CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

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

French Camp

1Heads up1 fire 43 mi away

Wildfire

Wildfire Training fire · 43 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 79 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and the record lists no site held back for a walk-up. read 16:09 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; a database flag says not open read 16:09 UTC
A night: $35From, per site
Sites: 83All of them booked ahead

Photos · Local staff

35 ftLongest rig

7,250 ftElevation

1,897 ftWater · an unnamed stream

2.7 miSE of Crowley Lake, CA

24%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices

In the agency’s own words

French Camp lies in the Rock Creek area of the scenic Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Tom's Place and midway between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, California. Its ideal location makes this campground a good stop for travelers on U.S. Highway 395 to rest overnight. Hiking opportunities are vast, and the creekside campground is convenient for fishing. The facility is large and inviting, with forest and mountain views and several amenities. Opening and closing dates for the season are dependent on weather. Keep reading

Recreation

Rock Creek and other waterways in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains are known for their exceptional trout fishing. A catch from the creek may includ brook, brown, rainbow and stocked Alpers trout. The area's majestic scenery and challenging trails are an obvious draw for hikers and mountain bikers. Because of the region's interesting geology, rockhounding is also popular.

Facilities

French Camp is a large facility with a variety of settings for tents and small to medium RVs (no hookups available). A few campsites can accommodate medium to large RVs and trailers. Sites are organized in one large loop, with some along the banks of the creek. Each has a picnic table and campfire ring. Firewood is available on-site for purchase, and nearby Tom's Place offers additional supplies and fee showers.

Natural Features

Campers will experience the beauty of pines and fragrant junipers that have come to represent Inyo National Forest. The campground sits among aspens, pinyon and ponderosa and Jeffrey pines at an elevation of 7,500 ft. The clear, cold and cascading Rock Creek, which originates in the John Muir Wilderness, runs alongside it. Brushy landscape and ample boulders in the area are fun to explore and traverse. The area is home to abundant wildlife, including black bear, mountain lions, mule deer, pine marten, pika and many species of fish and birds. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (760) 935-4824.

Nearby Attractions

For campers interested in local events, Mule Days are held in nearby Bishop over Memorial Day weekend, and the Mammoth Jazz Jubilee is hosted in Mammoth in mid-July.

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

What the agency tells you

Rule

Trailers/RVs over 35ft not recommended

Rule

Changing campsites in this campground is prohibited.

Rule

This is a high elevation facility; please use caution when traveling from lower elevations.

Everything else this campground posts · 7

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

Two pets per site allowed.

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.

Rule

Click here for more information about Inyo National Forest.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

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

Tents and rigs

Sites: 83 · 21 tent-only
Hookups: None
Longest rig: 35 ft
Accessible sites: None listed
Pets: Allowed
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: Every site

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

Facilities

Firewood: Sold here

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

Around the campground

On the water: Lake, Creek; Fishing; Hiking; Hunting; Picnicking; Wildlife viewing
Night sky · 231st darkest of 1,201 in CA: Bortle 2
Fall color · reported 14 days ago, 2.5 km away: Peak 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 (2.5 km) · Oct 2, 2026

Full this Saturdayread 16:09 UTC

How full the weekend is nationally.

OpenBooked

Every one of the 79 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 72 are free on Wed, Oct 21. read 16:09 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 nightsthe 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 itVista RecreationA private concessionaire under permit from U.S. Forest Servicethe operator link

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 16:09 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

84 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 83 mapped sites

82 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most roomLoop FREN 069 163 ftLoop FREN 070 163 ftLoop FREN 066 126 ftLoop FREN 075 118 ftLoop FREN 065 111 ft

Least roomLoop FREN 033 52 ftLoop FREN 034 52 ftLoop FREN 061 53 ft

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

All 84 records

84 of 84 records located

Standard62Tent only21Host pad1

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 077 078 079 080 081 083 084 085 086 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 84 of the 84 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. 83 of the 84 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.


FREN	001	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	95 ft	1,572 ft	82 ft	$35
FREN	002	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	88 ft	1,513 ft	166 ft	$35
FREN	003	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	79 ft	1,552 ft	285 ft	$35
FREN	004	standard nonelectric	25 ft	79 ft	1,484 ft	254 ft	$35
FREN	005	standard nonelectric	25 ft	65 ft	1,452 ft	432 ft	$35
FREN	006	tent only nonelectric	25 ft	90 ft	1,444 ft	352 ft	$35
FREN	007	tent only nonelectric	14 ft	53 ft	1,406 ft	380 ft	$35
FREN	008	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	76 ft	1,381 ft	372 ft	$35
FREN	009	standard nonelectric	25 ft	53 ft	1,361 ft	333 ft	$35
FREN	010	tent only nonelectric	25 ft	74 ft	1,319 ft	301 ft	$35
FREN	011	standard nonelectric	30 ft	57 ft	1,293 ft	264 ft	$35
FREN	012	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	77 ft	1,252 ft	227 ft	$35
FREN	013	standard nonelectric	25 ft	57 ft	1,253 ft	230 ft	$35
FREN	014	standard nonelectric	20 ft	78 ft	1,139 ft	111 ft	$35
FREN	015	standard nonelectric	30 ft	78 ft	1,072 ft	72 ft	$35
FREN	016	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	84 ft	1,180 ft	176 ft	$35
FREN	017	standard nonelectric	30 ft	84 ft	1,006 ft	120 ft	$35
FREN	018	tent only nonelectric		87 ft	1,057 ft	190 ft	$35
FREN	019	standard nonelectric	25 ft	84 ft	942 ft	193 ft	$35
FREN	020	standard nonelectric	25 ft	84 ft	877 ft	271 ft	$35
FREN	021	standard nonelectric	20 ft	86 ft	943 ft	301 ft	$35
FREN	022	standard nonelectric	25 ft	71 ft	812 ft	292 ft	$35
FREN	023	standard nonelectric	20 ft	85 ft	866 ft	332 ft	$35
FREN	024	standard nonelectric	20 ft	71 ft	782 ft	249 ft	$35
FREN	025	standard nonelectric	30 ft	79 ft	828 ft	296 ft	$35
FREN	026	standard nonelectric	25 ft	76 ft	819 ft	306 ft	$35
FREN	027	standard nonelectric	20 ft	66 ft	722 ft	270 ft	$35
FREN	028	standard nonelectric	25 ft	76 ft	807 ft	333 ft	$35
FREN	029	standard nonelectric	30 ft	66 ft	710 ft	313 ft	$35
FREN	030	standard nonelectric	25 ft	63 ft	681 ft	333 ft	$35
FREN	031	standard nonelectric	25 ft	78 ft	786 ft	373 ft	$35
FREN	032	standard nonelectric	20 ft	89 ft	767 ft	373 ft	$35
FREN	033	standard nonelectric	28 ft	52 ft	668 ft	276 ft	$35
FREN	034	standard nonelectric	30 ft	52 ft	650 ft	230 ft	$35
FREN	035	standard nonelectric	20 ft	99 ft	757 ft	311 ft	$35
FREN	036	standard nonelectric	30 ft	56 ft	647 ft	194 ft	$35
FREN	037	standard nonelectric	30 ft	56 ft	644 ft	173 ft	$35
FREN	038	standard nonelectric	32 ft	84 ft	742 ft	267 ft	$35
FREN	039	standard nonelectric	25 ft	70 ft	746 ft	288 ft	$35
FREN	040	standard nonelectric		87 ft	643 ft	187 ft	$35
FREN	041	standard nonelectric		70 ft	719 ft	288 ft	$35
FREN	042	tent only nonelectric		71 ft	650 ft	238 ft	$35
FREN	043	standard nonelectric		90 ft	666 ft	342 ft	$35
FREN	044	standard nonelectric		76 ft	732 ft	336 ft	$35
FREN	045	standard nonelectric		84 ft	750 ft	407 ft	$35
FREN	046	standard nonelectric		91 ft	622 ft	421 ft	$35
FREN	047	standard nonelectric		91 ft	714 ft	489 ft	$35
FREN	048	standard nonelectric		94 ft	546 ft	312 ft	$35
FREN	049	standard nonelectric		94 ft	596 ft	320 ft	$35
FREN	050	standard nonelectric		64 ft	491 ft	219 ft	$35
FREN	051	standard nonelectric		87 ft	547 ftRock Creek	257 ft	$35
FREN	052	tent only nonelectric		64 ft	471 ft	179 ft	$35
FREN	053	tent only nonelectric		88 ft	411 ftRock Creek	180 ft	$35
FREN	054	tent only nonelectric		88 ft	493 ftRock Creek	233 ft	$35
FREN	055	tent only nonelectric		74 ft	486 ftRock Creek	289 ft	$35
FREN	056	standard nonelectric		74 ft	416 ftRock Creek	261 ft	$35
FREN	057	standard nonelectric		83 ft	416 ftRock Creek	336 ft	$35
FREN	058	standard nonelectric		92 ft	430 ftRock Creek	517 ft	$35
FREN	059	standard nonelectric		80 ft	388 ftRock Creek	408 ft	$35
FREN	060	standard nonelectric		98 ft	388 ftRock Creek	604 ft	$35
FREN	061	standard nonelectric		53 ft	344 ftRock Creek	474 ft	$35
FREN	062	standard nonelectric		53 ft	322 ftRock Creek	522 ft	$35
FREN	063	standard nonelectric		72 ft	165 ftRock Creek	569 ft	$35
FREN	064	tent only nonelectric		72 ft	148 ftRock Creek	506 ft	$35
FREN	065	standard nonelectric		111 ft	159 ftRock Creek	401 ft	$35
FREN	066	tent only nonelectric		126 ft	210 ftRock Creek	275 ft	$35
FREN	067	tent only nonelectric		102 ft	234 ftRock Creek	148 ft	$35
FREN	068	tent only nonelectric		102 ft	232 ftRock Creek	67 ft	$35
FREN	069	standard nonelectric		163 ft	263 ft	217 ft	$35
FREN	070	standard nonelectric		163 ft	345 ft	301 ft	$35
FREN	071	standard nonelectric		86 ft	408 ft	112 ft	$35
FREN	072	standard nonelectric		86 ft	441 ft	35 ft	$35
FREN	073	standard nonelectric	30 ft	83 ft	499 ft	302 ft	$35
FREN	074	standard nonelectric	25 ft	83 ft	490 ft	234 ft	$35
FREN	075	standard nonelectric	35 ft	118 ft	507 ft	116 ft	$35
FREN	077	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	93 ft	648 ft	189 ft	$35
FREN	078	standard nonelectric	30 ft	82 ft	739 ft	272 ft	$35
FREN	079	standard nonelectric	30 ft	82 ft	812 ft	245 ft	$35
FREN	080	standard nonelectric	30 ft	80 ft	922 ft	128 ft	$35
FREN	081	standard nonelectric	30 ft	80 ft	980 ft	52 ft	$35
FREN	083	tent only nonelectric	20 ft	92 ft	1,106 ft	166 ft	$35
FREN	084	standard nonelectric	30 ft	92 ft	1,122 ft	258 ft	$35
FREN	085	standard nonelectric	25 ft	107 ft	1,452 ft	137 ft	$35
FREN	086 HOST	host pad	35 ft		1,558 ft	23 ft	$35

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 84 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

Coordinate37.55250, -118.67917

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone760-935-4825

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near hereHoliday CampgroundInyo National Forest · 0.1 mi

Tuff CampgroundInyo National Forest · 1.1 mi

Aspen Group (Inyo)Inyo National Forest · 2.7 mi Iris Meadow CampgroundInyo National Forest · 2.9 mi Big Meadow CampgroundInyo National Forest · 3.4 mi Palisade Group CampInyo National Forest · 4.5 mi

Getting there

From Bishop or Mammoth Lakes, California, follow U.S. Highway 395 (about 30 miles north of Bishop). Take the Tom's Place exit and go 1 mile on Rock Creek Road.

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

Overnight35°Mostly Clear

Friday58°Sunny

Friday Night37°Mostly Clear

Saturday60°Sunny

NWS forecast for Aspen Springs, CA

Source: National Weather Service, REV forecast office · Oct 16, 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), 37 miles away and 453 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

Whisky Creek865 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area

Roadless

Rock Creek West3,626 acres · 5 mi · inventoried roadless area

Roadless

Nevahbe Ridge302 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

French Camp 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 French Camp, Inyo National Forest, California

Dear Kevin Kiley,

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

All 83 sites at French Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 79 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. French Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run French Camp. 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 French Camp (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 French Camp, Inyo National Forest, California

Dear Adam B. Schiff,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at French Camp, Inyo National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 83 sites at French Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 79 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. French Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run French Camp. 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 French Camp (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 French Camp, Inyo National Forest, California

Dear Alex Padilla,

I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at French Camp, Inyo National Forest, California, and couldn’t.

All 83 sites at French Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 79 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. French Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run French Camp. 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 French Camp (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 9 of the next 9 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 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 83 of the 83 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

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 84 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: 0.057 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 (2.5 km) · Oct 2, 2026

Reported by: iNaturalist fall color observations, reported peak color · Oct 2, 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 place of any size: Aspen Springs, CA, 0.4 mi ENE (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