Stone Creek Campground — Mount San Jacinto State Park

We traveled as a group of 17 campers and were able to disperse evenly between 4 close together campsites. We were in 19, 20, 21 and 23. Even though the website says it allowed 2 cars per site we were charged for the 2nd vehicle. In each site. I had also checked online prior to make sure we would have cell service with that many people meeting us. Only those of us that had Verizon had only a single bar. The campsites in the inner ring (ours was #21) are VERY close together. Not at all private, your camp is literally up against a couple others. We had children from the other sites running all through ours and it was so close you could hear everyone else’s private conversations. #19 and #20 were on the outer circle but just enough space to park and then walk through very sticky manzanita trees into the campsite and picnic table area. None of them had much or any shade. Our saving grace was our 4th spot - which gave us enough room to have all of us sit out of the way of the sticky trees and one tree in the middle to give us a touch of shade throughout the day. It had 2 picnic tables and was much more private so we didn’t disturb anyone and we didn’t have everyone else disturbing us. The vault toilets (yes, I know what they entail, and yes, it’s summer) were horrendous and barely useable, but we had 2 within very quick walking distance of us. They do allow dogs (we had 5 dogs and 3 cats with us) and it’s a short drive into the little town of Idyllwild. It’s a campground that served its purpose in getting all of us together and of course we had a blast, but it’s not on my “must camp here again” list.

Stone Creek Campground in San Jacinto Mountain State Park is the perfect getaway for coastal Southern California residents. It is a few hours out of the major metro areas, but close enough to get to for just a night or two. 

Located near Idyllwild, this is the smaller, less rowdy campground associated with the tourist town. There is also a camp right in town if you're looking for shopping and bars, and a few more further up hill.

Stone Creek has about 35 sites. The outer ring sites are huge, and most of them are fairly private especially the loop to the right of the entry. Our site was #7, and after thoroughly campsploration it is unquestionably the best for individuals. If you're in a group rent the inner ring where the backsides of all the sites run together.

We were trying to get away from people, from the pandemic, and spend some time doing something normal. Stone Creek was perfect for that. The only human interaction was having to check -in at the entry with a ranger. They wore a mask, and we spoke through a window in the ranger shed. They did have to hand me a parking pass, but after that we were on our own.

Site 7 is extremely large, and extremely private with multiple flat spots that could accommodate tents, two large picnic tables, multiple spots for hammocks and a fire ring that has seen better days. We could see a car across the loop, but couldn't actually see other campers without effort from where we set up the tent or even the fire ring.

This particular site extends back over a ridge and downhill. It was so private back there we strung up our camp shower next to a giant boulder for a shower without feeling like we needed to set up a privacy shade/curtain.

Camp is just high enough to prevent most bugs, but there were a few flies and mosquitos. The vault toilets were clean, and well stocked with TP and antibacterial soap. There were three on-site. One in the middle of the center ring which was the busiest, but none of the solar lights were working making it difficult to find in the dark. No obvious trail. The other we used near the entrance was well lit, had a wooden path and seemed to be forgotten by most other campers.

Multiple hiking trails led out of camp including one right from next to our site that led to multiple other trails heading up San Jacinto Mountain. The trails were a mix of gravel fire road, dirt trail and a few sandy areas through the flats. They were mostly well-signed, but one sign was down causing us to miss a turn so…bring a map. They're available at stands at the front of camp. Trails are…vertical unless explicitly labeled as short scenic hikes.

There were warning signs for snakes, mountain lions, plague-infected squirrels and bears, but all we saw were deer. They didn't seem to consider bears a serious threat as there were no bear boxes or locks on trash cans. However, having bear-proof (Ha!) food storage is important.

We really have no complaints about this place, and will definitely be back to explore more trails.

Pro-Tip: It is a windy, windy road up into the mountains, and people travel too fast. We saw some serious accident sites when people were traveling too fast, and caught up to a slow moving camper around a curve. Drive carefully.

Pro-Tip: We had full phone/wifi service here. We didn't want or need it, but if we were working from the road this would be an easy stop to set up.

Pro-Tip: Outer ring is more private. Inner ring better for groups.

Pro-Tip: In the summer add 5-10 degrees to the temperature which is taken from a higher elevation weather station.

This was a nice experience.  We actually didn't ever encounter a campground host since we went midweek.  It's easy enough to bomb down the hill and buy firewood/ice in Pine Cove or Idyllwild.  It's also a lovely little town to hang out, wander around, get some lunch/dinner if you don't feel like camping.  There's an awesome brewery there as well! 

One day while we were there, we made a day trip down to slab city and the salton sea. It’s a nice drive, takes 2-3 hours to get there, but you can totally stop in the Palm Springs area and make a whole day out of it.

Since you're camping on the side of a Mountain, it's a bit tricky to find a nice flat spot to plop down a tent, especially if it's a big one.  All of the campsites are nice and shady though! 

One night while we were there, we were the only campers in the whole campground and definitely heard some larger wildlife off in the distance a few times.. probably some sort of cougar?  It didn't bother us too much, but our dog was.. displeased. 

All in all, great spot to camp, and much quieter than the larger campground down the hill in town.

I was really excited to head out to this campground/ site because it was a close drive from my home, but far enough away to get up in the mountains.

My sister, her 3 kids, and 2 dogs jumped into the car and headed out towards Idyllwild, CA. Though this is techincally condisdered Pine Cove, CA, it is only about a 10 min drive away from the adorable town of Idyllwild! The campsite had room for 1 car, and was allotted 8 people. A long picnic table and a campfire ring with a grill opition! We set up a hammock in the front, a slack line on the side, and a dog run behind our campsite! We took the kids on the nature walk and they loved it! Big brother read the signs about the pine cones to his little sisters! We went into town as well and bought a big bundle of local fire wood at Mountain Mike's off Cicle Dr. for only $10. ( The best firewood ever ) We mostly just hung out at the campsite for the kids to run around and be kids! They made some friends with some neighbor campers, so all 5 kids ran around having the time of their lives!

Summary:

Pros:

• Close to Idyllwild
• Clean site(s)
• Clean bathrooms
• Camp hosts were very nice
• Fire rings w/ grill
• Picnic Table
• Non potable water faucets
• Privacy between sites on the back side ( where we stayed )
• Hiking trials out of the campground
• Nature walk off the campground
• Dumpsters for trash

Cons:

• No bear bins ( but there was not too much of a warning for the bears there )
• The bees ( the ones that like your food )