Tent Camping Near Lancaster, CA

Recent Tent Reviews near Lancaster, California

615 Reviews of 58 Lancaster Campgrounds

• 

  Ben M.

  Scout

  

  Jan. 25, 2020

  Lake Piru Recreation Area

  Rugged Camp ground!

  Very Rugged Camp Ground presented with all that you need for comfortable tent camping. Plus fishing is good!

• 

  robherr

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 21, 2018

  Tapo Canyon Park

  Great for RVs, not so much for tents

  The first thing you should know about Tapo Canyon Park is that for actual tent camping, you will be in either decomposed granite or concrete. The second thing is that there is no cell service and no phone landlines there. 

  The park is very nice, and very well maintained. There is a large grass area with an upgraded playground, ample covered picnic area for large groups, and an archery range (private, but open to the public on Saturdays).

  The archery range is one of the best in California. There is a members area and the original range is open to the public on Saturdays from 9-1, with a nominal $5 fee.

  The campsites are designed for RVs. I have camped here in a tent and there is no way to drive a stake into the ground. The sites are fairly large and well spread out for an RV lot. 

  Each site has a fireplace, picnic table, and full hook ups. There is not much shade. The sites are very well maintained daily by the camp host Terri. 

  At night you can hear the coyotes calling as they roam the rugged hills, but don't worry it's a very safe park.

  I would give the park 4 stars for camping in an RV, 2 stars for tent camping, the facility as a whole is probably a 4.

• 

  Charlotte R.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 19, 2018

  Brite Lake Aquatic Recreation Area

  Nice .. Not for kids so much

  Our family stayed here for 2 nights. We enjoyed our time but the kids were disappointed they couldn't touch the water at the lake. I brought a small plastic pool for them to get wet in at our site because it was hot. They do not take reservations and they do fill up quickly so claim your spot early if you plan on going. Fishing is nice if you have a boat of some kind. The boat has to have a trolling motor only though. Not a whole lot of shade in the RV sites there is more shade in tent areas. Bathrooms near RV sites were clean and nice. Down by the tent sites not so much there were ants everywhere. We will probably stay here again as it is only 30 minutes from our house but we will bring our generator and stay near tent sites with shade.

• L

  Laura S.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 18, 2016

  Castaic Lake State Recreation Area

  Weekend warrior

  Our campsite & the bathrooms were clean & well maintained. However the location of tent camping v RV camping is awful. We are tent campers and had a nice spot with a beautiful lake view BUT the RV site was directly in front of the lake between our tent & the lake! So when a monstrous RV drove in all we could see was the side of the thing & we had to go around it to enjoy the view.

• J

  Jeff B.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 14, 2020

  Millard Trail Campground

  Pretty crowded during the day

  Bikepacked in for a quick overnighter.  Settled on one of the 6 tent sites.  Nice campground, active stream in the middle of summer.  Waterfall 30 minutes hike upstream.  It was a bit busy during the day.  They close the gate at 10 pm I beleive, so the evening was nice and quiet.

• C

  Cierra M.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 1, 2021

  Valencia Travel Village

  Great spot but RV ONLY

  I didn’t actually stay here as I was looking for a tent camping spot, but I did drive around the facility and it was super clean and looked like a great spot if you’ve got an RV. Pool and clean bathrooms available, host also mentioned it has WiFi access.

  Daily rates started at $65 a night, which was a little out of my budget, but if you’ve got the money and you’ve got the rig I’d totally recommend staying here!

• 

  Veronica H.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 19, 2021

  Cabin Flat Trail Campground - CLOSED

  Difficult to reach, very primitive

  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.

• t

  tom P.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 17, 2018

  Spruce Grove Trail Campground - TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO FIRE

  Nice Isolation

  This is a great small, hike in camp ground with no privy but decent tent sites. 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. 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. Very much like Hoegees campground. Good for families abs Scouts.

• 

  Sara H.

  Ranger

  

  Mar. 23, 2021

  Bonelli Bluffs

  Awesome for RVs but maybe not the best for tent camping

  After experiencing both amenities this place is more or less for RVs and 4/10 as for they do have the tent camping on the steep incline and not too many sites but for RVs couldn't be happier plus the people here are nice and friendly you do have your Karen's but you're going to have them everywhere we enjoyed the lake the view the weather it could have been better over here will definitely be returning you can stay for 20 days and then you have to leave for 60 days and that's fine with me I'm looking forward to returning

• t

  tom P.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 17, 2018

  Buckhorn Campground

  One Of The Best

  Great car camping location with lots to do. Plenty of camp sites but they fill up fast, especially during the summer on weekends. Very comfortable with all the amenities and enough space in between sites for low noise. Very beautiful with tall cedar, pine, fir and spruce with a nice creek in the wet season. Trails going all over the place, some easy some steep and wild life every where you look. Simple tent sites to bigger trailer pads for every type of camper. Probably the best campground in SoCal. Great for kids.

• G

  Gustavo C.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2021

  Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon

  Very Friendly staff with lots of amenities

  I can't deduct stars for how crowded it was during Labor Day Weekend. I think it was a treat that we were able to book on a fairly short notice for a holiday weekend. The pool is awesome and huge compared to other campgrounds. It was overly crowded this Labor Day weekend but what do you expect, right? It was hot. They had a live band, movie night, roomy campsites. It was loud and rowdy in the tent camping area but calm in the RV area. I had T-Mobile and had ZERO reception here. I have since dropped T-Mobile and got Verizon because it seems like T-Mobile reception is terrible at most campsites. We are looking forward to going back soon.

• P

  Patty M.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 24, 2021

  Castaic Lake State Recreation Area

  Castaic Lake Campground

  This is a nice campground. Very close to the city but still with visiting. I’m a van camper so I rented an RV site because I wanted shade trees. The tent camping sites in the first section have very little shade. Maybe one or two sites have shade. You definitely have to bring a canopy. I camped there in Nov2020 it was a nice getaway. The view of the lake is beautiful. I enjoyed seeing all the ducks on the lake. Each campsite has a table and fire ring. The bathrooms have flush toilets and the campground is kept clean and trash cans are emptied daily. It has a fish cleaning area with running water too. Must put away all your food because the raccoons will get into it. Overall it’s a nice local place to camp if you live in Santa Clarita, Ca.

• P

  Pamela O.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 24, 2021

  Mountain Valley RV Park

  Sweet spot along the way

  Mountain Valley RV park in Tehachapi, Ca is a nice mid-way stop between Las Vegas and the Bay area. We stayed here when we discovered our trailer was a bit too large to get into Tehachapi Mt State Park Campground. (Although this RV park isn’t that far from the state park where you could drive and do some day hikes.) Although Mt Valley RV Park is probably on few peoples list as a destination spot, my husband and I would consider coming back for the sheer peacefulness of the place. There is something embracing about the valley location at about 4000 ft elevation- with views of the surrounding hills, minimal road noise, mature trees, space between sites and lovely song birds the 3rd week of April when we were there. Not to mention, the gliders in the sky will mesmerize you since it’s located adjacent to a glider strip. Due to Covid the laundry and external restrooms were closed, and tent camping, which is normally accepted, was canceled for the time being. It’s definitely a place to consider if you’re passing through or plan to stay in Tehachapi ,CA.

• t

  tom P.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 18, 2018

  Idlehour Trail Campground

  Long Hike But Worth It

  This is a beautiful campground up in the hills above Altadena with a great view of the valley below. Lots of greenery and flowing water in the winter season with wildlife all along the trail and campground. Tables and fire stoves (check for permits) at most of the 12 tent sites but no running water, trash or privy so bring WAG bags and pack out. One of the old campgrounds, like First Water and has a neat history in the hiking books. The best way to get here is from Eaton Canyon, park legally on the streets, take the truck road up to and through Henninger Flats for about a mile past the flats. Look for a small footbridge at that point and follow the trail to Idlehour. Not a fun hike on scorching hot days due to the lack of shade, but on cooler foggy days it's a great trip. About 8 miles round trip. Very secluded and there's trails down to the stream in Eaton Cyn above the waterfall. DON'T CLIMB DOWN THE FALLS OR YOU'LL BE ON THE EVENING NEWS!

• 

  Mario M.

  Traveler

  

  May. 30, 2022

  Los Alamos Campground at Pyramid Lake

  Great for a quick getaway but come prepared

  Tried this campground out for a single day/night of camping for my family of 4.

  Location - 5 out of 5 Great location in terms of close to home (40 minutes from Bakersfield). 1.5 miles from Pyramid Lake for a day trip.

  Campground - 3 out of 5. $20 per night, by all means, this is only regards to the tent camping not the people or bathrooms etc. We camped in Loop 4 camp 72. While I was towards the end of the campground, very little shade was available. Prepare to bring multiple ezups for shade. Tent was easily put up as ground is soft. This camp was overrun by fire ants, so had to carefully move around their nest. There was a small section in between some trees that allowed us to get some shade, maybe even a small tent fits there. Bathrooms are flush toilets and very clean. No showers available to my knowledge. Camping came with a cement picnic table and a fire pit.

  The 2 points off was just because of the shade situation. I did go through the campground all together to see which sites were more shaded and out of all of the sites perhaps 4 had some trees with good shade.

  If you are looking for a weekend getaway from the city, good place to come. Just come prepared with multiple shade apparatus.

  **My pictures were taken after 6pm when the sun is behind the mountains.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  

  Dec. 8, 2023

  Ricardo Campground — Red Rock Canyon State Park

  Camping heaven!

  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.

• 

  Jeremiah F.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 21, 2020

  Lake Campground

  Acceptable last minute camping, not great, not terrible.

  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.

• 

  Rick S.

  Guide

  

  May. 4, 2018

  Angeles National Forest Big Rock Campground

  Excellent somewhat secluded campground

  I have been to this campground twice now. I would love to go back again one day. There is a nice size creek that runs adjacent to the campsites, which appears to run only during snow melt. It was dry one of the times we camped there, the other time it was flowing very good. I would estimate that it was probably around 40-50 feet wide when we went there. You do have to drive through the creek to get to the campground, so a small car probably would not be advisable when it is really flowing. I drove my small Toyota pickup through it with no problem.

  A forest adventure pass was required.

  Campsites were very clean. Has pit toilets, which were also very clean. No electricity or water at the camp site. No dump station. Has fire rings.

  We tent camped both times.

  A mother bear and her two cubs did visit us on one of the visits. We did find what looked like mountain lion footprints. There is wild life. No bear containers at the time.

  This campground is nestled in a valley/canyon and is next to Fenner Canyon Conservation Camp #41.

  There really are no views other than the surrounding trees and landscape, but was still very beautiful.

  It is a very quiet place to stay. Depending on the traffic from the nearby Highway 2, you might hear some of that traffic, but it is not bad at all.

  At the time of visiting, we did not have cell phone service in that canyon.

• 

  Lori J.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 3, 2019

  Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon

  A "resort"? No. A campground? Yes.

  Very large park for RV, cabin and tent camping. As it's listed as a "resort", we figured it would be pretty upscale. Disappointment upon our arrival. Floods have been in the area and much of the sites were closed and being cleaned?? The road closest to our site was washed away (from earlier reviews it's been months), so a long jog or drive around the perimeter to get us to the pool, laundry and hot tub…speaking of which, the pool, hot tub and laundry facilities all needed attention. You could actually see people's footprints (bottom of pool and on pool and hot tub entry steps)…that much sand, dirt, etc…I didn't venture in. When we arrived, we started driving around to find the best site for our rig. We're a 32ft class A w/20ft enclosed cargo trailer tow. So, all in all about 55ft. Well, that wasn't easy. Most of the park's electric and some sewer connections didn't exist or were "down" for repair. We have yet to actually SEE someone working on these issues. We are currently here and checked in for a two-week stay. After some boon docking prior to our arrival, we wanted all the bells and whistles the park boasted they had. Took us just over THREE HOURS to find a decent spot. Many levels to this park and most didn't have a decent WiFi (we have our own router) signal. Some sites had dumpsters blocking them from being a true "pull-thru". That left us with about two areas to choose from. It's dusty, dirty, and, really, not ready to be called a "resort"….more rustic than we'd been looking for or what website photos showed. We would not recommend this "resort" to anyone. Several folks with dogs they let simply sit outside and bark, poo, etc….strict rules against that, in most all resorts we've ever visited. Unless you plan on tenting, cabin or what have you, it's not worth it. Very disappointing! :(

• N

  Name

  Scout

  

  Jul. 11, 2022

  Bonelli Bluffs

  Beautiful, BUT

  There is no denying that this is a spectacular place to stay, our site was right next to the beautiful lake and what a beautiful vision to wake up to every morning. The downfall is the park is extremely spread out, and it gets very very crowded on the weekends. If you are coming here for peace and quiet, especially on the weekends, you might want to look elsewhere because the boom boxes go past quiet time and people love to party here. Staff did not enforce quiet time in our section "F" at all and am sure it wasn't from a lack of being able to hear them. We stayed here for close to a week, never used the facilities because they were just too far away. You have to drive to go to the laundry room, use the pool or access the office if you get a site by the lake, didn't know that. Come the weekend it is wall to wall people, even tent camping on the lawn is wall to wall tents. It is very expensive to stay here and we prefer a resort where we could find the atmosphere more relaxing. We did not, for safety reason, confront the offenders to ask them to turn down their music. I am all for freedom of everything, but neighbor flying Trump flag was a bit much. I am not here to have political rhetoric in my face. The irony of this resort is they require you to sign a page long terms and conditions yet they don't abide by them themselves! Saturday night music and people partying till past 1 AM yet they say quiet time is 10 pm. At 9am the boom box competition started up again. So inconsiderate of your fellow campers! We love the grounds but cant wait to leave to get a good nights sleep.

• F

  Freddy L.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 25, 2021

  Angeles National Forest Deer Flats Group Campground

  My favorite campsite

  Spacious sites, enough for groups and numerous tents.

• A

  Alexa S.

  Guide

  

  May. 25, 2017

  LA RV Resort at Action Camp

  Not a relaxing stay

  I stayed at the KOA during my PCT thru hike, entirely with the intention of having a nice relaxing place to stay.

  the KOA itself is nice. There's a pool, a clean bathroom and shower and a nice laundry room. The tent set up is affordable, $35 if you have a vehicle and $15 if you're a hiker. There's a big grass field where you can set up your tent right next to water and all of the amenities, and the KOA has free wifi which is always a plus.

  The catch is, the KOA is stationed between a busy road and a railroad... so all. Isn't you end up hearing the train blasting it's horn and come morning, you're woken up by the constant influx of cars.

  If you're an RVer, than you can probably avoid the noise. However, as a tent camper, it wasn't the most relaxing place to stay.

• 

  Mike C.

  Scout

  

  Jan. 3, 2020

  Manker Campground

  Baldy ascent

  Nice little campground to pitch a tent and climb mt.baldy

• J

  Jimmy L.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 23, 2023

  Joshua Tree Ranch Los Angeles

  Great spot for more primitive camping!

  There's no facilities here. Heck, there's barely a sign. But it's a great spot to get away from the city for a day or two and hang out with family and friends.

  Pros:

  Location is great, only a 70-90 minute drive from LA

  When it's not windy, it's dead-quiet and fantastic

  Joshua trees everywhere

  Just enough cell service to feel safe, but not enough bandwidth for your kids to stream YouTube all day

  Cons:

  - It's hard to find. There is no signs until you randomly pick a dirt road and go a few hundred yards, then you see a Joshua Tree Ranch sign laying on the ground.

  - Once you find it, you don't know where you're going. There are no markings on any of the sites, and no markings of where the Ranch ends. Was I camping in the ranch? probably. Who knows? Just drive around until you see a makeshift fire pit someone else left behind.

  - Check the weather! We did not and went on a day where the Santa Ana winds were blowing. The day was OK, but the overnight was brutal in a tent. So much noise from the tent and our screen tent outside flapping in 30+mph winds (not the fault of the property, but be aware!)

• 

  Emily D.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 19, 2021

  Antelope Valley Fairgrounds

  Parking Lot

  So I tried to stay here last night around 10 pm but I could not figure out how to reserve my spot. When I went online to the website to reserve a spot, it made me choose where I would park my car. It was dark and I couldn't see any markings for places to park. My husband and I are actually staying in our tent but since it was late, we had just decided to sleep in our car. I definitely would not recommend this place for tents! We decided to go to the nearest KOA to spend the night, but I gave two stars because it seems like it might have been a good place for RVs. $25 a night for a parking spot seemed a little much to me. Also it was $900 per month for RVs.

• 

  Yuliana N.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 1, 2023

  Crystal Lake Rec Area Campground

  Our favorite place !

  Very cool place, quiet, lots of places for tents. Very nice and friendly people work at the cafe at the entrance. There is a lake nearby. We'll come again!

• L

  Lena F.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 27, 2017

  Lake Campground

  Weekend reset

  With the desire of getting out of Orange County, Lake Campground was a perfect destination that was not far and yet it put you in touch with solitude. Lake Campground have small but roomy sites that gives the area a wonderful feeling . quiet, and well shaded . the terrain in some spots made it difficult to stage tents chairs etc with out giving a slanted feeling.tough on the shins. But it was a very nice and comfortable area. The water spicket was close as well as the restrooms. There are no showers but I highly recommend investing in a pop up shower tent and shower bag. Lake Campground is a short walking distance to Jackson Lake which is good for fishing for kids and splashing in the water . My family will be visiting again soon.