## Overview

 Burnt Rancheria Campground is located 50 miles east of San Diego at the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area in Southern California, right off the Sunrise Scenic Byway. Campers can enjoy hiking, viewing unique birds and wildlife and enjoying cooler temperatures at this mountain facility in Cleveland National Forest, open from mid-April through October.
## Recreation

 Day hiking and picnicking are most popular at Burnt Rancheria. The facility provides easy access to a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile national scenic trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. Hiking and horseback riding are allowed on the trail. Biking is not allowed on any portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. A short hike to the nearby Desert View Picnic Site provides visitors with a bird\'s-eye view of the desert 6,000 feet below. On most days, the Salton Sea is clearly visible to the southeast. Restrooms and potable water are available. Families with children will enjoy activities, campfire programs and guided hikes available during summer. In addition to the guided hikes, a visitor might take the self-guided interpretive trail hike; brochures are available from the camp host. Campers can also get a glimpse of the amazing night sky at \"star parties\" organized by the San Diego State University Observatory. These gatherings are conducted on most Saturday evenings during the summer months (schedule can be obtained at the Visitor Information Center on Laguna Mountain or by calling 619-473-8547).
## Facilities

 Burnt Rancheria is a large campground with several loops of campsites. Each site has a table and campfire ring. There are no hookups or dump station for RVs; the nearest is located at the Buckman Springs Rest Area, 4 miles east of Pine Valley on I-8. The campground is equipped with restrooms and coin-operated showers (showers open only during reservation season). Firewood is available for purchase from the campground host.
## Natural Features

 Pines and oaks abound throughout the campground, which sits at an elevation of 6,000 ft. The site is heavily wooded and surrounded by an open oak grove with spectacular desert views.

Burnt Rancheria Campground

 My family and I recently camped at Burnt Rancheria Campground in the Laguna Mountains. The campground looks like a classic mountain campground. It was beautiful with so many trees(mostly oak and pine) and shrubs! We noticed that there was a great variety of campsites that seem to offer very different experiences. There were some in wide open meadows where you could see all of your neighbors. Some were in small clusters. And others felt much more secluded in the forest. Also, there was a great difference in the amount of shade and flatness available. Thankfully our site (#207) was pretty secluded and offered ample shade, but it was on a pretty significant incline. There was only one semi-flat spot for our tent. The campground is very well-kept and the bathrooms were probably the cleanest campground bathrooms I’ve ever seen! The campground hosts seemed very pleasant and even offered firewood delivery to your site. Thanks to the ample forest there were plenty of birds, squirrels, and even a gopher we were able to watch. We look forward to returning.

Near-perfect mountain camping!

This campground is an easy weekend getaway slot, just 1 hour away from San Diego. Sites and facilities are clean amd well maintained. The campground back up to the Pacific Crest Trail which makes for some cool hikes. All sites are also dog friendly, a plus for us. The only downside is that some sites are small and the campground can get crowded during summer season and holidays. 

Weekend Getaway

Big campground with multiple loops. We stayed on the Pinyin Loop #51. A nice private site. Has good tree coverage from the street, no neighbors in sight. It does have a small driveway that we were able to shoehorn a full-size truck, SUV and a Jeep into. The AM sun beats the campsite, but the afternoon shade is great.

Great Campground 

I love this campground because it's woodsy and close to home.  You get that far away feel without being too far away.  There are a lot of first-come sites, which I don't like because I'm a planner, but there are some reservable sites too.  There's lots of hiking nearby and the sites feel private enough if you stick to the outskirts.

One of my favorite local campgrounds for San Diegians

Can’t believe we got a last minute spot here! This is one of my favorite local campgrounds. Site had lots of shade from the hot HOT sun. Vault toilets but a unanimous approval of the toilet paper. Great hike right out of the campground but we opted to drive down the road to Laguna Campgound and hike the flat lake area. 

We lucked out !

This camping is really good, spots are large and great and landscapes around are beautiful. Water, flush toilets and coins hot showers are available. I loved this place. I just take one star off because of the owner, he was really not polite and not nice. 

Good place 

A great campground for San Diego.  Great, mountainous feel with pine, Sycamore and oak trees (mostly pine).  Campground itself is very clean and well maintained.  But there are large groups all around us partying, playing loud music and dogs barking nonstop.  We’ve gotten used to dispersed camping so maybe this is just how established campgrounds are nowadays?  Or maybe we just came on the wrong weekend.  I’m sure midweek would be nice and quiet.  It’s not that bad.  It’s just really noisy.  

Very nice

Love this place. We have gone back year after year! It is the first place my wife and I went camping together and the first place we took our kids. The campground attendants are fantastic and the little diner down the road is great. Will definitely keep coming back while we're in the area. 

One of the best!

Stayed in site 33 and 35.

Area has loads of trees and shade. The bathrooms are clean and there are several throughout the camp ground. The sites are fairly close together which we didn’t mind cause we were camping with another group. PCT is close by if you want to do some hiking. 

Solid Family Campsite

Only an hour from San Diego, this is accessible but feels so far away. At 6,000 feet, the pine and oak trees provide great shade in almost all sites, but there's still plenty of sun. Bathrooms were clean; some are pit toilets and others are flush and even have showers. All sites have a picnic table and fire pit, plus there are lots of potable water spigots throughout. The Mt Laguna store is only half a mile up the road, the Desert View hike goes right out from camp (plus the PCT), and there are many other hikes along the highway. 

Great campground!

This campground is a great little hidden gem of a getaway tucked into the Laguna mountains just 50 or so miles from San Diego. At alt 6000 feet in mountain forests, you feel like you are far away from it all. The camp sites are generously spaced adding to the seclusion. It is a family campground, so just know the weekends are going to be full of kids and pets, but weekday camping will present the peace of wind and birds. Bathrooms are clean and water is available everywhere. Not many spaces for big rigs, but lots if you’re in the 20’ range. One whole section is fir first-come, first-serve. 

Access to the PCT for a stretch of very easy hiking right out of the campground. A cafe at the entrance and a general store up the road a couple of miles. 

Advise stopping at a local grocery for firewood, tho. Is expensive ($8/bundle) at the campground and it’s not even local. They have it shipped in. 

Lastly the price here is not $25/ nite as listed. At yhe time of this writing (4/2022) it is $29/nite

Perfect Local Mountain Getaway!

Mount Laguna is a wonderful destination if looking for some fresh mountain air without a long commute being just 30-45min drive from San Diego. We really enjoyed our time at this campground. Lots of wonderful trails right from the campground. Sites are nice with lots of tree for more privacy. Restroom facilities were pretty nice. Would come back again! 