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Established Camping

Holcomb Valley Campground

Holcomb Valley Campground, near Big Bear, California, is a solid choice for those seeking a peaceful escape in the San Bernardino National Forest. This spot offers spacious sites where you can kick back and enjoy the natural surroundings, though you should come prepared since there’s no drinking water or electric hookups available.

Campers rave about the clean facilities, especially the vault toilets, which are surprisingly well-maintained. The campground is first-come, first-served, so arriving early is key if you want to snag a good spot. As one visitor put it, “The sites are dispersed farther apart than most Californian campsites,” giving you a bit of breathing room.

For adventure seekers, the area is surrounded by numerous hiking and off-road trails, perfect for exploring the rugged beauty of the landscape. If you’re into 4x4ing, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to put your vehicle to the test. Just remember, wood fires are allowed in designated metal circles, so gather some firewood and enjoy a cozy evening under the stars.

While the campground may not boast spectacular views, the tall trees provide ample shade and a serene atmosphere. Whether you’re looking for a quick getaway or a longer stay, Holcomb Valley Campground has the essentials for a memorable outdoor experience.

Description

National Forest

San Bernardino National Forest

This family campground has 19 single-family campsites.__All sites are__first-come-first-serve basis (no reservations). Holcomb Valley campground is located approximately 5 miles north of Big Bear Lake off__Forest Service Road 3N16.__Although this__campground is open year round,__vehicle access will be based on road__conditions. Please__contact the Big Bear Discovery Center__for current road conditions.Each family campsite accommodates a maximum of 8 people. Amenities include a picnic table, 1 fire ring, bear boxes and vault toilets. There is no water available. A campground host is on site during mid May through October.

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Location

Holcomb Valley Campground is located in California

Detail location of campground

Directions

Directions from Redlands:Take I-10 East to Redlands. Take the University Street exit, EXIT 80. Turn left (northbound) on University Street. Turn right onto E. Lugonia Avenue/SR-38. Continue on State Highway 38 into Big Bear City, to E. Big Bear Blvd. Turn left onto E. Big Bear Blvd./SR-38. Turn right onto Greenway Drive/CA-18/SR-38. Turn left onto North Shore Drive, SR-38. Continue on North Shore Drive/Hwy 38 until you reach the Van Dusen Canyon Road, Forest Service Road 3N09. Make a right hand turn on Van Dusen Canyon Road. Continue on the Forest Service Road 3N09 for approximately 4 miles. Make a left on Forest Service Road 3N16. Holcomb Valley Campground will be located on the right.Directions from San Bernardino:Take I-10 East to San Bernardino. Merge onto CA-210 W via Exit 77 toward CA-330/Highland. Merge onto CA-330 N via Exit 81 toward Mtn Resorts. CA-330 N becomes CA-18 in the town of Running Springs. Take CA-18 to Big Bear. At the Dam/Bridge, turn left onto CA-38 at the signal light towards Fawnskin. Continue on North Shore Drive/CA-38 through Fawnskin. Continue on North Shore Drive/Hwy 38 until you reach the Van Dusen Canyon Road, Forest Service Road 3N09. Make a\_\_left \_\_hand turn on Van Dusen Canyon Road. Continue on the Forest Service Road 3N09 for approximately 4 miles. Make a left on Forest Service Road 3N16. Holcomb Valley Campground will be located on the right.For winter access take Polique Canyon Road when Van Dusen Canyon Road is closed for winter. \_\_From Fawnskin, continue on North Shoe Drive/Hwy 38 to Polique Canyon Road. Make a left, Polique Canyon Road becomes Forest Service Road 2N09. Continue on 2N09 for approximately 4 miles. Make a right hand turn (east ) on 3N16 for of a mile. Holcomb Valley Campground will be on your left hand side.

Coordinates

34.302593 N
116.895933 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.
  • Hike-In
    Backcountry sites.

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Unknown
  • Verizon
    Good
  • AT&T
    Unknown
  • T-Mobile
    Unknown

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)

Features

For Campers

  • Trash
  • Firewood Available
  • Phone Service
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol

For Vehicles

  • Big Rig Friendly

Contact

General Info

Drive Time


Reviews

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4.5

out of 5

16 Reviews

Reviewed Aug. 26, 2024

2 nights at Holcomb Valley Ranch campground

Just got back from a 2 night stay with a group of 6 at this camp. Enjoyed the ample space between camps because it allows for extra privacy and less noise from other campers. However, we stayed on a night where a wedding reception was taking place and the DJ sound system was blasting until about 10:15 pm— this is unacceptable for a campground. They should’ve closed the sites all around the wedding area down, we were about a 3 minute walk away and this really tarnished the experience for Saturday afternoon thru evening. Pros- clean accessible bathrooms and showers, gorgeous horse meadow with about 40 horses roaming free. The road into the camp is totally unpaved, so truck & suv recommended. Camp manager Ed was very kind and helpful.

SiteC6
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by melinna , August 26, 2024
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by melinna , August 26, 2024
Reviewed Sep. 10, 2023

Perfect Remoteness

Stellar Campground. Large Sites in a peaceful valley. Road getting up is a little sketch but saw some Sedans up there. We were worried about getting a spot showing up at 4 on a Saturday but there were still a few open. And if not, there are plenty of accessible dispersed spots down the road.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Jacob S., September 10, 2023
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Jacob S., September 10, 2023
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2022

Beautiful place

I just went in December and it is a very nice place although the bathrooms were not very clean I recommend bringing your own bathroom

Month of VisitDecember
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Francisco M., December 31, 2022
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Francisco M., December 31, 2022
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Francisco M., December 31, 2022
  • (10) View All
Reviewed Nov. 20, 2022

Great Ground and Easy Roads

The road there is easy even during the winter. Just before you get there may be puddling but with a little know how you'll have no issue. First come first serve basis, recommend bringing exact cash. Great cell service for verizon as well and you have plenty shade and room for a lot of people.

Month of VisitNovember
Reviewed Apr. 25, 2022

Pretty cool remote spot !

The spot was great, we actually found it by surprise, while coming down from a wild camp a few hundred yards above that actual camp.

We drove in, first come first serve before 12 o’clock. The price is $24 per spot +8 dollars for additional vehicles. The host is amazing he camps on site and a trailer.

The entire day was lovely, as the newcomers came in and parked there 4 x 4‘s. This pod got it all louder. Not much to do around except if you bring your 4 x 4, this campsite is mostly accessible just for those vehicles. But if you do have one of those vehicles you will have a lot of great time.

Silent curfew starts at 10 PM unfortunately for us we didn’t have much luck when a bunch of drunks behind us made a lot of noise until 12am

Wood fires are allowed in the metal circles. Plenty of wood to grab and cut all around. Ultimately great time

Month of VisitApril
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by seth B., April 25, 2022
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by seth B., April 25, 2022
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by seth B., April 25, 2022
  • (8) View All
Reviewed May. 5, 2020

Great place to camp.

Very clean and well maintained, roads are in a little rough shape but overall a wonderful place to camp.

Reviewed Jul. 1, 2019

Great first come first serve

Came up here at 11am on a Saturday in June and managed to snag the last campsite! The sites are dispersed farther apart than most Californian campsites but still not far enough for my liking. Bathrooms were clean and the site had a small hiking trail nearby. Only cons would be the amount of noise generated by off road vehicles nearby but still not bad enough to warrant anything less than a five star.

  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Steven G., July 1, 2019
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Steven G., July 1, 2019
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Steven G., July 1, 2019
Reviewed Jun. 10, 2019

Clean, primitive camping

Great spot off the forest service roads near Big Bear, truck or SUV recommended for the drive in. Campsites are spaced nicely, tall trees, and some of the cleanest vault toilets I have ever used. Camp host present to regulate and sale firewood. Located near the Gold Fever Trail, hiking, climbing, and a lot of 4-wheeling. A little pricey for a primitive spot with no water or electricity.

Site16
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Bryan H., June 10, 2019
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Bryan H., June 10, 2019
Reviewed May. 9, 2019

Great area to explore...

Though this campground doesn’t have spectacular views, it is located in the historic Holcomb Valley and surrounded by tons of hiking and offroad trails to explore. Tall trees with plenty of shade!

  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Samuel , May 9, 2019
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2018

Lots Of Trails And Climbing

First come first served, so weekdays are the best time to get a spot here.Only about 20 sites so not too crowded and noisy with hordes of people. The cost is a little steep but everything is clean and functional. There is a camp host so things are pretty well monitored and ushered to keep the noise down. Lots of great trails and off trail hiking for all levels of experience plus climbing locations for the rockers out there. Pretty good all around camping with enough distance from the main road for quietude and no light pollution so you get a good sense of solitude along with sleep. In other words, good family campground and bring a hammock.

Reviewed Jul. 18, 2018

Cool and Popular

The campground is a ways into the forest. I'm sure smaller cars could make it but it's not going to be a very comfortable ride.

There are a lot of sites and most were packed the weekend we were there. Lots of families and it wasn't quiet. Lots of pets and it wasn't quiet.

Picnic tables, firepits, the campground manager was on top of people who let their fires get too big.

It's truly a beautiful site though, lots of trails around and some rock climbing as well.

Month of VisitNovember
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Kate O., July 18, 2018
Reviewed Jun. 2, 2017

Basic .. Expensive

Came in the middle of the night on a colder evening so we could climb in the morning. Slept in the back of my Subie. Bathrooms smelled. Sites were pretty well set up, each had a picnic table and a fire ring that was blocked ( when we went) from the fire restrictions. For almost $30 a night, I would have expected a little more. Its a campground close to the climbing area. Nothing fancy, nothing horrible.

Month of VisitNovember
Reviewed Sep. 20, 2016

Expensive

Great basic campground, but super expensive - base price $21 per night (for 1 car), add $5 for second car, and $2 if it's a weekend. So our total for one night came out to be $28...Much more than I'm used to paying for a basic campsite.

We went for a climbing trip so we could have just camped for free at the parking lot near the crag. However it was nice to be able to have a fire pit, which we wouldn't have had if we just camped at the parking area.

Reviewed Aug. 29, 2016

Camping in the trees

This is a great campground with lots of OHV trails in the area. It's definitely recommended to have a vehicle with higher ground clearance since you're traversing some bumpy dirt trails to get there. The camp host is friendly and comes with a soccer-playing dog named Dutch. The pit toilets are relatively well-kept and definitely not a deterrent! We love that there are large trees everywhere to hang our hammocks up, keep cool when it's sunny, and enjoy nature.

  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Jo R., August 29, 2016
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Jo R., August 29, 2016
  • Review photo of Holcomb Valley Campground by Jo R., August 29, 2016
  • (5) View All
Reviewed Apr. 16, 2015

Love it here!

We used to be locals and were in Holcomb a few times a week. Amazing rock climbing, fresh mountain air, and gorgeous views.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Holcomb Valley Campground have wifi?

    No, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, Holcomb Valley Campground does not have wifi.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Holcomb Valley Campground?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is good, AT&T is unknown, and T-Mobile is unknown.