Best Tent Camping near Hinkley, CA

Been here many times since it is local to me.

This place has changed a lot over the years, and not necessarily for the good, in my opinion.

What there is:

• Trailer camping
• Tent camping
• Fishing
• A playground
• Small water park
• Two lakes to fish at
• Trains, lots of them
• Bathrooms with showers
• Frisbee golf
• Picnic tables and shelters

What there is no longer:

• Paddle boats
• Horse riding stables
• Horses and cows
• Other interesting animals
• Water in the grass fields where the animals roamed
• Arenas

Beware of skunks and loud trains!

It is still a somewhat nice place to visit for a couple hours with the kids.

We have camped in a tent. The tents sites are adjacent to the lake.

Trailer camping isn't too bad, other than being adjacent to the busy railroad. Most sites have grass.

Super nice staff!! They remembered us after only staying here twice which means they take pride in the care for their customers. We love that we can tent camp by the water!

Will definitely recommend to anyone!

Bring own gear, tent sites are primative you have to walk to toilet and showers but not far campsites are big enough for more than one family and friends

Lake fishing swimming hiking campfires

Group activities

We stayed at Cabin Flat several years ago, and it's one of the most difficult campgrounds to reach near Wrightwood in the Angeles National Forest. To get here, you need to take the Blue Ridge Trail Road from Inspiration Point off of Highway 2. This road is closed during the winter, as it traverses through Mountain High Ski Resort. That said, the campground itself is very basic. I would not recommend bringing an RV here as the dirt road to get down is winding and bumpy. Tent camping only.

This is a fairly nice place to camp. I would avoid camping here during the summer since it does get very hot. It is closed during the winter months, but you can still catch some cooler weather when it first opens during the season.

There is not much for shade in the areas for RV/Trailer camping.

Not much to do here other than hiking and kicking back. The Pacific Crest Trail passes nearby.

It is away from the populated cities, but not far from them. It still gives you a sense of seclusion.

There is water and electricity hookups, along with a dump station and separate tent camp spaces.

Pros: Large campsites

          Clean-ish toilets

          Lake within walking distance

Cons: Right near highway, noisy

           Lots of flies during the day

           tent sites are very flat          

Last minute trip and decided to check out Lake Campground. There are 8 sites placed on this hilly area, with a vault toilet in the center of the campground. It is located right next to the highway, so it can be pretty noisy during the day as its a popular route for motorcyclists. The campground itself was fairly clean, and all the sites were very large and spaced well away from each other. The sites weren't very flat, so options to set your tent up were very limited. Some sites had some shade, others almost none. There were tons of flies, very active during the daytime, but went away during the evening. The vault toilets were the cleanest I'd seen (For vault toilets) and the staff came through the campgrounds several times a day.

Jackson Lake is a short walk from the campgrounds. It has a nice day use picnic area with coal grills, picnic benches, and four vault toilets (in pretty poor condition). The lake was pretty small and had a stagnant smell to it. Lots of people were fishing, and a few people waded into the waters. I saw people in rafts / kayaks later in the day. The area was covered in fleas so careful with pets.

Stayed a couple nights here. The staff are all really nice and the campsites were very clean. Flush toilets and hot showers are available for 4 quarvters for every two minutes. Full hookups are available in one campsite for 55 a night. Parking is very limited. At the full hookup campsites you have two small spots, and one spot at the tent camping sites. Also you can't keep your boat and trailer at the marina which still blows my mind. They could make so much money off a nightly fee for parking there. Marina has 4 slips for rent at 15 a night.

Supppsedly your not allowed to have dogs on the beaches, but they were everywhere. I have never seen so many dogs at a lake before. And many off leash with owners oblivious to what they are doing.

15 minute limit for tying off at the boat ramp which is ignored and not enforced. Launching and retrieving boats was a nightmare because of the jet skies that are docked and left there. No one could tie their boats off to get their trailers. We sat for an hour with a group of other boats all waiting for pickup and 5 jet skies were parked there the whole time. Oh and don't forget the people fishing from the launch ramp standing by the no fishing signs.

People ignore the no wake zone and in three days we only saw one boat get called out on it.

Then there's the kids that throw rocks in the water where people are fishing and the jerks on the shore yelling at anyone fishing from a boat in the coves.

It really is a nice lake and campground or would be if the rangers had better rule enforcement in place.

I was looking to take my Jeep off-roading in the Big Bear area. I just needed a simple tent site where I could have a campfire at night, and as usual I hadn't booked very far in advance. By luck, I found Green Valley Lake. 

When I went online to reserve my spot, the only site left was site #1, so I grabbed it. Searching for reviews or pictures of that site, there were comments about it being too close to other sites, too close to the road, too close to houses, etc. When I got there I found a different story. After asking the camp host, I found the site - isolated from the rest of them in its own private little grove. The parking spot for the site is a considerable distance away, next to site 2. There are 2 trails leading to the site - one from the parking spot that cuts through site 2, and another one that ends near the entrance gate. It was a bit of a hike to get my gear in and out, but it was worth it for the privacy. Plenty of trees provide shade, and isolate you from the road and your neighbors. There was some noise, but they were completely blocked from view. 

The campground itself is very well maintained. The bathrooms were clean, with flush toilets, running water, and lights. The sites themselves don't have water, but there were faucets all over the campground so you could fill up a jug and take it back to your site. This is bear country, and bear lockers are installed at every site. The hosts were very nice, and sold firewood at their trailer for $8 a bundle. There was no AT&T cell service at the site, but there was a few miles down the road. 

The campground is about a mile past the village of Green Valley Lake, which has a small market and a restaurant. A few miles further is Arrowbear, which has a couple very well stocked markets and gas stations. Running Springs is a few more miles down the road, and has all the services you would need in a small town. 

For off-roaders like myself, the Big Pine Flats trail starts just a couple miles down the road, and offers a fairly easy and fun drive to just north of Big Bear Lake, and continuing on to Baldwin Lake. 

The next time i camp up in the Big Bear area, this will definitely be on my list of places to camp again.

A great campground that is very close to the amenities of small town Big Bear Lake village / town. The discovery center is very close which does tend to get busy during the summer months and on long weekends. I had in my mind that the campsites would be closer to the water however it was not terrible. I did not like my specific campsite however saw quite a few sites that I marked off in my mapbooks as locations to request (if available / applicable) A lot of sites in Ca are First-Come and are not reservable however you can save a space (or you could a couple years ago) Very scenic- great hiking and trails. Bring your bike. Great for tenting. RV accessible as well. Discovery Center is awesome and has a Jr Ranger Program as well.

Sites are not the cleanest however its up to the campers to keep things clean. While a site host is usually there it is quiet for the most part. Very enjoyable and would go again. NOT my favorite but it isnt bad. Especially if you live in the Riverside area or Southern California and want to have a quick getaway to the local mountains for some outdoor reset time.

It is a free campground, first come first serve. There are no developed facilities (i.e., no firepits, outhouses, etc.) but it is beautiful and there are plenty of flat places to set up a tent. This area is used almost exclusively by rock climbers, but anyone is welcomed. As long as you follow the guidelines for the area, you can set up your tent anywhere you see a spot.

We found Owl Canyon a few years back and became enchanted with this place. About three miles of washboarded (but maintained) gravel road leads to a small campgroundwith exquisite rock formations and plenty of hiking trails leading off in all directions. The first time we were here, we were the only campers other than the adorable camp hosts who had taken the trouble to put small solar lights on the vault toilets and soap on a rope hanging from the water faucets. Unfortunately, they are no longer there and neither is the solitude. The camp had a wide range of campers from Coleman pup tents to Land Yachts. UCSB has a large research station where students come out and study geology and mapping. It was fun to chat with them and get infected with their enthusiasm. The weather was mild enough to sleep out under the stars. The night sky is stunning! Wind can be an issue as it was this last visit. Tents were challenged and I was woken up in the middle of the night by a levitated camp chair landing on me. i will guess if you go sometime after spring break and mid-week, the campground won't be as crowded. Toilets are clean, water is limited and the price is right. Make sure to take extra tarps and rope to rig up a wind break or two and you are sure to have a nice stay. .