Established Camping
Lake Hemet Campground
About
Lake Hemet is surrounded by the majestic beauty of the San Jacinto Mountains, in Mountain Center, near the charming town of Idyllwild. The scenery is splendid no matter which direction you look. Tall pines, manzanitas, sage, and giant oaks abound!
Lake Hemet is one of the most popular spots in Southern California for camping and fishing. The recent additions of the Soaring Pines Cafe serving delicious food and Splashing Eagle Swim Zone have made Lake Hemet the vacation spot to be during the spring and summer months.
Remember to pack a camera and binoculars, and keep a watchful eye as majestic eagles, hawks, and other wildlife are often seen soaring throughout the forest and campground. Come and enjoy camping, fishing, boating and the breathtaking scenery all year round.
DAY USE: In addition to camping, Lake Hemet offers public access to the campground for day use guests daily (hours vary by season). Day use is $25 per vehicle and affords guests with the opportunity to picnic, shoreline fish, launch personal boats or kayaks (additional fees apply) and rent boats or kayaks from our marina. If you are visiting other guests who are overnight camping with us, the $25 fee still applies. NOTE: DAY USE WILL BE CLOSED FOR ALL SUMMER HOLIDAY WEEKENDS FROM FRIDAY TO SUNDAY for Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day weekends. Only guests with previously purchased annual day use or launch passes will be allowed as our campground will be fully booked and activities are planned for our guests.
Location
Lake Hemet Campground is located in California
Address
56570 Highway 74
Mountain Center, CA 92561
Coordinates
33.668975973388285 N
116.67813786363553 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Stay Connected
- WiFiPoor
- VerizonGood
- AT&TGood
- T-MobileAvailable
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
- Cabins
- Tent Cabin
Features
For Campers
- Market
- ADA Access
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Firewood Available
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Showers
- Drinking Water
- Electric Hookups
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Sewer Hookups
- Water Hookups
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
Busy
We booked a few days here on our 2 month trip to be able to relax in a nice campground, but we were a bit disappointed.
Toilets and shower were not very nice, you do not get much privacy as the sites are quite close to each other, and it is super busy, a lot of people around. Even during the day it is quite noisy.
Location is good though, and it is nice to be up here in summer as the temperature is a bit better.
Great Time!
Visited the last 2 weeks of August. Great place for family and kids. Affordable. Campsite #295. You can fit two 10' x10' canopies to cover the bench table, and fit 2 individual tents (4-6 person) OR a bigger 12p tent however you decide to position it. It has its own Fire pit. Different campgrounds for all chosen methods (Tent, RV, Glamping, etc..) There's restrooms you can use. There's showers you can pay per use. The swim zone isn't too far from this campsite, 5-10 min walk w/ no accessories. If you have little ones, you can take them with a wagon but I'd recommend just driving your car with a few items to the zone. Bring your own shade for this campsite, your own water too. The marketplace is near the entrance BUT they only sell individual waters (No 48 pack types). You'll definitely hear your neighbors snore at night after a long day LOL.. quiet hours are from 10pm - 8am. Overall, this is a great spot. If you're lucky to snag other spots with trees covering you then great but this is still a good campsite. Happy camping! ... Oh yeah, T-Mobile no service up there (apparently Verizon, AT&T do)
No Day use areas but still $25
The day use areas were under water and we weren’t told we were allowed to be anywhere else so we just drove around and checked it out then left.
It looked like a nice lake to fish in and I know they don’t control the water levels but $25 is a lot for day use