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

Horse Heaven Group

1Heads up1 fire 43 mi away
Wildfire
Main fire · 43 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 16, 2026
ReservableOut of season, no booking; November 28 opens May 28.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
Sites
3All of them booked ahead
30 ftLongest rig
5,670 ftElevation
3,299 ftWater · an unnamed pond
2.9 miNE of Pine Valley, CA
26%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices

In the agency’s own words

Contrary to its name, Horse Heaven Group Campground has no equestrian sites. Instead, this tent-only facility can accommodate gatherings of up to 100 people. It provides a great mountain getaway for city dwellers to relax and enjoy cool summer temperatures, hiking and other outdoor recreation, just one hour east of San Diego. Keep reading

Recreation

The Laguna Mountain region is known for its great horseback riding, mountain biking and hiking trails. Visitors can get their boots dusty on a segment of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from California to the State of Washington, and access other trails within a short drive. Many picnic areas are located nearby.

Facilities

This site offers three areas for group gatherings: Lupine Loop can accommodate 40 people and 10 vehicles; Buttercup Loop can hold 100 people and 16 vehicles; Hollyhock Loop can hold 70 people and 12 vehicles. The facility is equipped with vault toilets and drinking water. A general store is located 2.3 miles away at Mt. Laguna and Pine Valley.

Natural Features

The campground is nestled in the pines at an elevation of 5,600 feet within the Laguna Mountains in the southern portion of Cleveland National Forest. The area is home to many species of birds and wildlife. Contact Info This location has limited staffing. Please call (619) 354-8776 for general information.

Nearby Attractions

Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, Big Laguna Trail System, Storm Canyon Overlook

What the agency tells you

Rule

No equestrian camping at this facility

Rule

No first-come, first-served sites; reservations required

Rule

Click here to learn more about Cleveland National Forest

Everything else this campground posts · 2
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

Overnight camping facilities only, no day use allowed Group sites are managed by Westrek Services (Concessionaire). Host available at Laguna campground.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
3 · 3 tent-only, 3 group
Hookups
None
Longest rig
30 ft
Paved pads
All
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
VAULT TOILETS on 3 of 3 campsite records
Drinking water
Yes
DRINKING WATER (PEAK SEASON) on 1 of 3 campsite records, WATER (SEASONAL) on 2 of 3 campsite records
Store
Nearby
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Water, toilets and showers: counted from this campground’s own campsite records, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

Biking
Birding
Hiking
Horseback riding
Mountain biking
Scenic drives
Wildlife viewing
Night sky · 985th darkest of 1,201 in CA
Bortle 4
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

No reading yet, book on recreation.gov

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On November 28, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through May 28, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Sites, a night, from$60From the rate schedule matched to 3 of its 3 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate we can read.derived by CAMPANAC
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

Full? Watch it.

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.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Fri, May 28 2027 is open for booking.

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 · 12

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Sites, a night, from$60
Derived by CAMPANAC from the rate schedule matched to 3 of its 3 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate for this campground that we can read, only per-site rate templates its own record matches to each site’s own type.
Group areas, a night$60–$150
These are next season’s rates, May 28, 2027 to Sep 6, 2027. The campground is between seasons now.
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
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s nothing to add the $8 booking fee to. We won’t total a receipt with a number missing from it.
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

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

3 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 3 mapped sites
379 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
Least room1HOLL 379 ft1LUPI 379 ft1BUTR 465 ft

All 3 sites

3 of 3 sites located
Group3
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
SleepsUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 3 of the 3 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. 3 of the 3 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

BUTR1BUTRgroup tent only area nonelectric20 ft465 ft3,418 ftLittle Laguna Lake1,970 ft$60–$150
HOLL1HOLLgroup tent only area nonelectric20 ft379 ft2,942 ftLittle Laguna Lake1,597 ft$60–$150
LUPI1LUPIgroup tent only area nonelectric30 ft379 ft3,248 ftLittle Laguna Lake1,961 ft$60–$150

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate32.88750, -116.44083
The phone619-445-6235
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

The campground is located 50 miles east of San Diego, California. Take I-8 to Sunrise Highway exit. Go approximately 14 miles until you see the Horse Heaven Group Campground sign and turn down the campground entrance road.

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Today58°Slight Chance Rain Showers then Partly Sunny15% rain
Tonight47°Partly Cloudy1% rain
Sunday63°Sunny
Sunday Night49°Mostly Clear

NWS forecast for Mount Laguna, CA

Typical weather

Typical October night 51°F, day 69°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical February night 36°F. Bring the bag rated for it.

90°30°

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 Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: PALOMAR MTN OBSY, CA (USC00046657), 41 miles away and 120 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Darrell Issa, official portrait

Horse Heaven Group 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.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service’s own recreation database flags it not open and publishes no reason and no date. That’s a flag, not a notice: the number below is the only way to be sure.
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, 0.7 mi NW (a census designated place). Straight line.