CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Forest Service · Cleveland National Forest · CA

Burnt Rancheria

3Heads up3 fires, nearest 10 mi

Wildfire

Lost fire · 9.8 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 14, 2026

Wildfire

Mtz/Sdu/Border 9 fire · 25 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 14, 2026

Wildfire

Mutual Aid/Tnr fire · 29 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 13, 2026

Fires: NIFC/IRWIN via MTJP wildfire tracker · Oct 14, 2026

Reservable, and full this SaturdayEvery one of the 54 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and the record lists no site held back for a walk-up. read 16:08 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: OpenInside the published season, our reading; a database flag says not open
A night: $35From, per site
Sites: 10756 on recreation.gov
Season: April 1Opens April 1. No closing date published.

Photos · USFS

99 ftLongest rig

5,970 ftElevation

1.0 miWater · Agua Dulce Creek

3.7 miNE of Pine Valley, CA

22%Tree cover

Opens April 1. No closing date published.Today

The place

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

In the agency’s own words

Burnt Rancheria Campground is located 50 miles east of San Diego at the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area in Southern California, right off the Sunrise Scenic Byway. Campers can enjoy hiking, viewing unique birds and wildlife and enjoying cooler temperatures at this mountain facility in Cleveland National Forest, open from mid-April through October. Keep reading

Recreation

Day hiking and picnicking are most popular at Burnt Rancheria. The facility provides easy access to a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile national scenic trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. Hiking and horseback riding are allowed on the trail. Biking is not allowed on any portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. A short hike to the nearby Desert View Picnic Site provides visitors with a bird's-eye view of the desert 6,000 feet below. On most days, the Salton Sea is clearly visible to the southeast. Restrooms and potable water are available. Families with children will enjoy activities, campfire programs and guided hikes available during summer. In addition to the guided hikes, a visitor might take the self-guided interpretive trail hike; brochures are available from the camp host. Campers can also get a glimpse of the amazing night sky at "star parties" organized by the San Diego State University Observatory. These gatherings are conducted on most Saturday evenings during the summer months (schedule can be obtained at the Visitor Information Center on Laguna Mountain or by calling 619-473-8547).

Facilities

Burnt Rancheria is a large campground with several loops of campsites. Each site has a table and campfire ring. There are no hookups or dump station for RVs; the nearest is located at the Buckman Springs Rest Area, 4 miles east of Pine Valley on I-8. The campground is equipped with restrooms and coin-operated showers (showers open only during reservation season). Firewood is available for purchase from the campground host.

Natural Features

Pines and oaks abound throughout the campground, which sits at an elevation of 6,000 ft. The site is heavily wooded and surrounded by an open oak grove with spectacular desert views. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (619) 354-8776.

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

What the agency tells you

Rule

This is Burnt Rancheria in the Cleveland National Forest east of San Diego; it is not Rancheria near Clovis in the Sierra National Forest

Rule

2 Pets per site only

Rule

Please Note: One RV with tow vehicle per single site or one vehicle per tent site. Most sites can accommodate 1 extra vehicle that is not included with the reservation fee. Extra vehicle will be charged a per night fee and collected at the campground.

Everything else this campground posts · 5

Rule

Fire Restrictions: 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. Wooden pallets are not allowed for campfires; During hot and dry summer months, fire restrictions are common and campfires may be prohibited

Rule

Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

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

Click here to learn more about Cleveland National Forest, or call 619-354-8776

Rule

Camping or otherwise occupying a single location (including leaving camping equipment and/or related supplies) for a period longer than 14 consecutive calendar days is prohibited. ‘Location’ means the occupied area, the occupied campsite, and the National Forest System lands in the immediate vicinity thereof. Camping or occupying any location on all National Forest lands for more than 28 calendar days total during a calendar year is prohibited.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

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

Tents and rigs

Sites: 107 · 8 tent-only
Hookups: None
Longest rig: 50 ft
Paved pads: 60 of 107
Accessible sites: 2
Pets: Allowed
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: Every site

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

Facilities

Toilets: Yes, the record doesn't say what kind; “The campground is equipped with restrooms and coin-operated showers (showers open only during reservation season).”
Showers: Coin Showers; “The campground is equipped with restrooms and coin-operated showers (showers open only during reservation season).”
Drinking water: Yes; “…visible to the southeast. Restrooms and potable water are available. Families with children will enjoy…”
Dump station: Yes
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

Ranger programs; Visitor center
Night sky · 984th 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 16:08 UTC

How full the weekend is nationally.

OpenBooked

Booking windowThrough October 18Bookable now through October 18, 2026, the end of the reservable season. On October 25, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 25, 2027.recreation.gov Add to calendar (.ics)

Max stay14 nights2-night minimum on weekendsthe facility record

A night$35plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$78DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.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 · 13

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service

A night$35

Standard Nonelectric$35

Tent Only Nonelectric$35

Rates for the season the campground is in now, Apr 25, 2026 to Oct 18, 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 a stay costs

One nightDerived$43

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$78

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $35 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

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 · 5

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

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 16:08 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

124 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 56 mapped sites

86 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most roomAmphitheater 037 252 ftLilac 002 161 ftPinyon 054 123 ftPinyon 049 119 ftPinyon 061 119 ft

Least roomLilac 004 51 ftLilac 005 51 ftLilac 010 60 ft

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

All 124 records

107 of 124 records located

Standard48Tent only8Type not stated51

013 014 017 018 033 035 036 037 039 041 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 080 081 082 083 084 085 086 087 088 089 090 091 092 093 094 095 096 097 098 099 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 62A 62B 001 002 003 004 005 006 008 010 012 015 016 019 028 030 038 040 042 043 044 045 046 047 049 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 007 009 011 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 029 031 032 034

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 107 of the 124 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. 107 of the 124 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.


Amphitheater	013	standard nonelectric	38 ft		75 ft	4,620 ft	87 ft	$35
Amphitheater	014	standard nonelectric	42 ft		76 ft	4,517 ft	157 ft	$35
Amphitheater	017	standard nonelectric	50 ft		78 ft	4,447 ft	229 ft	$35
Amphitheater	018	standard nonelectric	50 ft		87 ft	4,342 ft	346 ft	$35
Amphitheater	033	standard nonelectric	40 ft		91 ft	4,807 ft	199 ft	$35
Amphitheater	035	standard nonelectric	25 ft		83 ft	4,729 ft	85 ft	$35
Amphitheater	036	tent only nonelectric	30 ft		83 ft	4,523 ft	169 ft	$35
Amphitheater	037	tent only nonelectric	30 ft	yes	252 ft	4,852 ft	180 ft	$35
Amphitheater	039	standard nonelectric	36 ft		89 ft	4,989 ft	344 ft	$35
Amphitheater	041	tent only nonelectric	40 ft		72 ft	4,948 ft	345 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	063	type not stated				1.0 mi	278 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	064	type not stated				1.1 mi	380 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	065	type not stated				1.1 mi	421 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	066	type not stated				1.1 mi	466 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	067	type not stated				1.1 mi	596 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	068	type not stated				1.1 mi	461 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	069	type not stated				1.1 mi	721 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	070	type not stated				1.1 mi	570 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	071	type not stated				1.2 mi	824 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	072	type not stated				1.1 mi	642 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	073	type not stated				1.2 mi	1,032 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	074	type not stated				1.1 mi	776 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	075	type not stated				1.2 mi	929 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	076	type not stated				1.2 mi	1,070 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	077	type not stated				1.2 mi	1,113 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	078	type not stated				1.2 mi	923 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	080	type not stated				1.2 mi	802 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	081	type not stated				1.1 mi	637 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	082	type not stated				1.1 mi	405 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	083	type not stated				1.1 mi	480 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	084	type not stated				1.1 mi	453 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	085	type not stated				1.1 mi	395 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	086	type not stated				1.1 mi	385 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	087	type not stated				1.1 mi	313 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	088	type not stated				1.1 mi	90 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	089	type not stated				1.1 mi	98 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	090	type not stated				1.1 mi	87 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	091	type not stated				1.1 mi	29 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	092	type not stated				1.0 mi	110 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	093	type not stated				1.0 mi	94 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	094	type not stated				1.0 mi	285 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	095	type not stated				5,243 ft	335 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	096	type not stated				1.0 mi	189 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	097	type not stated				1.0 mi	336 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	098	type not stated				5,159 ft	276 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	099	type not stated				5,147 ft	175 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	100	type not stated				1.0 mi	233 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	101	type not stated				1.0 mi	73 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	102	type not stated				5,203 ft	152 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	103	type not stated				1.0 mi	90 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	104	type not stated				1.0 mi	69 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	105	type not stated				1.0 mi	183 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	106	type not stated				1.0 mi	180 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	107	type not stated				1.1 mi	192 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	108	type not stated				1.0 mi	116 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	62A	type not stated				1.0 mi	232 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	62B	type not stated				1.0 mi	219 ft	$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX	unnamed record	99 ft					$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX48	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX49	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX50	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX51	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX52	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX53	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX54	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX55	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX56	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX57	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX58	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX59	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX60	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX61	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX62	unnamed record						$35
AREA BURNT RANCHERIA	XXX63	unnamed record						$35
Lilac	001	type not stated	35 ft			4,174 ft	270 ft	$35
Lilac	002	standard nonelectric	45 ft		161 ft	4,003 ft	314 ft	$35
Lilac	003	standard nonelectric	45 ft		93 ft	3,947 ft	253 ft	$35
Lilac	004	standard nonelectric	33 ft		51 ft	4,053 ft	170 ft	$35
Lilac	005	standard nonelectric	30 ft		51 ft	4,033 ft	160 ft	$35
Lilac	006	standard nonelectric	42 ft		117 ft	4,240 ft	68 ft	$35
Lilac	008	standard nonelectric	36 ft		77 ft	4,392 ft	237 ft	$35
Lilac	010	standard nonelectric	25 ft		60 ft	4,508 ft	163 ft	$35
Lilac	012	standard nonelectric	48 ft	yes	72 ft	4,579 ft	107 ft	$35
Lilac	015	standard nonelectric	38 ft		60 ft	4,493 ft	198 ft	$35
Lilac	016	standard nonelectric	50 ft		80 ft	4,404 ft	273 ft	$35
Lilac	019	standard nonelectric	49 ft		87 ft	4,307 ft	310 ft	$35
Pinyon	028	standard nonelectric	35 ft		115 ft	4,806 ft	202 ft	$35
Pinyon	030	standard nonelectric	35 ft		112 ft	4,885 ft	229 ft	$35
Pinyon	038	tent only nonelectric	25 ft		89 ft	5,068 ft	358 ft	$35
Pinyon	040	standard nonelectric	25 ft		108 ft	5,047 ft	339 ft	$35
Pinyon	042	standard nonelectric	49 ft		72 ft	4,987 ft	366 ft	$35
Pinyon	043	standard nonelectric	40 ft		91 ft	4,763 ft	264 ft	$35
Pinyon	044	standard nonelectric	45 ft		79 ft	4,831 ft	241 ft	$35
Pinyon	045	standard nonelectric	36 ft		79 ft	4,868 ft	168 ft	$35
Pinyon	046	standard nonelectric	45 ft		99 ft	4,965 ft	123 ft	$35
Pinyon	047	type not stated	32 ft			5,036 ft	169 ft	$35
Pinyon	049	standard nonelectric	28 ft		119 ft	5,096 ft	132 ft	$35
Pinyon	050	tent only nonelectric			108 ft	5,206 ft	207 ft	$35
Pinyon	051	tent only nonelectric			108 ft	1.0 mi	305 ft	$35
Pinyon	052	standard nonelectric	40 ft		108 ft	1.0 mi	322 ft	$35
Pinyon	053	standard nonelectric	38 ft		117 ft	1.0 mi	317 ft	$35
Pinyon	054	standard nonelectric	32 ft		123 ft	1.0 mi	223 ft	$35
Pinyon	055	standard nonelectric	25 ft		89 ft	1.0 mi	85 ft	$35
Pinyon	056	standard nonelectric	33 ft		89 ft	1.0 mi	64 ft	$35
Pinyon	057	standard nonelectric	26 ft		91 ft	1.0 mi	74 ft	$35
Pinyon	058	standard nonelectric	30 ft		84 ft	5,252 ft	162 ft	$35
Pinyon	059	standard nonelectric	24 ft		84 ft	5,277 ft	205 ft	$35
Pinyon	060	type not stated	40 ft			5,195 ft	248 ft	$35
Pinyon	061	standard nonelectric	22 ft		119 ft	5,204 ft	324 ft	$35
Yucca	007	standard nonelectric	38 ft		85 ft	4,357 ft	179 ft	$35
Yucca	009	standard nonelectric	25 ft		77 ft	4,438 ft	210 ft	$35
Yucca	011	type not stated	40 ft			4,496 ft	151 ft	$35
Yucca	020	standard nonelectric	35 ft		93 ft	4,113 ft	68 ft	$35
Yucca	021	standard nonelectric	40 ft		61 ft	4,238 ft	123 ft	$35
Yucca	022	standard nonelectric	37 ft		61 ft	4,249 ft	182 ft	$35
Yucca	023	standard nonelectric	30 ft		71 ft	4,399 ft	319 ft	$35
Yucca	024	standard nonelectric	38 ft		71 ft	4,523 ft	353 ft	$35
Yucca	025	tent only nonelectric			71 ft	4,332 ft	294 ft	$35
Yucca	026	tent only nonelectric			71 ft	4,535 ft	417 ft	$35
Yucca	027	standard nonelectric	50 ft		84 ft	4,597 ft	420 ft	$35
Yucca	029	standard nonelectric	40 ft		112 ft	4,779 ft	274 ft	$35
Yucca	031	standard nonelectric	50 ft		106 ft	4,802 ft	325 ft	$35
Yucca	032	standard nonelectric	40 ft		91 ft	4,755 ft	219 ft	$35
Yucca	034	standard nonelectric	40 ft		83 ft	4,697 ft	110 ft	$35

The agency files 17 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It types every one of them MANAGEMENT rather than a campsite. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.

The records with no site name: Derived by CAMPANAC from the agency’s own campsite records: recreation.gov files some overnight records with no site name, only a row of X characters. A block is read as the campground’s own sites, filed without names, only where the agency types those records as campsites rather than MANAGEMENT, gives each one a coordinate, and their numbering continues the campground’s own numbered sites with no gap. Everything else is left uncounted, and where the evidence doesn’t decide the record is counted as no kind of site rather than guessed at · Sep 12, 2026

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 124 listed

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

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

Coordinate32.86139, -116.41611

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone619-473-0120

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

Wooded Hill GroupCleveland National Forest · 1.2 mi

Horse Heaven GroupCleveland National Forest · 2.3 mi

LagunaCleveland National Forest · 2.5 mi

El Prado GroupCleveland National Forest · 2.9 mi Cibbets Flat CampgroundCleveland National Forest · 6.1 mi Cottonwood CampgroundEl Centro Field Office · 6.2 mi

Getting there

Located 50 miles east of San Diego, California. From I-8 take the Sunrise exit. Go approximately 11 miles to Milepost 23. Stop at entrance for campground information and site location.

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

Today60°Sunny3% rain

Tonight49°Slight Chance Rain Showers18% rain

Saturday55°Mostly Sunny4% rain

Saturday Night46°Mostly Clear

NWS forecast for Mount Laguna, CA

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

Typical weather

Typical April night 42°F, day 61°F.

Coldest night of the open season: typical April night 42°F. Bring the bag rated for it.

90°30°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season

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

Measured at: PALOMAR MTN OBSY, CA (USC00046657), 43 miles away and 420 ft lower

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

who answers for it · a letter you can send

Who answers for this land

Burnt Rancheria is in California’s 48th congressional district. Its representative, Darrell Issa (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 moneyDarrell IssaU.S. Representative · California’s 48th 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 Darrell Issa

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 Burnt Rancheria, Cleveland National Forest, California

Dear Darrell Issa,

I’m a constituent in California’s 48th district. I tried to camp at Burnt Rancheria, Cleveland National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 56 of the 107 campsites the agency files at Burnt Rancheria, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 54 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. Burnt Rancheria keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Burnt Rancheria. 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 Burnt Rancheria (Cleveland 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 Burnt Rancheria, Cleveland National Forest, California

Dear Adam B. Schiff,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Burnt Rancheria, Cleveland National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 56 of the 107 campsites the agency files at Burnt Rancheria, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 54 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. Burnt Rancheria keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Burnt Rancheria. 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 Burnt Rancheria (Cleveland 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 Burnt Rancheria, Cleveland National Forest, California

Dear Alex Padilla,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Burnt Rancheria, Cleveland National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 56 of the 107 campsites the agency files at Burnt Rancheria, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 54 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. Burnt Rancheria keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Burnt Rancheria. 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 Burnt Rancheria (Cleveland 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: Today falls inside the season the agency publishes, and it has posted nothing else. That reading is ours. The U.S. Forest Service’s own database, though, flags it not open with no reason or date; the flag is named under How we know all this.

Listed not open: USFS EDW Recreation Opportunities, openstatus field: a not-open flag in a database, with no reason and no date published; read there since Sep 9, 2026. A flag, not a notice, so this page doesn’t call it a closure. · Oct 16, 2026

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 56 of the 107 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 11, 2026

Season: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 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 107 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: 0.54 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 place of any size: Mount Laguna, CA, 0.1 mi SE (a census designated place). Straight line.

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