Obsidian Flat
1Heads up1 fire 47 mi away
- Right now
- Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
Obsidian Flat Group Campground, located just outside of Mammoth Lakes, California, provides an opportunity for a group to enjoy a secluded getaway in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. With a peaceful forested setting and mountain views, the campground's location is perfect for relaxing and spending time in nature. The area is popular for exploring the surrounding forest and geology, as well as nearby hiking, bicycling, fishing and off-road vehicle riding options. Keep reading
Recreation
The eastern Sierras are known for their exceptional trout fishing. Campers can try their luck in Deadman Creek. The majestic scenery and challenging trails are an obvious draw for hikers, mountain bikers and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Deadman Creek Trail leads hikers into the spectacular Ansel Adams Wilderness.
Facilities
One group camping area can accommodate one group of up to 50 people, and up to five RVs (up to 40 feet in length) or 15 vehicles at a time. The site is fairly primitive and is equipped with a picnic table, vault toilet, campfire ring and bear-proof locker for food storage.
Natural Features
The campground is named after an obsidian lava flow nearby. It is situated in a pine forest at an elevation of 7,800 feet. Deadman Creek is adjacent to the facility, and several lakes are down the road. Many species of wildlife call the mountains home, such as black bear, mountain lions, mule deer, pine marten, pika and numerous fish and birds. Contact Info Between 05/01/2025 and 09/30/2025 this location is staffed. Please call (760) 647-3044 to speak with local staff. From 10/01/2025 to 04/30/2026 this location is unstaffed. Please call (760) 647-3005 for general information.
Nearby Attractions
Hikers can access the scenic Ansel Adams Wilderness via nearby trails, and Yosemite National Park is a great day trip. Ansel Adams Wilderness Yosemite National Park
What the agency tells you
No drinking water available
This facility is locked by a security gate; combination included in confirmation letter
Contact Inyo National Forest regarding current snow levels and season opening and closing dates
Everything else this campground posts · 4
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
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
Click here for more information about Inyo National Forest
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…and is equipped with a picnic table, vault toilet, campfire ring and bear-proof locker for food…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek
- Hiking
- Off Highway Vehicle Trails
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 7 days ago, 7.3 km away
- Peak color
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.
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.
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 · 13
What you actually pay
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 Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 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.
| OBSI | 1 | group standard nonelectric | 2.7 mi | $20 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Reversed Creek CampgroundInyo National Forest · 4.5 mi
Gull Lake CampgroundInyo National Forest · 4.5 mi
June LakeInyo National Forest · 4.6 mi
Agnew Horse CampInyo National Forest · 5.3 miHeading North
From U.S. Highway 395 and State Highway 203 (Mammoth Lakes Junction), travel 8.2 miles north on 395. Turn west onto Deadman Road and follow for 3.2 miles to Upper Deadman Campground. Turn toward the Group Campground turnoff onto FS Road 2S05F. Continue one mile to the campground on the right.
Heading South
From U.S. Highway 395 and State Highway 158 (June Lake Jucntion South) travel approximately 6.5 miles south on 395 and turn right onto Deadman Road and follow for 3.2 miles to Upper Deadman Campground. Turn toward the Group Campground turnoff onto FS Road 2S05F, across the road. Continue one mile to the campground on the right.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for June Lake, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 20°F, day 61°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 8°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
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

Obsidian Flat 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 →