Camping Opportunities near L.A. Basin (S. California)?
Aug 22, 2015 1:27:19 GMT -8
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Post by tarol on Aug 22, 2015 1:27:19 GMT -8
Those who think So Cal isn't an outdoor mecca haven't done much exploring... There are tons of hiking and camping options, and actually I find that if you avoid Icehouse Canyon, Chantry Flat and beaches on hot weekends the crowds aren't bad at all. I think it's worse in areas "known" for hiking, because they're advertised more.
Best thing is the hiking/camping in So Cal is it's year-round and the diversity of scenic landscapes and flora/fauna due to the tremendous elevational differences. If you're into ecology this is a great place to be. And if you think it's hot, then go up in elevation or to the beach. Cold? Go down, or again towards the coast, where temperature is moderated by the ocean. I take my 3.5 year old car camping all the time in the nearby forests in the summer, above 6,000' where it's nice and cool, and to the deserts in the fall/winter/spring.
Tons of challenging hikes here if you are ever by yourself - Cactus to Clouds (San Jacinto Peak), San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek are two you should definitely do. Hike Baden Powell on a full moon and sit a while with the ancient Wally Limber Pine tree - it's an experience you will never forget. In the wintertime these high peaks get snow so bring your crampons and ice-axe.
For an easy kids hike to a nice campsite, Little Jimmy is great, year-round water in the spring. It was our last overnight excursion - Monday night and we had the entire camp to ourselves. Once you have camp set up dayhike up to Mt. Islip.
I love the Channel Islands for near-beach camping - highly recommend the hike to Del Norte, only 4 campsites and tremendous views. If that's too hard for the kids, go to Scorpion and day-hike from there. Also bring your kayak, the sea caves are amazing.
For on the beach car camping, we like Carpinteria and Leo Carrillo State Parks. In the spring Malibu Creek State Park is very nice. State Park campgrounds are expensive, though - National Park and Forest campgrounds are cheaper. I personally prefer dispersed camping on National Forest land which is free, if you can do without a toilet. Buy the Angeles, San Bernardino, Los Padres, and Cleveland National Forest maps - they'll have lists of all the car campgrounds and show you where they are. For dispersed camping call the stations and/or explore the dirt roads. National Parks will send you their maps and visitor guides for free if you call - Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Mojave NP, Santa Monica Mountains.
Chantry Flat hiking during the week is quite pleasant - love the lush canyons and waterfalls during the fall/winter/spring. This is very close to civilization as the bird flies, but once you're on the trails it seems like you're a world away. There are historic Forest Service cabins here that look like they sprang from a children's story book and are serviced by the last pack station in So Cal. Same with Icehouse, uncrowded on weekdays and lush creeks and cute stone cabins. Look up Hoegees, Spruce Grove, and Cedar Glen campsites - all easy for kids.
East side of the Cucamonga Wilderness is much, much less crowded than the west ( - because it's accessible only via a rough dirt road - bring your pickup or SUV. Stonehouse Camp is only 1 mile in, Third Stream is 2.3 and both have water year-round. San Gorgonio Wilderness is very scenic. Momyer, Forsee, and Vivian Creek trails have water year-round. Alger Creek Camp, Vivian Creek Camp, and Johns Meadow are nice campsites that your kids could probably hike to. I manage the permits for these two areas so know them very well.
There are portions of the PCT that don't see much traffic once the thru-hikers go through. We hiked to the hidden aspen grove near Arrastre last fall and it was gorgeous. The camp is 1 mile from the road and has water in the late spring/early summer.
In the San Jacinto Wilderness with your kids you can do the tram to Round Valley which is about 2.5 miles - early in the summer there is water there. The view from San Jacinto is one of the best - you can take John Muir's word for it. This mountain has one of the highest reliefs in the Lower 48.
Hit up Toejam for many suggestions in the San Rafael and Sespe Wilderness areas in the Los Padres NF, many have water, waterfalls, pictographs, condors, and hot springs! The LP has 11 wilderness areas! Half of this huge forest is wilderness and very untrammeled. I hiked 3 days in the Sespe last fall and saw more piles of bear scat in one camp than I've ever seen in my entire life. Piedra Blanca and Reyes Camps would be easy for your kids to hike to and they are located on streams.
Finally, there are vast areas of desert wilderness in So Cal that are absolutely gorgeous and guarantee solitude and adventure. Thanks to Feinstein just about every mountain range in the desert is its own wilderness area. Even in the Desert National Parks, if you venture off trail you'll likely have the place to yourself. In the spring the wildflower displays are fabulous. Endless car camping options in the fall/winter/spring. If you want facilities, then head towards one of the developed car camps in Joshua Tree, Mojave NP, Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon, Afton Canyon, or Owl Canyon.
I've lived in the high desert on the backside of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains since 2007. The Sierra is 3 hours away from me and I love it for sure, for that's where I grew up, but don't find it necessary to make the drive except a few times a year.
www.tarol.com/backpacking.html
www.tarol.com/dayhiking.html
www.tarol.com/
www.flickr.com/photos/tarol/albums
Also check out the San Gabriel Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, and San Gorgonio Wilderness Association hiking forums. Follow Death Valley Jim on Facebook, Hikin Jim's blog and the Dzrtgrls and Modernhiker's websites. They'll give you a lifetime of ideas.
And it's called an Adventure Pass - for parking at trailheads that have bathrooms on the Angeles, San Bernardino, Cleveland, and Los Padres National Forests. Not required everywhere any longer. It's $30 for an annual pass, but if you have the $80 Interagency annual pass that works, too, and will get you into Joshua Tree and all the other National Parks as well.
Wilderness permits in So Cal are free. There are some trail quotas (Humber Park, San Gorgonio Trails) but most are quota-less. That's a good thing. Quotas stem when there is over-use.
No campfires in So Cal Wilderness areas. In late summer and fall may not be able to have a campfire in car campgrounds.
Best thing is the hiking/camping in So Cal is it's year-round and the diversity of scenic landscapes and flora/fauna due to the tremendous elevational differences. If you're into ecology this is a great place to be. And if you think it's hot, then go up in elevation or to the beach. Cold? Go down, or again towards the coast, where temperature is moderated by the ocean. I take my 3.5 year old car camping all the time in the nearby forests in the summer, above 6,000' where it's nice and cool, and to the deserts in the fall/winter/spring.
Tons of challenging hikes here if you are ever by yourself - Cactus to Clouds (San Jacinto Peak), San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek are two you should definitely do. Hike Baden Powell on a full moon and sit a while with the ancient Wally Limber Pine tree - it's an experience you will never forget. In the wintertime these high peaks get snow so bring your crampons and ice-axe.
For an easy kids hike to a nice campsite, Little Jimmy is great, year-round water in the spring. It was our last overnight excursion - Monday night and we had the entire camp to ourselves. Once you have camp set up dayhike up to Mt. Islip.
I love the Channel Islands for near-beach camping - highly recommend the hike to Del Norte, only 4 campsites and tremendous views. If that's too hard for the kids, go to Scorpion and day-hike from there. Also bring your kayak, the sea caves are amazing.
For on the beach car camping, we like Carpinteria and Leo Carrillo State Parks. In the spring Malibu Creek State Park is very nice. State Park campgrounds are expensive, though - National Park and Forest campgrounds are cheaper. I personally prefer dispersed camping on National Forest land which is free, if you can do without a toilet. Buy the Angeles, San Bernardino, Los Padres, and Cleveland National Forest maps - they'll have lists of all the car campgrounds and show you where they are. For dispersed camping call the stations and/or explore the dirt roads. National Parks will send you their maps and visitor guides for free if you call - Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Mojave NP, Santa Monica Mountains.
Chantry Flat hiking during the week is quite pleasant - love the lush canyons and waterfalls during the fall/winter/spring. This is very close to civilization as the bird flies, but once you're on the trails it seems like you're a world away. There are historic Forest Service cabins here that look like they sprang from a children's story book and are serviced by the last pack station in So Cal. Same with Icehouse, uncrowded on weekdays and lush creeks and cute stone cabins. Look up Hoegees, Spruce Grove, and Cedar Glen campsites - all easy for kids.
East side of the Cucamonga Wilderness is much, much less crowded than the west ( - because it's accessible only via a rough dirt road - bring your pickup or SUV. Stonehouse Camp is only 1 mile in, Third Stream is 2.3 and both have water year-round. San Gorgonio Wilderness is very scenic. Momyer, Forsee, and Vivian Creek trails have water year-round. Alger Creek Camp, Vivian Creek Camp, and Johns Meadow are nice campsites that your kids could probably hike to. I manage the permits for these two areas so know them very well.
There are portions of the PCT that don't see much traffic once the thru-hikers go through. We hiked to the hidden aspen grove near Arrastre last fall and it was gorgeous. The camp is 1 mile from the road and has water in the late spring/early summer.
In the San Jacinto Wilderness with your kids you can do the tram to Round Valley which is about 2.5 miles - early in the summer there is water there. The view from San Jacinto is one of the best - you can take John Muir's word for it. This mountain has one of the highest reliefs in the Lower 48.
Hit up Toejam for many suggestions in the San Rafael and Sespe Wilderness areas in the Los Padres NF, many have water, waterfalls, pictographs, condors, and hot springs! The LP has 11 wilderness areas! Half of this huge forest is wilderness and very untrammeled. I hiked 3 days in the Sespe last fall and saw more piles of bear scat in one camp than I've ever seen in my entire life. Piedra Blanca and Reyes Camps would be easy for your kids to hike to and they are located on streams.
Finally, there are vast areas of desert wilderness in So Cal that are absolutely gorgeous and guarantee solitude and adventure. Thanks to Feinstein just about every mountain range in the desert is its own wilderness area. Even in the Desert National Parks, if you venture off trail you'll likely have the place to yourself. In the spring the wildflower displays are fabulous. Endless car camping options in the fall/winter/spring. If you want facilities, then head towards one of the developed car camps in Joshua Tree, Mojave NP, Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon, Afton Canyon, or Owl Canyon.
I've lived in the high desert on the backside of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains since 2007. The Sierra is 3 hours away from me and I love it for sure, for that's where I grew up, but don't find it necessary to make the drive except a few times a year.
www.tarol.com/backpacking.html
www.tarol.com/dayhiking.html
www.tarol.com/
www.flickr.com/photos/tarol/albums
Also check out the San Gabriel Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, and San Gorgonio Wilderness Association hiking forums. Follow Death Valley Jim on Facebook, Hikin Jim's blog and the Dzrtgrls and Modernhiker's websites. They'll give you a lifetime of ideas.
And it's called an Adventure Pass - for parking at trailheads that have bathrooms on the Angeles, San Bernardino, Cleveland, and Los Padres National Forests. Not required everywhere any longer. It's $30 for an annual pass, but if you have the $80 Interagency annual pass that works, too, and will get you into Joshua Tree and all the other National Parks as well.
Wilderness permits in So Cal are free. There are some trail quotas (Humber Park, San Gorgonio Trails) but most are quota-less. That's a good thing. Quotas stem when there is over-use.
No campfires in So Cal Wilderness areas. In late summer and fall may not be able to have a campfire in car campgrounds.