San Gorgonio
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 19 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $34–$67Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 54All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
The San Gorgonio Campground provides access to a variety of recreational opportunities, as well as a beautiful location in which to enjoy nature. Its proximity to scenic trails and nearby mountain lakes and streams make the campground a great place to bring the family to relax and get away from it all. Keep reading
Recreation
The campground provides access to the famed Santa Ana River Trail, which when completed will run from the mountains all the way 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 to the area also enjoy fishing in nearby mountain streams, as well as bird and wildlife viewing, as a variety of species make their home in the forest. A nearby amphitheater also provides weekend evening educational programs for the public during summer months.
Facilities
The campground offers dozens of single, double and accessible sites, available for tent and RV camping. Utility hookups are not available, however, the parking spurs are paved and provide a level surface. A dump station with potable water is available at a nearby campground. Each site is equipped with tables and campfire rings with grills. Accessible flush toilets, showers and drinking water are provided. A campground host is available on-site and firewood is available for purchase at the facility.
Natural Features
The campground is located about 36 miles northeast of San Bernardino, at an elevation of 6,600 feet. It is situated in a mixed forest of oak and mature pine trees. The campground is composed of two loops, one loop has sites that are closer together, providing less privacy than the other. Both loops are relatively shaded by Black oak, Jeffrey and Ponderosa pine.
Nearby Attractions
The Big Bear Lake and its adjoining town are located approximately 25 miles from the campground, offering a variety of water-related recreation opportunities, as well as golf, shopping and restaurant options.
Charges & Cancellations
Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night’s recreation fee for a campsite or forfeit the entire day-use fee for a day-use facility.
What the agency tells you
No first come first serve sites available
In accordance with standard industry practices, Mountain Top Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicles in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles. The fee will be collected at the campground if you did not pay for the Extra Vehicle Add On. Extra vehicles must fit on the parking spur at your site.
Bears frequent the area; carefully follow garbage disposal and food storage regulations
Everything else this campground posts · 4
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.
Click here for more information on the San Bernardino National Forest
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
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR-36, 2.12) addresses audio disturbances and prohibits the following: radio, television sets, tape deck or musical instruments, in a manner that exceeds a noise level of 60 decibels measured on the A weighted scale at 50 feet. The use of amplified music or public address systems exceeding these noise levels are not allowed.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 54 · 3 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- 52 of 53 sites
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…campfire rings with grills. Accessible flush toilets, showers and drinking water are provided. A…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…a level surface. A dump station with potable water is available at a nearby campground. Each site is…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- Firewood
- Sold here
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek, Coast
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Ranger programs
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 1111th 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 · 15
What you actually pay
“In accordance with standard industry practices, Mountain Top Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $34–$67 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“Individual Campsites: A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night’s recreation fee for…” · 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 · 7
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
54 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 54 mapped sitesAll 54 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 54 of the 54 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. 54 of the 54 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| SAN | 004 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 99 ft | 3,160 ft | 339 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SAN | 006 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 103 ft | 3,161 ft | 215 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SAN | 010 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 70 ft | 3,087 ft | 99 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SAN | 015 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 114 ft | 3,113 ft | 366 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SAN | 032 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 86 ft | 2,978 ft | 182 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SAN | 033 | group standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 137 ft | 2,702 ft | 444 ft | $67 | |
| SAN | 042 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 62 ft | 2,705 ft | 365 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SAN | 045 | group standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 69 ft | 2,791 ft | 438 ft | $67 | |
| SING | 001 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 98 ft | 3,100 ft | 189 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 002 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 105 ft | 3,193 ft | 258 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 003 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 89 ft | 3,071 ft | 282 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 005 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 88 ft | 3,065 ft | 314 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 007 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 88 ft | 3,058 ft | 232 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 008 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 98 ft | 3,019 ft | 75 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 009 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 84 ft | 3,097 ft | 86 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 011 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 70 ft | 3,019 ft | 79 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 012 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 88 ft | 3,021 ft | 173 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 013 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 79 ft | 3,108 ft | 188 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 014 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 79 ft | 3,111 ft | 259 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 016 | standard nonelectric | 29 ft | 109 ft | 3,005 ft | 387 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 017 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 108 ft | 3,011 ft | 279 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 018 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 128 ft | 2,882 ft | 347 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 019 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 117 ft | 2,807 ft | 294 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 020 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 90 ft | 2,766 ft | 262 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 021 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 88 ft | 2,757 ft | 251 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 022 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 88 ft | 2,826 ft | 190 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 023 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 108 ft | 2,767 ft | 282 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 024 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 101 ft | 2,873 ft | 214 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 025 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 125 ft | 2,835 ft | 362 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 026 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 101 ft | 2,946 ft | 238 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 027 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 105 ft | 2,965 ft | 323 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 028 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 124 ft | 2,831 ft | 412 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 029 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 116 ft | 2,932 ft | 296 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 030 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 119 ft | 2,852 ft | 268 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 031 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | yes | 86 ft | 3,016 ft | 101 ft | $34–$67 |
| SING | 034 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 119 ft | 2,738 ft | 314 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 035 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 76 ft | 2,704 ft | 195 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 036 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 76 ft | 2,677 ft | 132 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 037 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 70 ft | 2,747 ft | 109 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 038 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 106 ft | 2,628 ft | 234 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 039 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 62 ft | 2,689 ft | 305 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 040 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 63 ft | 2,635 ft | 345 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 041 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 73 ft | 2,654 ft | 420 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 043 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 59 ft | 2,681 ft | 492 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 044 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 59 ft | 2,740 ft | 481 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 046 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 119 ft | 2,869 ft | 360 ft | $34–$67 |
| SING | 047 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 100 ft | 2,904 ft | 284 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 048 | group standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 66 ft | 2,902 ft | 216 ft | $67 | |
| SING | 049 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 70 ft | 2,801 ft | 169 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 050 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 66 ft | 2,932 ft | 217 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 051 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 95 ft | 2,955 ft | 229 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 052 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 108 ft | 2,911 ft | 222 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 053 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 104 ft | 3,034 ft | 149 ft | $34–$67 | |
| SING | 054 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 104 ft | 2,969 ft | 137 ft | $34–$67 |
25 of 54 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Oso GroupSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.4 mi
Barton FlatsSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.4 mi
Lobo GroupSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.4 mi
CouncilSan Bernardino National Forest · 0.8 mi
Shady Cove Group CampgroundSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.4 miSouth Fork Family CampgroundSan Bernardino National Forest · 2.4 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 20 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
San Gorgonio 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 →