Oleary Group Site
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 16:40 UTC
- Sites
- 3In the agency’s record
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
O'Leary Group Campground was constructed in 2001 and is named for O'Leary Peak, which overlooks this site. The campground is designed to accommodate the special needs of large groups with everything from picnic shelters, tables and grills, to lots of level ground covered in native volcanic cinders, perfect for setting up tents. Its proximity to Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments make it especially suitable for visitors who are intrigued by the cultural and natural history of the area. Keep reading
Recreation
Most visitors spend time hiking, exploring and learning at the national monuments. Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments have visitor centers and feature self-guided and ranger-guided tours. Another popular activity is hiking to O'Leary Lookout Tower. The trail is 4.9 miles one way on an old forest road with a steady, steep climb that rewards visitors with a vast panoramic view of Flagstaff, the San Francisco Peaks and the Painted Desert which was carved out by the Little Colorado River.
Facilities
There are three group camping areas. The east and north loops can each accommodate up to 50 people, while the west loop can host up to 75 people. Camping areas are spacious. The facilities offer many amenities for hosting large group gatherings, such as electricity, trash collection and drinking water.
Natural Features
The campground sits on a bed of soft, flat volcanic soil amidst Arizona's ponderosa pine country. This area of volcanic activity is so unique that much of it has been set aside as Sunset Crater National Monument. The camping area offers incredible views of dark cinder cone peaks, thick forests and open grassy meadows that burst with wildflowers in spring and early summer. Wupatki National Monument is also nearby and features an ancient four-story pueblo, a masterpiece of Ancient Pueblo stone masonry circa A.D. 1120.
Nearby Attractions
The nearby town of Flagstaff, Arizona, has shopping, restaurants and other conveniences. Visitors also frequent the must-see Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument . Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (928) 774-9671.
What the agency tells you
Please Note: Campground will be closing on Sunday, 9/20/2026 due to roadwork scheduled to begin on Monday, 9/21/2026.
No all-terrain or off-highway vehicles allowed in the campground
No amplified music or public address systems allowed
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Check-in time is 2 p.m.; check-out time is 11 a.m.
Space is usually available for slide-out camping units
Horses are not allowed at the campground
No RV hook-ups will be permitted; electricity is for small appliance use only.
Click here for more information on Coconino National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Firewood for sale at $10.00/bundle. Ice for sale here at $5.00/bag.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 3 · 3 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 35 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 3
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…as electricity, trash collection and drinking water. Natural Features The campground sits on a bed of…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Meadow
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 125th darkest of 262 in AZ
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 10 days ago, 17 km away
- Peak color
Nothing to book until it reopensread 16:40 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Tell me when it reopens
Watch for it to come back
One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.
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.
Every line of the receipt · 11
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 · 4
Why this page can’t say why
recreation.gov lists every site at Oleary Group Site closed this Friday and Saturday night. The U.S. Forest Service has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.
There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.
Open within 60 miles · 2
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- Chavez CrossingCoconino National Forest · 38 mi · 3 sites
- Clints Well CampgroundCoconino National Forest · 57 mi · walk-up
recreation.gov availability, read 16:40 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
3 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 3 mapped sites3 sites share one published coordinate and are left out of the rankings.
All 3 sites
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.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Bonito Campground (AZ)Coconino National Forest · 0.8 mi
O'Leary Group CampgroundCoconino National Forest · 0.9 mi
Lockett Meadow CampgroundCoconino National Forest · 5.0 mi
Little Elden Springs HorsecampCoconino National Forest · 6.1 mi
Kendrick CabinCoconino National Forest · 12 mi
Canyon VistaCoconino National Forest · 17 miO'Leary Group Site is located approximately 13 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona. From Flagstaff, take I-40 to exit 201. Turn left at the Page exit (Highway 89). Proceed north on 89 approximately 13 miles to the entrance of Sunset Crater National Monument. Turn right on Forest Road 545a and go 1.7 miles to Group Campground Road on the left (just before Bonito Campground).
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Timberline-Fernwood, AZ
Typical weather
Typical October night 28°F, day 65°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 12°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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Oleary Group Site is in Arizona’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Eli Crane (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
Inside the Tunnel Fire perimeter, 2022, 19,075 acres, with all 3 measured campsites inside it. Tree cover here read 38% in the 2021 product and 15% in the 2024 one.