I was looking to take my Jeep off-roading in the Big Bear area. I just needed a simple tent site where I could have a campfire at night, and as usual I hadn't booked very far in advance. By luck, I found Green Valley Lake. 

When I went online to reserve my spot, the only site left was site #1, so I grabbed it. Searching for reviews or pictures of that site, there were comments about it being too close to other sites, too close to the road, too close to houses, etc. When I got there I found a different story. After asking the camp host, I found the site - isolated from the rest of them in its own private little grove. The parking spot for the site is a considerable distance away, next to site 2. There are 2 trails leading to the site - one from the parking spot that cuts through site 2, and another one that ends near the entrance gate. It was a bit of a hike to get my gear in and out, but it was worth it for the privacy. Plenty of trees provide shade, and isolate you from the road and your neighbors. There was some noise, but they were completely blocked from view. 

The campground itself is very well maintained. The bathrooms were clean, with flush toilets, running water, and lights. The sites themselves don't have water, but there were faucets all over the campground so you could fill up a jug and take it back to your site. This is bear country, and bear lockers are installed at every site. The hosts were very nice, and sold firewood at their trailer for $8 a bundle. There was no AT&T cell service at the site, but there was a few miles down the road. 

The campground is about a mile past the village of Green Valley Lake, which has a small market and a restaurant. A few miles further is Arrowbear, which has a couple very well stocked markets and gas stations. Running Springs is a few more miles down the road, and has all the services you would need in a small town. 

For off-roaders like myself, the Big Pine Flats trail starts just a couple miles down the road, and offers a fairly easy and fun drive to just north of Big Bear Lake, and continuing on to Baldwin Lake. 

The next time i camp up in the Big Bear area, this will definitely be on my list of places to camp again.

The campground is located about ten minutes drive from green valley lake. This camp ground has 32 spots available they require a $25 per night fee and check out is at 12 noon. The site is equipped with water. And bathrooms (extremely clean) Your next door neighbors are but a few feet away from you, but the site is set up to make it feel as secluded as possible. We never had an issue with our neighbors and I hope they didn’t with us. This being said if you forget anything more than likely someone in the camp has it. All in all this campsite is easy to recommend and if you’re a first timer this is the place for you! It’s also very family friendly so teens beware and keep noise and “loudness ;)” to a minimum.

We've camped here a few times and really enjoyed it. The campground is decently maintained, the small waterfalls you can access from the campground make for a great little excursion, and the staff is pleasant.

Site selection can be tricky as several sites are on significant slopes and/or don't have much room for a tent.

This is fairly close to home for us and one of the minor frustrations of camping in this area is everything is dry and dusty so it gets everywhere and this campground seems a bit worse that most. It's better than mud though, I suppose.