CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

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

Convict Lake Campground

1Heads up1 fire 40 mi away

Wildfire

Wildfire Training fire · 40 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 15, 2026

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

Reservable, and full this SaturdayEvery one of the 43 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and the record lists no site held back for a walk-up. read 16:32 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 8 of the next 8 nights; a database flag says not open read 16:32 UTC
A night: $35From, per site
Sites: 48All of them booked ahead

Photos · USFS

55 ftLongest rig

7,560 ftElevation

486 ftWater · Convict Creek

1.8 miSE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

0%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices

In the agency’s own words

Convict Lake Campground is situated near Convict Lake amidst the beautiful scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The lake and surrounding national forest provide many opportunities for family fun, outdoor recreation and relaxation. The campground and nearby resort offer many amenities for a convenient and enjoyable camping experience. The facility is located between Mammoth Lakes and Bishop, California, near Mammoth Airport. Keep reading

Recreation

The eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains are known for exceptional trout fishing. Anglers can cast a line for rainbow and brown trout in the creek or lake. Power boats are limited to electric motors on the lake (six horsepower or less). The area's majestic scenery and variety of trails draw in hikers, mountain bikers and equestrian enthusiasts. The 3.5-mile Lake Trail can be accessed from the campground, and many other trails are in nearby John Muir Wilderness.

Facilities

This is a fairly large and well-organized facility with both reservable and first-come, first-served campsites. A few sites overlook the lake, while others are a short distance from the shore. Sites are spaced fairly close together. Flush toilets, drinking water, and a dump station are provided, as well as food storage lockers for safety from bears. Campers can purchase firewood on-site. A store, pack station, boat rentals, restaurant, and other amenities are just down the road at the Convict Lake Resort.

Natural Features

The campground sits at an elevation of 7,500 ft. and provides gorgeous views of the lake and the dramatic mountain scenery. Convict Creek runs through the campground, and the 167-acre Convict Lake is about 100 yards away. Shrubs and low vegetation fill in the landscape, though tall aspen and cottonwood trees grow along the creek. The area is abundant with wildlife, including black bears, mountain lions, mule deer, pine marten, pika and many species of fish and birds.

Nearby Attractions

Visitors can explore the magnificent John Muir Wilderness, which stretches for 100 miles along the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is a land of lofty snow-capped mountains, deep canyons and vast expanses of glacially-carved terrain, and offers extensive hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding trails.

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

What the agency tells you

Rule

No electricity, water or sewer site hookups

Rule

Reservations are site-specific. Changing campsites after arrival is prohibited

Rule

No ATVs or ORVs allowed in the facility

Everything else this campground posts · 10

Rule

Convict Lake is a no-wake lake

Rule

Generators allowed only during non-quiet hours; three-hour maximum run time and must be attended while running

Rule

Day use parking is adjacent to the campground

Rule

Two dogs are allowed and must be leashed

Rule

This is a high elevation facility; please use caution when traveling from lower elevations; campground usually not clear of snow until late May or early June

Rule

Be bear aware; keep all food out of site in approved containers or locked inside your vehicle and remove all food from area after eating; always keep a clean camp and do not feed any wild animals

Rule

Please Note: One RV with tow vehicle per single site or one vehicle per tent site. One vehicle per single site is included with your reservation. 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 if you did not pay for an Extra Vehicle Add On. Extra vehicles must fit on the parking spur at the site.

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.

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.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

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

Tents and rigs

Sites: 48 · 11 tent-only
Hookups: None
Longest rig: 55 ft
Paved pads: All
Accessible sites: 8
Pets: Allowed
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: Every site

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

Facilities

Toilets: Flush Toilets; “…Sites are spaced fairly close together. Flush toilets, drinking water, and a dump station are provided,…”
Drinking water: Yes; “…fairly close together. Flush toilets, drinking water, and a dump station are provided, as well as food…”
Dump station: Yes
Bear boxes: Yes
Firewood: Sold here

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, Creek; Biking; Boating; Climbing; Fish Hatchery; Fishing; Hiking; Horseback riding; Hunting; Picnicking; Swimming; Wildlife viewing
Night sky · 435th darkest of 1,201 in CA: Bortle 3
Fall color · reported 14 days ago, 13 km away: Patchy color

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

Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (13 km) · Oct 3, 2026

Full this Saturdayread 16:32 UTC

How full the weekend is nationally.

OpenBooked

Every one of the 43 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 19 are free on Thu, Oct 22. read 16:32 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t

Booking windowThrough October 24Bookable now through October 24, 2026, the end of the reservable season. On October 23, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 23, 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 24, 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 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 16:32 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

48 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 48 mapped sites

95 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most room002 226 ft023 199 ft021 171 ft022 171 ft034 156 ft

Least room058 48 ft059 48 ft038 48 ft

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

All 48 sites

48 of 48 sites located

Standard37Tent only11

002 003 004 005 006 008 011 013 015 017 021 022 023 027 032 033 034 035 037 038 043 044 048 049 050 051 053 055 057 058 059 061 062 063 064 065 069 072 075 076 080 081 082 083 084 086 087 088

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 48 of the 48 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. 48 of the 48 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.


AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	002	standard nonelectric	45 ft		226 ft	577 ftConvict Lake	682 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	003	tent only nonelectric	20 ft		83 ft	759 ftConvict Lake	784 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	004	standard nonelectric	25 ft		83 ft	804 ftConvict Lake	788 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	005	standard nonelectric	30 ft		119 ft	759 ft	805 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	006	tent only nonelectric	34 ft		100 ft	568 ft	926 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	008	tent only nonelectric	34 ft		100 ft	520 ft	987 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	011	tent only nonelectric	25 ft		122 ft	437 ft	1,042 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	013	tent only nonelectric	28 ft		62 ft	413 ft	1,175 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	015	tent only nonelectric	25 ft		62 ft	399 ft	1,119 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	017	tent only nonelectric	36 ft		66 ft	404 ft	1,078 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	021	tent only nonelectric	20 ft		171 ft	189 ft	700 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	022	tent only nonelectric	20 ft		171 ft	208 ft	543 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	023	standard nonelectric	40 ft		200 ft	207 ft	347 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	027	standard nonelectric	36 ft		141 ft	131 ft	87 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	032	standard nonelectric	27 ft		126 ft	275 ft	101 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	033	standard nonelectric	36 ft		126 ft	160 ft	170 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	034	standard nonelectric	36 ft		155 ft	109 ft	306 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	035	standard nonelectric	40 ft		92 ft	146 ft	698 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	037	tent only nonelectric	30 ft		85 ft	150 ft	790 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	038	standard nonelectric	30 ft		48 ft	196 ft	875 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	043	standard nonelectric	40 ft	yes	48 ft	238 ft	918 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	044	standard nonelectric	40 ft		52 ft	209 ft	964 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	048	standard nonelectric	36 ft	yes	99 ft	200 ft	1,068 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	049	standard nonelectric	40 ft		101 ft	39 ft	1,216 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	050	standard nonelectric	40 ft	yes	95 ft	135 ft	1,165 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	051	standard nonelectric	36 ft	yes	95 ft	144 ft	1,253 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	053	standard nonelectric	40 ft		95 ft	76 ft	1,442 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	055	standard nonelectric	25 ft		95 ft	168 ft	1,464 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	057	standard nonelectric	40 ft		141 ft	28 ft	1,655 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	058	standard nonelectric	40 ft		47 ft	118 ft	1,621 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	059	standard nonelectric	40 ft		47 ft	142 ft	1,598 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	061	standard nonelectric	35 ft		109 ft	133 ft	781 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	062	standard nonelectric	30 ft		65 ft	151 ft	881 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	063	standard nonelectric	28 ft		109 ft	221 ft	887 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	064	standard nonelectric	40 ft		65 ft	154 ft	929 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	065	tent only nonelectric	20 ft		89 ft	240 ft	954 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	069	standard nonelectric	25 ft		151 ft	394 ft	843 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	072	standard nonelectric	40 ft	yes	141 ft	244 ft	847 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	075	standard nonelectric	34 ft	yes	82 ft	186 ft	733 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	076	standard nonelectric	28 ft		82 ft	224 ft	652 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	080	standard nonelectric	30 ft		84 ft	313 ft	622 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	081	standard nonelectric	55 ft	yes	98 ft	373 ft	512 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	082	standard nonelectric	36 ft		84 ft	396 ft	605 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	083	standard nonelectric	40 ft		57 ft	498 ft	608 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	084	standard nonelectric	30 ft		57 ft	555 ft	623 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	086	standard nonelectric	30 ft	yes	106 ft	580 ft	531 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	087	standard nonelectric	30 ft		120 ft	619 ftConvict Lake	569 ft	$35
AREA CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND	088	standard nonelectric	36 ft		120 ft	650 ftConvict Lake	651 ft	$35

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 48 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

Coordinate37.59889, -118.85083

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone760-924-5771

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

McGee CreekInyo National Forest · 4.3 mi

Crowley Lake CampgroundBishop Field Office · 5.0 mi

Sherwin CreekInyo National Forest · 5.2 mi

Pine GlenInyo National Forest · 6.8 mi

New Shady Rest CampgroundInyo National Forest · 7.0 mi

Old Shady Rest CampgroundInyo National Forest · 7.0 mi

Getting there

Convict Lake Campground is about 34 miles north of Bishop, California on Highway 395. From Bishop, travel north on 395. The turnoff to the campground is across from Mammoth Yosemite Airport and is well-signed. From Mammoth Lakes, travel on Highway 395 south for 5 miles. Turn west off of Highway 395.

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

Today66°Sunny

Tonight34°Mostly Clear

Sunday66°Sunny

Sunday Night32°Clear

NWS forecast for Mammoth Lakes, CA

Source: National Weather Service, REV forecast office · Oct 17, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 36°F, day 65°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 21°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: LEE VINING, CA (USC00044881), 29 miles away and 763 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

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

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless

Laurel Mcgee8,770 acres · 1 mi · inventoried roadless area

Roadless

Nevahbe Ridge302 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area

Roadless

Whisky Creek865 acres · 7 mi · inventoried roadless area

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

Source: USFS Inventoried Roadless Areas via MTJP Roadless Map · Jul 29, 2026

Who answers for this land

Convict Lake Campground is in California’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Kevin Kiley (I), 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 moneyKevin KileyU.S. Representative · California’s 3rd district
Their official site ↗Their record →
No contact form we could verify, so that link is their own site. Contact is inside it. Washington office: 202-225-2523.
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 Kevin Kiley

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 Convict Lake Campground, Inyo National Forest, California

Dear Kevin Kiley,

I’m a constituent in California’s 3rd district. I tried to camp at Convict Lake Campground, Inyo National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 48 sites at Convict Lake Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 43 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Convict Lake Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Convict Lake Campground. 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 Convict Lake Campground (Inyo 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 Convict Lake Campground, Inyo National Forest, California

Dear Adam B. Schiff,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Convict Lake Campground, Inyo National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 48 sites at Convict Lake Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 43 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Convict Lake Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Convict Lake Campground. 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 Convict Lake Campground (Inyo 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 Convict Lake Campground, Inyo National Forest, California

Dear Alex Padilla,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Convict Lake Campground, Inyo National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 48 sites at Convict Lake Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 43 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Convict Lake Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Convict Lake Campground. 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 Convict Lake Campground (Inyo 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 8 of the next 8 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does. 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 17, 2026

Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026 and November 2026. It names 48 of the 48 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 14, 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 48 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: 0.1 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

Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (13 km) · Oct 3, 2026

Reported by: iNaturalist fall color observations, reported patchy color · Oct 3, 2026

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