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Best Tent Camping near La Habra, CA

1,069 Reviews

Tent campers seeking primitive sites near La Habra, California can access several trail camps in the Angeles National Forest, with options like Hoegees Trail Camp and Spruce Grove Trail Camp offering secluded tent camping experiences. These established campgrounds require hikes ranging from 2-8 miles to reach, providing a true backcountry experience within relatively close proximity to urban areas. Most sites feature basic amenities like picnic tables and fire rings, though Spruce Grove Trail Camp is temporarily closed due to fire damage.

Most tent campsites in this region require hikers to carry all supplies, as potable water is rarely available at primitive sites. Vault toilets are present at some locations like Valley Forge Trail Camp, while others have no facilities whatsoever. Fire permits are required for campfires, and seasonal fire restrictions are common during dry months. According to one visitor, "Bears can be common visitors in the summertime, so make sure and secure your food in provided bear boxes or bring your own bear canisters." Wildlife encounters are frequent at these tent-only sites, with foxes, deer, and even mountain lions reported in the area.

Trail camps provide excellent access to hiking networks, including sections of the Pacific Crest Trail that pass directly through some campgrounds. Many tent camping areas feature creek access, providing both ambiance and a water source that requires treatment before use. One camper noted that Millard Trail Camp "has about six campsites that are first come first serve, with no reservations. Each site has a picnic bench and a fire pit." The primitive tent setups in this region offer a genuine wilderness experience despite their proximity to urban areas. Weekday visits typically ensure greater solitude, as these accessible backcountry sites can fill quickly on weekends, especially during spring and fall when temperatures are most comfortable for tent camping.

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Best Tent Sites Near La Habra, California (51)

    1. China Camp State Park Campground

    10 Reviews
    San Rafael, CA
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (415) 456-0766

    $35 - $175 / night

    "The campground was not busy and this allowed me to pick a spot hidden away from others. There are restrooms and a place to get water, but when I was there the showers were closed.  "

    "This walk-in campground is part of China Camp State Park. Only 33 tent-only sites! Wheeled totes can be borrowed to haul your gear up some little hills to your campsite under oak and bay trees."

    2. Hoegees Trail Camp Campground

    5 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    20 miles
    +1 (818) 899-1900

    "You can only access this campground by backpacking in. There's about 12 campsites with picnic benches and fire rings. There's a creek that runs through. it's beautiful and feels completely isolated."

    "Hoegee’s is 2 miles hike from Chantry Flats by way of the Lower Winter Creek Trail. The site is named for Hoegee’s resort which stood just upstream."

    3. Spruce Grove Trail Campground - TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO FIRE

    5 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (818) 482-8937

    "This is a backpackers campground. First come first serve, picnic tables and fire rings included. I think there is only about 8-10 sites. Nice creek flows though the campground."

    "This is a hike in campground that has stoves and a creek running through. The sites are nicely spaced and there is plenty of shade. Perfect little backpacking trip."

    4. Mount Lowe Trail Campground

    8 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    23 miles
    +1 (818) 899-1900

    "No water, fountain is capped now"

    "There's no water right now but that could change after first rain or snow. Stayed here last week & it's still great."

    5. Millard Trail Campground

    9 Reviews
    Altadena, CA
    23 miles
    Website

    "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."

    "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."

    6. Doheny State Beach Campground

    35 Reviews
    Capistrano Beach, CA
    35 miles

    $50 - $350 / night

    "Excellent beach camping and tent friendly. plenty of shade and nearby restaurants and shops. Definitely recommend this location."

    "the restrooms were clean and showers hot. great views and great for families. most sites are a good size but only room for two vehicles. No wifi but a good book will do. The staff was nice."

    7. Valley Forge Trail Camp hike in. no drive

    6 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    23 miles
    Website

    $5 / night

    "Took some friends for their first ever backpacking trip, great intro to the “experience.” Trail camp is in the canyon so it’s an easy 3.5 mile hike in, but a tough hike out of the canyon."

    "Picnic tables and fire rings made food preparing especially easy. It has so much charm!"

    8. Glenn Trail Camp Campground

    4 Reviews
    Duarte, CA
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (818) 899-1900

    $5 / night

    "Access to this campground is so easy, whether it's by car or by bike."

    "This hike-in/bike-in campground is located 6 1/2 miles behind a locked gate. The small campground is equipped with stream for water (must be treated), and vault potties."

    9. Manker Campground

    13 Reviews
    Mount Baldy, CA
    30 miles
    Website
    +1 (626) 335-1251

    $12 / night

    "Although the restroom are very dirty but overall it was a great stay!"

    "Tucked away at the top of a precarious winding mountain road. It is very basic, simple and beautiful."

    10. Gould Mesa Trail Campground

    5 Reviews
    La Cañada Flintridge, CA
    24 miles
    Website

    "This is a nice hike-in campground with about ten sites available and a privy. Lots of hikers up here on the weekend ( and weekdays too)."

    "Go behind campsite one and you will find a 6 mile hike in and out to two different waterfalls. Really fun and refreshing, limited shade in hike, so a dip at the end is so nice!"

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near La Habra, CA

90 Photos of 51 La Habra Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near La Habra, CA

1069 Reviews of 51 La Habra Campgrounds

  • Luis N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 19, 2020

    Parsons Landing Campground

    Beach side campground

    One of the most amazing campgrounds I’ve ever stayed at. You’re on a sandy beach with waves crashing on the shore. There’s only a handful of sites, so try to book this early. Sites have rocks stacked up as a wind shield, it really helps! You’ll also have a picnic table, food storage box, and a fire pit. Vault toilets are available. No water on site, you must bring your own. Water, firewood, and fire starter are available for purchase. You can buy them at two harbors, which is where they will give you a key for a locker that is at parsons landing which will have all those items. I believe it’s 2 gallons of water.

  • Tony C.
    Sep. 20, 2020

    Little Jimmy Trail Campground

    Local gem of a campsite

    This campsite is located in California and is one of my favorites. Located above Crystal Lake you’ll find Little Jimmy, it’s a backcountry hike-in only campground nestled just 2 miles off the Angeles Crest Highway. It has around 7 first-come, first-served sites with fire rings, vault toilets (which are currently not in service), and vintage backcountry ovens. After parking at Islip Saddle, cross the highway and begin hiking for 2 miles up the switchbacks until you reach Little Jimmy Campground on your right. Popular with Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, this scenic spot offers a chance to get away from established campgrounds and live amongst the Coulter Pines and Big Doug Firs. Campers turned hikers have easy access to hop on the legendary Pacific Crest Trail which runs through the camp. There is no fee to camp here other than an Adventure pass for your parking. In the summertime, bears can be common visitors so make sure and secure your food in provided bear boxes or bring your own bear canisters. As always, make sure you follow the "Leave No Trace" principles and pack everything in and out!

  • Les R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 6, 2018

    Buckhorn Campground

    Most beautiful campground in the Angeles National Forest!

    We've wanted to camp here for so long, but we've never been able to get a spot. We finally did this weekend, and it fully lived up to our expectations. Because this campground is set within a ravine that has a stream during the rainier months, so the landscape feels very different than the other nearby campgrounds - very green with tall trees. The campsites have plenty of space between neighbors, so we felt we had privacy and weren't disturbed by any noise from other sites. Each site has a picnic table, firepit, and bear box for food storage. There is a water spigot at the campground, but the ranger advised that it's not potable.

    There's day parking at the end of the campground for the trailhead to Cooper Canyon Falls. In the summer the "waterfall" is barely a trickle, but the hike still has a nice stream and is worth doing.

  • Luis N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 19, 2020

    Black Jack Campground

    Great site!!

    Great campground that is very accessible to the trans Catalina trail. The campground has potable water, lockers, vault toilets, an outdoor shower (very cold water), trash cans, picnic table, fire pit, food storage box. Foxes are common on this campground as they look for any food, campers may leave behind so make sure you clean up after yourself

  • j
    Mar. 25, 2021

    Millard Trail Campground

    Great campground for hiking/biking

    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

  • K
    Jan. 5, 2022

    Oakwilde Trail Campground

    Half Sunk, Overgrown

    The camp site looks like it was buried in mud from a flood a few years ago. There’s been no maintenance to this camp. The cook stoves are covered, half of the one picnic table was underground. But still, it’s a beautiful and remote spot. The river was running when I was there in January and it was just gorgeous. Looks like there’s really only one usable flat spot to set up a tent. But you can’t have a fire or anything. I didn’t camp just hiked in and checked it out. Dunno if I would try camping here.

  • Tony C.
    Jun. 24, 2019

    Henninger Flat - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

    Great local campsite

    I recently moved to WA from Los Angeles so this review is legit 😁 This was and still continues to be one of my favorite campsite close to Los Angeles, I have plenty of fond memories with close friends at this site. It’s completely exposed all the way to the top, a well worth 3 mile uphill hike to three different camp sites. My favorite is the middle site where you get a clear view of the city, beautiful views at night. They say there’s no water but there is, there’s a spout located by the restroom close to the museum, you’ll have to treat it before using (but don’t take my word for it, they tend to shut it off so take plenty of water for your time there and check it out if you need more) If you continue past the middle campsite to the upper site, you’ll have plenty of space for tents and hammocks just no view due to the trees on the edge. If you continue on that trail for another 3 miles i believe, you’ll get to idlehour campground. It’s a small site right next to a creek, you can continue on to Mt Lowe campground and inspiration point. Back to Henninger, plenty of trees for hammocks and sometimes they have firewood collected. At the museum you can buy soda cans so take some change. Hauling a 24 pack of cold Modelos in my pack was not fun at all, but boy did they taste good at the top hahaha. Bugs can get annoying so carry some bug spray, hang your food and PACK IT OUT!!! Leave no trace behind.

  • Shari G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 20, 2023

    Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park

    A World Away from the City Surrounding It

    Tucked on the outskirts of Mission Viejo is an oasis of green grass and groves of the twisting and searching limbs of Coastal Live Oak trees.  If you stuck me in the middle of this park, I’d never know that I was miles away from the sprawl of suburbia of a major metropolitan area…shhh don’t tell anyone.

    There are 3 campgrounds within this regional park -- one soley dedicated to RV's that require electrical hook-ups (Ortega Flats), a group campground (San Juan Meadow), and another which is a mix of tents and off-grid RVs (Live Oak).  This review is specifically for the off-grid Live Oak Campground which s aptly named because you’ll find yourself enjoying the ample shade of these amazing arbors, but plenty of sun to run our solar powered system.  

    The campsites can be reserved but there is plenty of room for first-come first-served travelers as well.  The sites offer enough space to tuck away a tent in the corner, or set up the longer trailer, as well as the typical picnic table and fire ring.  Plenty of port o potties are scattered throughout the campground and served the large groups gathered here on Easter weekend.  We indulged in making a fabulous brunch of Wood Fired Waffles to celebrate the holiday!  As of April 2023, they were still experiencing a well water issue, so no water was available from the faucet, but the river running through the park was useful for obtaining water to wash dishes.

    Hiking, biking and horseback riding trails meander throughout the park. The campground borders on a small creek for fishing, but is off-limits to wading and swimming because of the instability of the opposite bank. Keep an eye on the kids!  Be sure to check out the volunteer-run Nature Center on the property which is full of great information about flora, fauna, and native history.

    The closest store for firewood, and groceries is just a few miles back toward town.  And, the closest beach is just about 30 minutes away, so a great option for a day trip.

  • S
    Aug. 21, 2021

    Dogwood

    Beautifully wooded sites

    This park has something for everyone. I used a site that provided electric. There are tent and dry sites throughout. While the sites are everywhere, they are spaced in a way that feels private. There are bear boxes, picnic tables and fire rings at each site. The bathrooms were clean, with flushing toilets. Places to get water are all over. There are so many hiking opportunities for every level.

Guide to La Habra

Tent camping near La Habra offers access to the Angeles National Forest trail camps between 1,500-5,000 feet elevation, where temperatures range from the low 40s to upper 80s seasonally. Most backcountry sites require hiking distances of 2-8 miles through chaparral and oak woodland terrain, with several camps situated along seasonal creeks that typically flow from winter through early summer.

What to do

Creek exploration: Explore the stream at Gould Mesa Trail Campground for cooling off. This location provides easy water access for both drinking and recreation. According to a camper, "If you have a filter there is no need to hike in water" and "the stream is great."

Waterfall hiking: Visit the cascades accessible from multiple trail camps. At Millard Trail Campground, "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."

Wildlife viewing: Watch for diverse animal species at all hours. The China Camp State Park Campground area provides excellent opportunities according to one visitor: "Lots of wildlife! A coyote walked right by us. Brave raccoons." Another camper noted the "many hiking opportunities and chances to see wildlife (deer, wild turkey, rabbits, squirrels, racoons, and birds)."

What campers like

Proximity to urban areas: Trail camps offer wilderness within a short drive. One camper at Hoegees Trail Camp Campground noted it "has about 15 campsites, each with table, fire ring and wood-burning stove. You must pack your garbage out." Another visitor described it as a place where you can "feel like you're miles away from it all without even leaving LA."

Creek access: Most sites feature water sources that require treatment. A visitor to Valley Forge Trail Camp mentioned, "We filtered water from the West Fork San Gabriel River that seems more like a creek. Picnic tables and fire rings made food preparing especially easy."

Solitude on weekdays: Avoid crowds by camping midweek. A camper at Manker Campground reported, "I went on a Wednesday afternoon in May and got my pick of sites. There were only 4-6 other campers each night so it was very quiet."

What you should know

Fire restrictions: Fire permits required and seasonal bans common. At Valley Forge Trail Camp, campers need to "Check for fire restrictions and dig your cat holes at least 200 feet from the water. Or bring WAG bags and pack it back out."

Water treatment essential: Streams require proper filtration. A camper at Spruce Grove Trail Camp advised, "There's no running water but the creek is usually running so come prepared with your own water and something to treat the creek water with."

Wildlife precautions: Proper food storage mandatory. At China Camp State Park Campground, "the raccoons here are AGGRESSIVE! They won't attack you, but they will walk right up to your camp and try to steal your food."

Tips for camping with families

Shorter trail options: Choose camps with easier access for children. At Glenn Trail Camp Campground, one visitor noted it's "an easy paved 6 1/2 miles in to camp all the way along a creek. Very nice sites with tables bbqs and fire rings."

Beginner-friendly backpacking: Start with relatively flat approaches. Valley Forge Trail Camp was described as a "Great intro-to-backpacking trail camp. Took some friends for their first ever backpacking trip, great intro to the 'experience.' Trail camp is in the canyon so it's an easy 3.5 mile hike in, but a tough hike out."

Family facilities: Look for campgrounds with essential amenities. One family at China Camp State Park Campground reported, "I am camping with my husband and 3 kids and our puppy. The hosts are friendly, cheap firewood, china beach village is just down the road and perfect to explore and swim."

Tips from RVers

No direct RV access: Most trail camps require tent camping only. All the trail camps near La Habra restrict vehicle access. For tent camping near RV areas, Manker Campground provides "Small tent and motorhome campground with firepits, water spickets, bathrooms."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near La Habra, CA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near La Habra, CA is China Camp State Park Campground with a 4.2-star rating from 10 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near La Habra, CA?

TheDyrt.com has all 51 tent camping locations near La Habra, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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