Agency-listedUSFSFee
Council Group Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 34.17104, -116.88282
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Council Group Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,315 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Council Group CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Council Group Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump0 mi
- ShShower1 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- MMechanic5 mi
- PPropane5 mi
- RxPharmacy5 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- LLaundry5 mi
- EVEV fast charger5 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- WWater6 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- AAir-up19 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Council Group Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,315 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.17104, -116.88282
Cost
Fee · reservable on Recreation.gov
Nearby & resupply — around Council Group Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureFrog Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townSeven Oaks · ~2.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.2 mi
- Fuel7-Eleven · ~5.0 mi
- Propane / LPGMain Street Gas & Mart · ~29.7 mi
- Dump station~0.4 mi
- Groceries7-Eleven · ~5.1 mi
- PharmacyRite Aid · ~13.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicBear Valley Community Hospital · ~5.2 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~17.0 mi
EV charging — from Council Group Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger5.2 mi straight-line N — Big Bear Lake, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach53 within 25 mi · 261 within 50 · 1102 within 100 · 1299 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS5.5 mi — Homestreet Bank Big Bear, Big Bear Lake
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO5.5 mi — Homestreet Bank Big Bear, Big Bear Lake
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.9 mi — Sunnybrook Estate, Big Bear Lake, CA · LOOP · J1772 · 9 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Lake, 5.1 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guest use only
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 316899 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Council Group Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomMomyer Trailhead · ~6.1 mi S · USFS
- RestroomVivian Trailhead · ~6.2 mi S · USFS
- RestroomBig Falls Trailhead · ~6.2 mi S · USFS
- RestroomFalls Picnic · ~6.2 mi S · USFS
Open Council Group Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Council Group Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Barton Flats Campground~0.4 mi · fee
- San Gorgonio Campground~0.9 mi · fee
- Bald Cove Yellow Post Sites~1.2 mi · fee
- Lobo Group Campground~1.3 mi · fee
The unit that manages Council Group Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Council Group Campground are set by San Bernardino National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Council Group Campground
Reserve
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232031
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Council Group Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Council Group Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →