Oso Group
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 19 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 4 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Oso Group Campground is nestled in the beautiful Barton Flats area of the San Bernardino Mountains. It is surrounded by picturesque pine trees and miles of scenic landscape. In addition to a nearby lake and river access, a variety hiking, biking and horseback riding trails can be accessed from the campground. Its location also provides a great place for visitors to relax, take in the fresh mountain air, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Keep reading
Recreation
The campground provides access to the famed Santa Ana River Trail, which when completed will travel all the way from the mountains to the pacific ocean, providing spectacular views along the way. It is currently popular for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The Rio Monte Trail is also accessed from the campground, taking hikers to the Rio Monte Panorama, which overlooks the deep gorge of the Santa Ana River Valley. Visitors can also enjoy fishing and non-motorized boating at the nearby Jenks Lake, a small mountain lake with a picnic area and access to hiking trails. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout, as well as largemouth bass, bluegill, sunfish and catfish. Rowboats, canoes and kayaks are permitted and fishing is also available at the nearby Santa Ana River.
Facilities
The group campground offers one large group campsite, available for tent and RV camping. It can accommodate up to 100 people and about 20 vehicles. There are no utility hookups at the site and roads, as well as the parking area, are gravel and dirt. The site is equipped with multiple tables, a campfire circle and grills. Flush toilets and drinking water are provided at the campground. Tent pads are shaded but group areas are primarily in the open.
Natural Features
The campground is located in a dense pine forest, at an elevation of about 6,400 feet. The entrance to the Oso Group Campground is the same as for the neighboring Lobo Group Campground. Both share the region with a variety of wildlife and bird species.
Nearby Attractions
The Grayback Amphitheater on State Route 38 provides evening educational programs on most Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer months. Programs are hosted by the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association and pertain to the area's background that is rich with history.
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
Bears frequent the area; carefully follow garbage disposal and food storage regulations
Click here for more information on the San Bernardino 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.
Everything else this campground posts · 1
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…tables, a campfire circle and grills. Flush toilets and drinking water are provided at the campground.…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…circle and grills. Flush toilets and drinking water are provided at the campground. Tent pads are…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Coast
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Ranger programs
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 1110th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 4
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 · 11
What you actually pay
“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 · 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
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
| AREA OSO GROUP | 1 | group standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 2,080 ft | 387 ft |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Lobo GroupSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.0 mi
San GorgonioSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.4 mi
Barton FlatsSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.8 mi
CouncilSan Bernardino National Forest · 1.2 mi
Shady Cove Group CampgroundSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.1 miSouth Fork Family CampgroundSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.1 miTake I-10 East to Redlands. Take the University Street exit, EXIT 80. Turn left (northbound) on University Street. Turn right onto E. Lugonia Avenue/SR-38. Continue on State Highway 38 for approximately 22 miles to the campground entrance.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Big Bear Lake, 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
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Oso Group 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 →