Best Tent Camping near Palmdale, CA

Angeles National Forest surrounds Palmdale, California with numerous backcountry tent camping options. Mount Pacifico Campground offers tent-only sites accessible via walk-in trails, operating from May to November with basic amenities including toilets and picnic tables. Little Jimmy Trail Campground, located along the Pacific Crest Trail, provides primitive tent camping with first-come, first-served sites. Joshua Tree Ranch Los Angeles, situated north of Palmdale, accommodates tent campers with both drive-in and walk-in access. Several trail camps including Cooper Canyon, Valley Forge, and Mount Lowe offer secluded tent-only camping experiences within reasonable driving distance of Palmdale.

Most tent campgrounds in the region feature dirt or forest duff surfaces with minimal site preparation. Campers should bring their own water, as potable sources are limited at primitive sites. Bear activity is common throughout Angeles National Forest, requiring proper food storage in provided bear boxes or personal bear canisters. Vault toilets are available at most established campgrounds, though some backcountry sites require pack-out waste management. Fire regulations vary seasonally, with complete bans often in effect during summer and fall. Forest Adventure Passes are required for parking at most trailheads. Walk-in tent sites typically include fire rings and picnic tables, though amenities decrease at more remote locations.

In early spring, tent campers at Valley Forge Trail Camp can enjoy creek access with several water crossings along the 3.5-mile hike in. According to reviews, the sites offer good privacy despite being relatively close to Los Angeles. One camper noted that Little Jimmy Trail Campground rarely fills up, even during peak season, making it reliable for last-minute tent camping trips. The campground's location along the Pacific Crest Trail provides excellent access for day hiking. Cooper Canyon Trail Campground offers tent campers a choice between open sites or spots nestled among trees, with seasonal creek access for water filtering. Tent-only sites throughout the region provide better wildlife viewing opportunities than developed campgrounds, with visitors reporting bear and mountain lion sightings at several locations.

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Best Tent Sites Near Palmdale, California (57)

    1. Antelope Valley Fairgrounds

    6 Reviews
    Lancaster, CA
    11 miles
    Website
    +1 (661) 206-0427

    "nice showers, well kept bathrooms, good parking. food shopping is close by. nice power hookups. 50 volt."

    2. Mount Pacifico Campground

    1 Review
    Juniper Hills, CA
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (818) 899-1900

    "great views 360 degrees once you're on top. a 7 mile hike north on the Pacific Crest Trail from mill creek fire station. fire rings with multiple spots"

    3. Messenger Flats Campground - TEMPORARILY CLOSED AS OF 2023

    1 Review
    Acton, CA
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (818) 899-1900

    "We met a ranger the following day at a water cache not too far from the campground, and he told us that the entire national forest (except for the trail) was closed to camping due to fire damage from previous"

    4. Joshua Tree Ranch Los Angeles

    7 Reviews
    Lake Hughes, CA
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (312) 296-7649

    $25 / night

    "But it's a great spot to get away from the city for a day or two and hang out with family and friends."

    "He communicated well and even helped me with places to stay and hike in the Sierra’s."

    5. Little Jimmy Trail Campground

    7 Reviews
    Valyermo, CA
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (626) 335-1251

    "This campsite is located in California and is one of my favorites."

    "Hike in , via the PCT, an easy couple miles , to little jimmy campground. or hike up Little Jimmy road, which is a wider dirt road ( no vehicles)

    Lots of sites ( I’ve never seen more than a couple occupied"

    6. Cooper Canyon Trail Campground

    2 Reviews
    Juniper Hills, CA
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (818) 790-1151

    "I recently moved to WA from Los Angeles so this review is legit 😁 Parking at cloudburst summit, gets full during peak season so get there early, first come first serve I really like this trail camp"

    "This backcountry camp is a good spot for first time backpackers. It is well known so head out early to get a good spot."

    7. West Fork Trail Campground - Temporarily Closed

    4 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (818) 899-1900

    "Perfect stopping point for backpacking. Went here in May and we were the only 2 here. Plenty of water flowing and tree cover from the sun."

    "No water facet but there is a toilet. I have woke in the morning to deer on several occasions. I will come back here."

    8. Millard Trail Campground

    9 Reviews
    Altadena, CA
    26 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."

    9. Valley Forge Trail Camp hike in. no drive

    6 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    24 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!"

    10. Mount Lowe Trail Campground

    6 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    25 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."

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Tent Camping Reviews near Palmdale, CA

657 Reviews of 57 Palmdale Campgrounds


  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 11, 2022

    Camping @ Quail Run Ostrich Ranch

    Great tour and amenities

    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.

  • Craig M.
    Sep. 2, 2020

    Crystal Lake Rec Area Campground

    Seemed closed, camped anyway

    Looks like I arrived at the peak of their off-season. Complete fire ban, including gas stoves. Trash littered the campground and only one bathroom open. Gates are closed, so you have to park on the street and walk in. Only two other tents in this giant, beautiful campground. I wish I knew when season was so I could see what the regular vibe is like. Several trails and lake access nearby.

    Cafe by the campground only has a handful of items, hamburger and hot dog and other basic stuff. Store was well stocked with junk food, but not much I would consider “camping supplies.”

    Overall it looked like a neglected campground and recreation area but during season it’s probably a fun place to be.

  • Brittany N.
    May. 11, 2017

    Spruce Grove Trail Campground - TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO FIRE

    Adorable campground

    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. No bathrooms beautiful hike in. Close to the camp that's up there

  • K
    Oct. 24, 2020

    Tehachapi Mountain Park

    Quiet campground

    We stopped here on the way from SF to AZ in October. There are lots of open spots, FCFS. Vault toilets and trash cans scattered throughout. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. There is a nature trail nearby although we didn’t have time to go check it out. Cost was $18 paid in envelopes at the entrance.


Guide to Palmdale

Tent camping near Palmdale, California offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the scenic beauty of the Angeles National Forest. With a variety of campgrounds to choose from, you'll find options that cater to different preferences and needs.

Tips for tent camping near Palmdale

  • Little Jimmy Trail Campground: This hike-in campground is a local favorite, known for its beautiful surroundings and year-round running water at Little Jimmy Springs.
  • Valley Forge Trail Camp: A great spot for beginners, this campground features a stream for filtering water and plenty of sites for a peaceful camping experience.
  • Bear Canyon Campground: Accessible via a scenic hike, this campground offers multiple sites along a creek, perfect for those looking to enjoy nature's tranquility.

Some prices for tent camping range from $0 to $25

  • Joshua Tree Ranch Los Angeles: This primitive camping spot is free, making it an excellent choice for those looking to escape the city without breaking the bank.
  • Antelope Valley Fairgrounds: While primarily an RV park, tent camping is available for around $25 a night, providing basic amenities in a convenient location.
  • Cooper Canyon Trail Campground: This well-reviewed campground allows fires and pets, offering a great experience for just the cost of an Adventure Pass for parking.

Tent campers should check out Little Jimmy Trail Campground

  • Mount Lowe Trail Campground: Known for its secluded atmosphere, this campground features picnic tables and fire pits, making it ideal for a cozy camping experience.
  • Messenger Flats Campground: Although temporarily closed, this campground is noted for its beautiful views and picnic tables, making it a great option when it reopens.
  • Oakwilde Trail Campground: This remote spot offers a peaceful environment, perfect for those looking to disconnect and enjoy nature without the usual crowds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Palmdale, CA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Palmdale, CA is Antelope Valley Fairgrounds with a 3-star rating from 6 reviews.

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

TheDyrt.com has all 57 tent camping locations near Palmdale, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.