Best Tent Camping near Bear Valley Springs, CA

At the top of the Cuddy Valley road is a large parking lot (Adventure Pass required) for the hiking trail to the top of Mt. Pinos. Off to the other side is a dirt trail on the edge of a meadow, after about 200/300 yards is Chula Vista Campground. The camp sites vary greatly in size and flatness, so check around for the good ones.

First Come First serve camping, with some great spots overlooking the nearby meadow. The sites were clean and decently spread out, with fire rings and picnic benches.

It can get pretty windy up here so make sure your tent is staked down well. If you don't have an Adventure Pass, Mountain View Mini Mart in Frazier Park is the closest place i know that sells them. $5 a day, or $30 for the year pass. (you can get a second year pass for only $5).

Met a guy named Bob and helped set up his telescope in the parking lot, he let anyone who wanted check out the amazing night sky!

Pros: Free camping!

          Great hiking nearby.

          Shady, clean sites.

          Great sky gazing!

Cons: Lots of flies, very active during the day.

           Bathrooms were pretty messy. below average for vault toilets. Bring extra TP.

Nearly all these campsites butt up against the Badlands-esque rock formations with mini slot canyons to explore right at your campsite. My son absolutely loved this place. I loved it. We had a great time!

It costs $25 per night and has zero amenities but the landscape makes up for it. Joshua trees and amazing rock formations, Jack rabbits and desert squirrels... it’s just great.

1 bar AT&T if you’re lucky. No water, no electricity, but there’s a dump station near the visitor center. No electric car charging. Lots of tents and small rigs, nothing big. Campground uses narrow one-way dirt road. There are about 50 campsites with a picnic table, fire ring, rocky tent pad and fairly level gravel parking spot. At least 2 spots are ADA with concrete parking spots and nearby restroom.

Now during COVID time it’s self registration, not sure about other times. We stayed one night and never saw a ranger. The campground was about half full and didn’t fill up while we were there.

General: This is not an official campground but due to its proximity to the Pacific Crest Trail, the owners make it available for tent and RV campers as well as members of Harvest Host. 

Site Quality: There are no designated sites so you can park where it best suits you on a large and level gravel lot. Since there was a strong wind advisory to last through the night into the next morning, Jessica recommended we park along the trees, and this made for an effective windbreak. There is also an additional gravel lot where the only other RV camper stayed so we had privacy. 

Bathhouse: I was hoping for a vault toilet so was pleasantly surprised to find flush toilets with a sink, soap, and paper towels. No showers and no hot water.

Activities/Other Amenities: Take a tour of the ostrich farm – we learned a lot and it is worth the $10pp. At the end of the tour, you can purchase ostrich oil (many benefits), ostrich eggs (sometimes sold out), local brews, local honey, and a few other items. Other amenities include a propane bbq, fire ring, picnic table, and electric outlets (located by each light pole by the stage/dance floor which is also used for weddings and other gatherings). There is also a peaceful garden and a playground. Other activities include ax throwing and archery, neither of which we tried. (A girl scout troop was doing archery when we were there). Quail Run is a family-owned business and everyone we talked with was very welcoming and communication was thorough. 

Note: the gates are closed between 5 pm and 8 am (7 pm-7 am during the summer). If you need it, cell coverage via Verizon is available.

General: Smallish (approx. 50-site) campground that does not take reservations. No hookups, one walk-in tent site, and the others are either back-in or pull-through. Some are “double” sites that would be ideal for sharing. 

Site Quality: Varies. All sites (except four, three of which are designated handicap sites) are a mixture of sand/gravel. Not all are completely level, and some accommodate larger vehicles than others. 

Bathhouse: Pit toilets only. Some are open air and some are enclosed; the one closest to our site was clean. 

Activities: hiking, photography. Good night sky area. The nature trail is accessible directly from the campground and the Hagen Canyon trail is ¾ mile from the campground. Red Cliffs is another short trail across the highway; these are the most popular (and short) hikes in the park but there are others. The views are jaw-dropping and well worth exploring. 

Note that although there is a dump station, there is a $20 charge to use it. 

We arrived around 1 pm on a Sunday in late March and had our pick of sites, however, the campground filled in to about ¾ full by the end of the day.

I attempted to go to another campground, but there were no spaces available. I noticed a sign for this campground as I was driving back & took a chance on it. The road to it was a little rocky, but I have an old Nissan sedan which it handled it just fine. This campground is first come first serve, but also free. A man at one of the campsites told me you are supposed to have a Forest pass, which I do. There is no water or bear boxes, but there are vault bathrooms & a fire ring w/ grill. There was a Boy Scout Troop there & one of their Scout Masters brought sanitizer & bleach to clean the bathrooms, which was kept by the door.

There is no host, which, my luck, meant the group of guys in the adjacent campsite stayed up very late drinking alcohol and talking loudly. I had to sleep in my car. But I would absolutely go back to this place. It was (mostly) quiet and very clean & peaceful.