	2,374 ft	247 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	033	standard nonelectric	35 ft	yes	78 ft	2,290 ft	146 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	034	standard nonelectric	35 ft	yes	78 ft	2,268 ft	205 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	035	standard nonelectric	35 ft	yes	96 ft	2,160 ft	93 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	036	standard nonelectric	35 ft		96 ft	2,094 ft	187 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	037	standard nonelectric	35 ft		83 ft	2,129 ft	277 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	038	standard nonelectric	35 ft		83 ft	2,074 ft	352 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	039	standard nonelectric	35 ft		80 ft	2,000 ft	350 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	040	standard nonelectric	35 ft		80 ft	1,936 ft	426 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	041	standard nonelectric	35 ft		84 ft	1,837 ft	577 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	042	standard nonelectric	35 ft		73 ft	1,849 ft	504 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	043	standard nonelectric	35 ft		81 ft	1,742 ft	579 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	044	standard nonelectric	35 ft		81 ft	1,721 ft	550 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	045	standard nonelectric	35 ft		106 ft	1,806 ft	431 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	046	standard nonelectric	35 ft		73 ft	1,846 ft	455 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	047	standard nonelectric	35 ft		106 ft	1,894 ft	328 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	048	standard nonelectric	35 ft	yes	102 ft	2,009 ft	219 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	049	standard nonelectric	35 ft		43 ft	2,035 ft	182 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	050	standard nonelectric	35 ft	yes	72 ft	2,084 ft	128 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	051	standard nonelectric	35 ft		43 ft	2,055 ft	178 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	052	standard nonelectric	35 ft		78 ft	2,137 ft	88 ft	$36–$71
BARTON FLATS	HOST	host pad	35 ft			2,483 ft	314 ft	$36

The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It names it a host pad. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.

Price: Derived by CAMPANAC: each site takes the per-night rate this campground publishes for the site’s own site type (recreation.gov rate schedule). recreation.gov publishes no per-campsite fee, and a site whose type carries no published rate is left blank rather than called free · Sep 11, 2026

25 of 53 listed

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions

Coordinate34.17055, -116.87455

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

San GorgonioSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.4 mi

CouncilSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.4 mi

Oso GroupSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.8 mi

Lobo GroupSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.8 mi

Shady Cove Group CampgroundSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.7 mi South Fork Family CampgroundSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.7 mi

Getting there

Take I-10 East to Redlands. Take the University Street exit, EXIT 80. Turn left (northbound) on University Street. Turn right onto E. Lugonia Avenue/SR-38. Continue on State Highway 38 for approximately 18 miles to the campground entrance.

Directions: Driving directions as the agency wrote them · Sep 9, 2026

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon62°Sunny1% rain

Tonight46°Mostly Clear2% rain

Saturday61°Partly Sunny8% rain

Saturday Night44°Mostly Cloudy8% rain

NWS forecast for Big Bear Lake, CA

Source: National Weather Service, SGX forecast office · Oct 16, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 35°F, day 63°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical December night 24°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°32°10°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: BIG BEAR LAKE, CA (USC00040741), 6 miles away and 363 ft higher

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals · Sep 8, 2026

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send

What threatens this place

Watch

Sand to Snow National Monumentdevelopment · 20 mi

Roadless

Sugarloaf8,206 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area

Roadless

Raywood Flat B11,373 acres · 8 mi · inventoried roadless area

Roadless

Crystal Creek6,783 acres · 8 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Source: MTJP Threatened Lands map · Oct 3, 2026

Who answers for this land

Barton Flats is in California’s 23rd congressional district. Its representative, Jay Obernolte (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Source: U.S. Census district boundaries and the MTJP Congressional Public Lands Score

Who can change it · 3

Write to somebody who can change it

Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.

The member who votes the moneyJay ObernolteU.S. Representative · California’s 23rd district
Open their contact form ↗Their record →
Your senator, on the same appropriationAdam B. SchiffU.S. Senator · California
Open their contact form ↗
Your senator, on the same appropriationAlex PadillaU.S. Senator · California
Open their contact form ↗

Read the draft, or change the wording

For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.

To Jay Obernolte

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Barton Flats, San Bernardino National Forest, California

Dear Jay Obernolte,

I’m a constituent in California’s 23rd district. I tried to camp at Barton Flats, San Bernardino National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 52 sites at Barton Flats are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 52 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Barton Flats keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Barton Flats. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Barton Flats (San Bernardino National Forest, California) via campanac.com

To Adam B. Schiff

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Barton Flats, San Bernardino National Forest, California

Dear Adam B. Schiff,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Barton Flats, San Bernardino National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 52 sites at Barton Flats are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 52 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Barton Flats keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Barton Flats. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Barton Flats (San Bernardino National Forest, California) via campanac.com

To Alex Padilla

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Barton Flats, San Bernardino National Forest, California

Dear Alex Padilla,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Barton Flats, San Bernardino National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 52 sites at Barton Flats are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 52 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Barton Flats keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Barton Flats. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Barton Flats (San Bernardino National Forest, California) via campanac.com

How we know this · 4

Contacts: Contact forms from @unitedstates/congress-legislators · Sep 9, 2026

The figures in these drafts: Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress (CRS Report RS20643) · Updated December 4, 2025 · “The ship’s final procurement cost was $13,316.5 million (i.e., about $13.3 billion) in then-year dollars.”

The figures in these drafts: Salary Table 2026-GS, Incorporating the 1% General Schedule Increase, Effective January 2026 (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) · Effective January 2026 · “Grade 5, Step 1: $34,799 (annual rate, before locality pay).”

The figures in these drafts: Update to Civilian Position Full Fringe Benefit Cost Factor, Federal Pay Raise Assumptions, and Inflation Factors used in OMB Circular No. A-76 (OMB Memorandum M-08-13) · March 11, 2008 · “the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor needs to be adjusted downward, from 36.45 percent to 36.25 percent”

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from

Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 9 of the next 9 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.

Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026, November 2026 and July 2027. It names 52 of the 52 campsites the agency files here, and every one of them carries an answer either way. A campground nobody has read carries no answer at all, never a no. · Oct 12, 2026

Elevation: USGS 3DEP elevation point query at this campground’s coordinate · Sep 7, 2026

Tree cover: NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC), one 30 m cell at this coordinate, taken as the median across the 53 campsites here that carry a reading · Sep 9, 2026

Water: USGS National Hydrography Dataset, nearest perennial lake, reservoir, river or stream to this campground’s coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate: 1.7 mcd/m² of artificial all-sky glow, ranked against the 1,201 rated federal campgrounds in California · Sep 8, 2026

Sky-glow model: Duriscoe, Anderson, Luginbuhl and Baugh (2018), a simplified model of all-sky artificial sky glow derived from VIIRS Day/Night band data, the National Park Service sky-glow model

Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.

Nearest town: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 places, measured by CAMPANAC to the town boundary; population is the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimate · Sep 9, 2026