Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Calico, CA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Calico is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. Find the best campgrounds near Calico, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
Serrano Campground is a beautiful place for campers to come to enjoy beautiful Big Bear Lake. It is a scenic and fairly modern campground that provides access to a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.
Visitors enjoy access to a number of hiking and mountain biking trails found within a short distance of the campground. The Alpine Pedal Path and the Cougar Crest Trail are nearby and provide access to the Pacific Crest Trail. The Big Bear Ranger Station is within a mile of the campground. Rangers can provide maps of the area and answer any questions about trails. Fishing and boating at Big Bear Lake are popular activities. The campground does not provide direct access to the lake, but a boat ramp is available about a mile away. Anglers can look forward to a possible catch of trout, bass, catfish, carp, bluegill and crappie, among others.
Visitors enjoy access to a number of hiking and mountain biking trails found within a short distance of the campground. The Alpine Pedal Path and the Cougar Crest Trail are nearby and provide access to the Pacific Crest Trail. The Big Bear Ranger Station is within a mile of the campground. Rangers can provide maps of the area and answer any questions about trails. Fishing and boating at Big Bear Lake are popular activities. The campground does not provide direct access to the lake, but a boat ramp is available about a mile away. Anglers can look forward to a possible catch of trout, bass, catfish, carp, bluegill and crappie, among others.
The campground is located in the San Bernardino Mountains, within walking distance of the lake. Accessed by the Rim of the World Scenic Byway, the campground is situated in a mountainous, pine forest setting. Sagebrush grows alongside the paved roads.
For facility specific information, please call (909) 866-8550.
The Big Bear Discovery Center is located across the street from the entrance of the campground. A visitor center, interpretive trails and educational programs are available, as well as accessible flush restroom facilities.
Rules & Reservation Policies As you make travel plans that include reservations on Recreation.gov, there are standard policies that apply to most locations of which you should be aware. Do keep in mind, however, that there are many exceptions, so it is best to review reservation information listed on individual facility pages for those policies and procedures that pertain to your specific locations. Any location or activity requiring a permit or lottery will have unique requirements and policies. Please check individual facility pages for pertinent information for those sites. Booking Window For most locations, you can reserve six months in advance of your stay for individual sites and 12 months in advance for group sites. There are some exceptions, so it is best to check with each facility. Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation. Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount. You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Tours & Tickets: You may request changes to tour dates at no cost before the arrival date. If you cancel before your tour date, you may be eligible for a refund. Cancellation fees apply. Please check the tour facility description details page for cancellation policies. Permits: Varies by location. Please check the permit details for the permit location. Late Cancellations Overnight and Day Use Facilities: Late cancellations are those cancelled between 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival. Individual Campsites: If a customer cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival they will be charged a $10.00 service fee and will also forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a single night's reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply. Cabins / Lookouts: Customers will be charged a $10.00 cancellation fee and forfeit the first night's use fee if a cabin or lookout reservation is cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Day Use Area: If a customer cancels a group day use facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date, they will forfeit the total day use fee with no service fee charge. No-Shows Camping / Day Use: A camping no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. Group day-use facilities will be held until check-in time on your scheduled arrival date. If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees. Tours: A tour or ticket no-show is one who does not cancel a ticket before arrival and does not arrive for the tour. Tour no-shows are not entitled to a refund. Refunds Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure. Reservation Fee: For some facilities, tours or permits an additional reservation fee is charged. For some overnight and day-use facilities, an additional non-refundable reservation fee may apply. The non-refundable reservation fee for tours and tickets is $1.00. The non-refundable reservation fee for permits varies by location. Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy. Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure. Recreation.gov Billing Information Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777." Changes to Policies and Procedures Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July__
$79 - $81 / night
$55 - $90 / night
$10 - $119 / night
This recreation area is part of Mojave River Dam
$3 - $40 / night
Located on 160 acres in close proximity to the Deep Creek Hot Springs. Rural property with natural landscapes in the mountains of the high desert. Showers, bathrooms and running water on site, no RV power hookups. Private hot spring rental and glamping tents available. Large group sites available, secluded sites, event venue available. Ziplines on site.
$15 - $119 / night
We camped here the last weekend before they closed for the winter, after Thanksgiving. The campground was clean, quiet, and had a decent amount of space between sites. There is a biking trail that goes through the campground that was well used. Our sewer outlet was frozen in the morning, so we had to dump when we got out of the mountains. 100% would stay here again.
It's an excellent location for access to Barstow and Calico. We appreciated the pool, hammocks next to the pool, and the treats at the store. Sites are primarily pull-throughs, and many are occupied by people passing through them for one night. There are easy hookups, 50 amp service, and easy on/off from the highway. We visited both Barstow and Calico and had a good time at both.
We had a great overnight stay at this park. Two other campers were there, and we had no interactions other than waving. We arrived after hours, and the gate code was included in the reservation information. We will be adding this park back for future stays.
The campground (CG) was super easy to find as it was right off I-40 on old Route 66. Our check-in could not have been easier, and the reception was very nice. There are 18 FHU sites here, with half being for long-termers on the west side and short-term pull-throughs on the east side. We were given an option of several sites and chose site 17. We had to disconnect and park on the side of this gravel site. The Wi-Fi speed was 3.32 for Download and 2.35 for Upload, which worked okay. We got 3 bars on Verizon. Due to the expected freeze warning, we did not hook up to the water or sewer. There are a few trees in the CG so getting a clear shot for satellite is easy. The old caboose, the Hwy 66 hotel mural, and the ducks around the pond were a nice touch. They had a shower house and laundry, but we did not use them. Heads up that we got diesel at the exit a couple of miles west of the campground, and that was the most expensive price we experienced in CA at$6.69/gallon last January.
Property manger rude and swearing a lot. Plumbing is pvc pipes and they Break easy, bathroom run down and dirty, Wi-Fi does not work
I had to change my reservation three times, and the staff was incredibly helpful. They went above and beyond to give us the easiest possible stay. The campground itself was reasonably clean with a gorgeous view of the desert and mountains. Sites laid out well and most are pull through and accommodate big rigs. Pool, laundry, general store, showers and lavatories. They did not however have the shuttle to the silver mine as advertised (ended with Covid) and the Enterprise rental in Barstow does not “pick you up“ and were rude besides.
Rough ride in but totally worth it
The hike to the springs is pretty rough but also worth it when you get there. No hot showers
Beautiful campground. Clean restrooms and showers. Nice spacious scenic sites. Full hook ups. Big Bear Lake near by, lake level appears to be receding. Bears and coyotes in the area, recommended not to let small dogs or cats roam unattended.
Clean. Has bathrooms and laundry
It is a bit rough around the edges. Easy to miss the turn because it is on road 15 next to highway 15- yikes. Tough on the road weary. It has a dog run. Near the highway which can be convenient or noisy. Site is nice, bathrooms could use some love.
Clean facilities and fit the need for the night. The interstate is loud, so it did impact a good nights sleep. Over all, a cute little KOA
Easy checking Cheap with Passport America membership: don’t expect much Level sites, electric (30 used ) water and sewer Little shade - over 106 when there late Aug
Little family owned RV spot— some long termers. Everyone super nice. Big spot, shade of trees, walk down to lake. Full hookup. 7 minutes to big bear lake town. Hiking trails out front gate. Probably not big rig friendly.
Pretty standard KOA, some shade, level gravel sites with useable WiFi. Bathhouse was adequate, updated and clean. Convenient to Routes 15, 40 and 66.
Christina was very nice. The place has a swimming pool that looked clean. The restroom/shower was not. The handle on the shower in the men's was broken off so I used my multi-tool. We could not get the Wi-Fi to work at all. Christina said she would reset it and she may have but it still did not work. The first place we pulled into did not have any power. We reported it and she immediately move us to the place net to it where power was good and passed my tester for good ground, etc.
Overall the place could use a good scrubbing and some paint. It looked like it was very nice 30 years ago. The ponds looked nice and the grounds were clean. Would I stay here again? Really there are not a lot of choices so maybe I would. With a good cleaning, fixing some small items and some paint it could be much better.
I always camp here best place ever. Quiet. Bike path.
I stopped here for two nights to wait out some bad weather that prevented me from going from point A to point B. It was nice to be able to capitalize on the opportunity to take a shower, do some laundry and top off propane. Not so nice: the camp store was dismally stocked, half the laundry machines were out of service, including all of the large machines, the main restrooms and showers at the front of the site were well cared for, up to usual KOA standards, however the smaller restroom unit in the rear of the property was substandard. Stayed in site #61. This site is well shaded but forget about having good solar panel exposure.
We went camping right before the snow storm and it was pretty cold but still so amazing. The staff are very friendly and let us know about the coyote lurking about and the big freeze warning and made sure we were gonna be warm enough. We camped just a few steps away from the lake, there were other campers there but the campgrounds are far enough away from each other. They have very clean restrooms and I didn’t even know they had free showers there as well. We were super close to all the awesome hiking spots and off-roading exploring. If your into rock climbing there are a bunch of cool places there in Holcomb valley.
Nice place to camp, weather is around 75 during the day and about 50 to 36 degrees cold through out the night. Has everything you'll need. Bathrooms are close by, showers HOT water available. Camping sites are too close together. Other than that it's great. Not many people this time a year. Had a great time. Would definitely come back.
We just spent last weekend here at Serrano Campground. The staff were friendly and helpful. The place is well maintained and clean. Campsites have ample spaces in between there are a lot of flat places to pitch our tents. There are a mix of tent only, converted vans and trailers in loop but it doesn’t feel packed with visitors. The Lake was a 5-10 min walk from out site and we can see the lighthouse from the lake. Restrooms were clean although the showers were cold and does not heat up well. Will surely visit this site again. Its just 2 hours from home and that is one consideration we always look at when planning for a quick weekend with nature.
Friendly and we'll stocked office. Staff were always available. Clean showers and bathroom. Pool was cold which is great in the heat. Not all sites have shade but most do.
OK for one night ... kinda dirty
This is over priced, maintenance nonexistent, dirty, park. Doesn't meet KOA standards in my eyes? Splash and Dash Stop
The office plays music on outdoor speakers facing the campsites during business hours. Unless you are in the back half of the park, you’ll be listening to whatever radio station the host chooses, including commercials, all day long. The site was level and had bushes between sites for privacy. Easy on/off I15 or I40. The dump hookup was so far forward in our pull thru site that it was next to my drivers door. I would have needed a 30’ hose to hook up. Pool was greenish. Jump Mat was closed. Everything felt a bit shabby but not unsafe. Our fire pit was falling apart and full of cigarette butts and a beer can. Road noise from I15. If it weren’t for the fact that the sites have better privacy and elbow room than average and are completely flat, this would be 2 stars.
Road noise and maintenance people not really maintenance people. Overpriced tiny store.
I really like this campground. It is well kept and clean. Away from town. But, an easy drive or bike ride to get there.
Stayed here in August, a beautiful spot shaded by lots of trees, just a short walk or bike ride to the lake and observatory. Friendly staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Calico, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Calico, CA is Barstow-Calico KOA with a 3.5-star rating from 23 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Calico, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 8 glamping camping locations near Calico, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
