Green Valley
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 12 mi
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 2 of the next 2 nights read 15:51 UTC
- A night
- $29–$56Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 3736 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
Green Valley Campground is located near Arrowbear in the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California. It is centered between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake, providing ample recreational opportunities in the area's pine-covered mountains. Green Valley Lake, known for its exceptional trout fishing, is located about a mile from this beautiful mountain campground. Keep reading
Recreation
Green Valley Lake, which is known for its trout fishing, is located just minutes away. Boating and swimming are popular activities as well. The high elevation lake also provides access to a variety of hiking trails.
Facilities
The campground offers single-family sites for tent and RV camping. Some sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each site is equipped with a table and campfire ring with grill. Flush toilets and drinking water are provided. No overflow parking is available.
Natural Features
The campground is situated in a forest of pine, fir and cedar trees, mixed with open spaces filled shrubbery and grassy meadows. It overlooks a seasonal mountain creek and sits at an elevation of 7,200 feet.
Nearby Attractions
Lake Arrowhead is about 16 miles west and Big Bear Lake is about 15 miles east. A variety of services and recreational activities are available at each place.
Charges & Cancellations
Rules & Reservation Policies As you make travel plans that include reservations on Recreation.gov, there are standard policies that apply to most locations of which you should be aware. Do keep in mind, however, that there are many exceptions, so it is best to review reservation information listed on individual facility pages for those policies and procedures that pertain to your specific locations. Any location or activity requiring a permit or lottery will have unique requirements and policies. Please check individual facility pages for pertinent information for those sites. Booking Window For most locations, you can reserve six months in advance of your stay for individual sites and 12 months in advance for group sites. There are some exceptions, so it is best to check with each facility. Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation. Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount. You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Tours & Tickets: You may request changes to tour dates at no cost before the arrival date. If you cancel before your tour date, you may be eligible for a refund. Cancellation fees apply. Please check the tour facility description details page for cancellation policies. Permits: Varies by location. Please check the permit details for the permit location. Late Cancellations Overnight and Day Use Facilities: Late cancellations are those cancelled between 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival. Individual Campsites: If a customer cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival they will be charged a $10.00 service fee and will also forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a single night's reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply. Cabins / Lookouts: Customers will be charged a $10.00 cancellation fee and forfeit the first night's use fee if a cabin or lookout reservation is cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Day Use Area: If a customer cancels a group day use facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date, they will forfeit the total day use fee with no service fee charge. No-Shows Camping / Day Use: A camping no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. Group day-use facilities will be held until check-in time on your scheduled arrival date. If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees. Tours: A tour or ticket no-show is one who does not cancel a ticket before arrival and does not arrive for the tour. Tour no-shows are not entitled to a refund. Refunds Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure. Reservation Fee: For some facilities, tours or permits an additional reservation fee is charged. For some overnight and day-use facilities, an additional non-refundable reservation fee may apply. The non-refundable reservation fee for tours and tickets is $1.00. The non-refundable reservation fee for permits varies by location. Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy. Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure. Recreation.gov Billing Information Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777." Changes to Policies and Procedures Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July
What the agency tells you
We are located in the San Bernardino Mountains, we are not the State Park in San Diego.
Bears frequent the area; use appropriate containers for food and garbage
Off-road vehicle use is prohibited within the campground
Everything else this campground posts · 4
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
In accordance with standard industry practices, Mountain Top Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicles in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles. The fee will be collected at the campground if you did not pay for the Extra Vehicle Add On. Extra vehicles must fit on the parking spur at your site.
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.
Click here for more information on the San Bernardino National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 37 · 28 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 32 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- FLUSH TOILETS on 38 of 45 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER (HAND PUMP) on 38 of 45 campsite records
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Meadow
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Night sky · 1143rd darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 5
Full this Saturdayread 15:51 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
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.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
“In accordance with standard industry practices, Mountain Top Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $29–$56 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.
“Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount.” · this campground’s own no-show terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 7
recreation.gov availability, read 15:51 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
45 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 25 mapped sitesAll 45 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 26 of the 45 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. 37 of the 45 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 GREEN VALLEY | XXX | unnamed record | 35 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29 | ||
| AREA GREEN VALLEY | XXX1 | unnamed record | $29 | ||||
| AREA GREEN VALLEY | XXX2 | unnamed record | $29 | ||||
| AREA GREEN VALLEY | XXX3 | unnamed record | $29 | ||||
| AREA GREEN VALLEY | XXX4 | unnamed record | $29 | ||||
| AREA GREEN VALLEY | XXX5 | unnamed record | $29 | ||||
| AREA GREEN VALLEY | XXX6 | unnamed record | $29 | ||||
| AREA GREEN VALLEY | XXX7 | unnamed record | $29 | ||||
| GREE | 001 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 29 ft | 5,050 ft | 193 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 002 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 29 ft | 5,068 ft | 167 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 003 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 32 ft | 5,095 ft | 149 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 004 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 48 ft | 5,226 ft | 157 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 48 ft | 5,180 ft | 113 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 006 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 243 ft | 1.0 mi | 433 ft | $29 |
| GREE | 007 | type not stated | 20 ft | 1.0 mi | 487 ft | $29 | |
| GREE | 008 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 213 ft | 1.1 mi | 672 ft | $29 |
| GREE | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 010 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29 | ||
| GREE | 011 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 46 ft | 1.1 mi | 859 ft | $29 |
| GREE | 012 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 46 ft | 1.1 mi | 813 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 013 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 66 ft | 1.1 mi | 778 ft | $29 |
| GREE | 014 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 015 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 52 ft | 1.1 mi | 598 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 016 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 39 ft | 1.1 mi | 621 ft | $29 |
| GREE | 017 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 39 ft | 1.1 mi | 654 ft | $29 |
| GREE | 018 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29 | ||
| GREE | 019 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 020 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 021 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 161 ft | 5,043 ft | 58 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 022 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 023 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 024 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 025 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 | ||
| GREE | 026 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 45 ft | 1.0 mi | 685 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 027 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 45 ft | 1.0 mi | 683 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 028 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 194 ft | 1.1 mi | 878 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 029 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 50 ft | 1.1 mi | 1,238 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 030 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 50 ft | 1.1 mi | 1,240 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 031 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 124 ft | 1.2 mi | 1,517 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 032 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 124 ft | 1.1 mi | 1,456 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 033 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 176 ft | 1.2 mi | 1,689 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 034/35 | tent only nonelectric | 32 ft | 239 ft | 1.2 mi | 1,946 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 036 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 178 ft | 1.2 mi | 2,154 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 037 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 178 ft | 1.2 mi | 2,018 ft | $29–$56 |
| GREE | 038 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | Flush Toilets listed | $29–$56 |
The agency files 8 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.
25 of 45 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Crab FlatsSan Bernardino National Forest · 1.8 mi
Tent Peg GroupSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.4 mi
Fishermans GroupSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.7 mi
Shady Cove Group CampgroundSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.8 mi
Ironwood Group CampSan Bernardino National Forest · 5.0 mi
Bluff Mesa Group CampSan Bernardino National Forest · 5.5 miFrom Running Springs, travel east on Highway 18 about 3 miles to Green Valley Lake Road. Turn left and continue about 6 miles to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Running Springs, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 35°F, day 63°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 24°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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.
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
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Green Valley is in California’s 23rd congressional district. Its representative, Jay Obernolte (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyJay ObernolteU.S. Representative · California’s 23rd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAdam B. SchiffU.S. Senator · California
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAlex PadillaU.S. Senator · California
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.
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 Green Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California
Dear Jay Obernolte, I’m a constituent in California’s 23rd district. I tried to camp at Green Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 36 of the 37 campsites the agency files at Green Valley, 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 24 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. Green Valley keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Green Valley. 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 Green Valley (San Bernardino National Forest, California) via campanac.com
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 Green Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California
Dear Adam B. Schiff, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Green Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 36 of the 37 campsites the agency files at Green Valley, 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 24 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. Green Valley keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Green Valley. 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 Green Valley (San Bernardino National Forest, California) via campanac.com
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 Green Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California
Dear Alex Padilla, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Green Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 36 of the 37 campsites the agency files at Green Valley, 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 24 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. Green Valley keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Green Valley. 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 Green Valley (San Bernardino National Forest, California) via campanac.com