Millard Trail Campground, near Pasadena, California, is a cozy spot for those looking to enjoy the great outdoors without straying too far from the city. With a handful of tent sites and a few cabins, it’s a straightforward place to set up camp and unwind after a day of hiking.

The campground is right next to a popular trailhead, making it a prime location for hikers and bikers eager to explore the nearby trails, including a scenic route to a beautiful waterfall just a short hike away. Visitors often mention the charming creek that runs through the area, adding to the picturesque setting and providing a refreshing backdrop for your camping experience.

While the campground is a great place for a quick getaway, keep in mind that it can get busy, especially on weekends. Some campers have noted the lack of privacy due to the foot traffic from day hikers, but the vibrant atmosphere and the chance to connect with fellow outdoor lovers can make up for it. As one camper put it, “It’s a nice campground, active stream in the middle of summer.” 

With no reservations required and a camp host on-site, you can enjoy a laid-back camping experience. Just remember to store your food properly, as this area is known for its wildlife. If you're looking for a convenient spot to camp and explore the trails, Millard Trail Campground is worth considering.

Gate may be closed due to High Fire danger. Elevation: 1900-Foot ElevationAmenities: 6 hike-in\_\_campsites- Picnic tables and campfire rings, vault toilets, no piped water.\_\_Seasonal stream water may be available (treat before using). However, water flow may be low or non-existent due to reduced rainfall.Hiking: Just a short hike\_\_to the 50' Millard Falls. \_\_Fees: Camping - Adventure Pass/America the Beautiful Pass Required. Campsites are first come-first served. No reserving or holding of campsites allowed.\_ Day use -\_\_Adventure Pass/America the Beautiful Pass Required.Millard Trail Camp may occasionally be closed due to bear activity. Be Bear Aware.

Millard Trail Campground

Altadena is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Altadena. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your California camping adventure.

Altadena

The Best Camping Near Altadena, California

Fun little campground with decent facilities and beautiful surroundings. Lots of trails all around with a nice hike of about 1/2 mile up to Millard Falls that is easy for kids and grown ups. Wild life all over the place and a great stream in the wet season through summer. Park in the lot at end of road and walk 200 yards up the the camp sites. Camp fire pits but check for permits. There is a camp host so things are well managed and clean. Several cabins surround the area even above the falls. Very busy on weekends.

Convienent And Fun

This campground is a very short drive from Pasadena, CA, and in fact there are some rustic homes adjacent to the campground. Parking is about 150 yards away, down a hill, so be prepared to haul your gear. The campground is situated at a popular trailhead, and there is lots of good hiking nearby. But, this is also a high-traffic area on spring and summer weekends. A lovely creek runs south-west along the edge of the campground.

There are approximately 4-6 sites, they are somewhat haphazardly spaced on a relatively flat area with good shade. There is little or no cover between sites. There is one restroom on-site which also serves the day-hikers. It is not maintained well, and often smells bad.

Millard would be a great spot to camp for the night if you don't have the time to drive out of the city.

Creek-side camping close to the city

Me and my girlfriend decided to go on this trail with our two doggos on a hot 95 degree day and we had such a good time the waterfall trail is nothing but shade provided by the trees foliage and the creek kept our dogs cool as they would jump in and out of the small pools we had a great time we hung out at the waterfall as it's a gorgeous spot to hang out we were also the only ones there the trail is only half a mile but we definitely took our time as it's a gorgeous trail would recommend it to anyone

Great fun little trial

When you can’t do a 2h hike before setting camp, but you also don’t want to camp close to your car, Millard campground is perfect. 
The parking lot is just behind the corner out of view.
The only downside is that there are a couple of holiday houses in the surrounding forest and there is the trailer of the camp manager. 
Also don’t go during week ends cause families bring their kids to camp.
Besides that it’s a really chill and nice camp.
There is a stream of water that flows close to the campground and there are toilets (no water).

3 min Hike Camping

First of all this campground is not a campground if you want to get away from people because there is a lot of people passing by looking at you. You can’t really be isolated or have privacy even though it is a campground. People come here to hike into the trails to the waterfall. Which I can say the waterfall is nice. But other than that I wouldn’t recommend coming here to camp. Maybe day use only but not overnight camping. I didn’t camp here but someone else had there tents up and it was overcrowded with people heading to the waterfall. 

No your average get away campground

Bikepacked in for a quick overnighter.  Settled on one of the 6 tent sites.  Nice campground, active stream in the middle of summer.  Waterfall 30 minutes hike upstream.  It was a bit busy during the day.  They close the gate at 10 pm I beleive, so the evening was nice and quiet.

Pretty crowded during the day

Cool drive to get to the campground. You drive up and down these hilly roads up the mountain to get there. Once there, there's a parking lot that fits about 20 cars. There's about 100 yd hike to the campsites. There's a road that leads to the campsite but it's been blocked off. Only the campsite managers use that road so it's not accessible by RV, just tents.  A campsite manager stays in a little trailer overnight so if there's any problems there's somebody there you can go to and ask for help. There's about six campsites and their first come first serve, no reservations. I went during the week and was the only one camping. This place is heavily used for day camping and hiking. There's not a lot of privacy because there's always lots of people passing by who are hiking and biking. You can stay overnight which I did and everything was fine but there's not a lot of privacy. The next day as I was leaving there was another guy sitting up his tent. I bet on the weekends they can fill up pretty fast. It's in Bear country so they provide food storage for each campsite also trash containers too. Each side has a picnic bench and a fire pit. The fire ban has been lifted so you can have a fire. Each fire pit had wood left at it so you didn't have to go searching for campfirewood. Bathrooms included male and female toilets but no showers or water. There's a creek that runs through the campground which makes it very pretty. I saw two to three cabins along the outskirts of the campground that I assume were for rentals. There was one family at one of the cabins the night I stayed. About a 20 minute hike and you can end up at a waterfall which is very pretty. But there are several trails to take for hiking and biking and I saw lots of people doing that. Overall a good campsite four stars. Would have been five stars if they had showers and running water. I didn't see any bears although there was an animal outside my tent at one point in the night I could hear him nosing around. So it's important to keep all of your food and anything with any kind of smell in the bear boxes

Great campground for hiking/biking

As other(s) indicated before - the campsites I saw were right next to the trail leading up to the falls.  Beautiful area, trail and falls (especially right now - May 2023) but I definitely wouldn't want to camp here.

Photos of Millard Trail Campground

Real photos from real campers