1Heads up1 fire 47 mi away
Wildfire
Wildfire Training fire · 47 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 15, 2026
ReservableOut of season, no booking; December 15 opens June 15.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
Sites
1All of them booked ahead
7,870 ftElevation
2.7 miWater · an unnamed pond
5.1 miNW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
25%Tree cover
Bortle 3Night sky · 395th darkest of 1,201 in CA

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

Rule

No drinking water available

Rule

This facility is locked by a security gate; combination included in confirmation letter

Rule

Contact Inyo National Forest regarding current snow levels and season opening and closing dates

Everything else this campground posts · 4
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

Click here for more information about Inyo National Forest

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 →

Tents and rigs

Sites
1 · 1 group
Hookups
None
Accessible sites
None listed
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

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
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (7.3 km) · Oct 9, 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 December 15, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through June 15, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Sites, a night, from$20From the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 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 Tue, Jun 15 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 · 13

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Sites, a night, from$20
Derived by CAMPANAC from the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 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 area, a night$20
These are next season’s rates, Jun 15, 2027 to Sep 30, 2027. The campground is between seasons now.
Dollars per night$20
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 Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

1 sites · the site map

All 1 sites

1 of 1 sites located
Group1
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
SleepsTakes aUp to

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.

OBSI1group standard nonelectric2.7 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
Coordinate37.73333, -119.01667
The phone760-647-3045
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

Heading 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

This Afternoon62°Sunny
Tonight34°Mostly Clear
Saturday63°Sunny
Saturday Night35°Mostly Clear

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.

90°32°0°

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: BODIE CALIFORNIA ST HISTORIC P, CA (USC00040943), 33 miles away and 500 ft higher

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
San Joaquin19,662 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Mono Craters7,115 acres · 8 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Sherwin3,140 acres · 10 mi · inventoried roadless area

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

Who answers for this land

Kevin Kiley, official portrait

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 →

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.
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (7.3 km) · Oct 9, 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: June Lake, CA, 3.9 mi ESE (a census designated place). Straight line.