Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near San Gabriel? The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of San Gabriel, California's most popular destinations.
Gate may be closed due to High Fire danger. Elevation: 1900-Foot ElevationAmenities: 6 hike-in__campsites- Picnic tables and campfire rings, vault toilets, no piped water.__Seasonal stream water may be available (treat before using). However, water flow may be low or non-existent due to reduced rainfall.Hiking: Just a short hike__to the 50' Millard Falls. __Fees: Camping - Adventure Pass/America the Beautiful Pass Required. Campsites are first come-first served. No reserving or holding of campsites allowed._ Day use -__Adventure Pass/America the Beautiful Pass Required.Millard Trail Camp may occasionally be closed due to bear activity. Be Bear Aware.
$5 / night
Water is from a stream - come prepared with your own or have a way to filter/purify
5 Hike-in campsites- Picnic tables and campfire rings, vault toilets, trash receptacles, no piped water available. Seasonal stream water (treat before using). However, water flow may be low or non-existent due to reduced rainfall. Please bring enough water for cooking, cleaning, drinking, and extinguishing campfires.
Equestrian: Hitching Rail (52 linear feet).
Gould Mesa Trail Camp is a hike-in campground located 2 miles from Ventura Street on the Gabrielino Trail. Being only a few miles away La Canada-Flintridge, it offers a quick-respite for the weary hiker. Those choosing to start in Altadena near the Jet Propulsion Laboratories will walk through riparian groves along a tranquil steam surrounded by steep ridges. The trek to Gould Mesa Trail Camp is 5.1 miles round trip with 300 feet of elevation change.
Updated Nov 2022 - Temporarily CLOSED due to the Bobcat Fire. Please call the LA Gateway District Office at (818) 482-8937 for current conditions and additional information.
Elevation: 3100-Foot Elevation
Amenities: 7 Hike-in campsites- picnic tables and klamath stoves, vault toilets, no trash receptacles, no piped water available. Seasonal stream water (treat before using). However, water flow may be low or non-existent due to reduced rainfall. Please bring enough water for cooking, cleaning, drinking, and extinguishing campfires. Pack In-Pack Out.
Hiking: Access to the Upper Winter Creek Trail and the Gabrielino National Recreation Trail.
All campsites at China Camp Campground are HIKE-IN SITES for tent-camping only. Visitors must handcarry all equipment from the parking lot to the campsites. Campsites range from 50-300 yards from the parking lot. Eight persons maximum are allowed in each site. Check in time is 2pm or later and check out is Noon.
Enroute camping is available for RV's with a grey water holding tank for one night only. No dump station or hook-ups are available. Enroute Camping is limited to space availability. Check in for enroute camping is 6pm and check out is 9am.
A "Hike and Bike" site is available for those who travel to China Camp on foot or by bicycle.
$35 - $175 / night
10 Sites Open. Facilities are accessible to visitors using wheelchairs. Walk or bike in only, except for physically challenged groups who may obtain a permit to drive to the campground. Permits are available through the Glendora office - call (626) 335-1251. Located approx. 6 1/2 miles behind a locked gate. Stream water (treat before using). Vault toilets. This is a non-fee campground, although an Adventure Pass is required for parking outside the camp and at the trailhead. The road leading to the campground is a designated National Scenic Bikeway. Native trout fishing area; catch and keep from the gate to the second bridge - catch and release from second bridge upstream to Cogswell Reservoir. Several accessible fishing platforms provided.
$5 / night
Camp high in the clouds at Manker Flats Campground. This campground sits at 6000-feet and offers 21 campsites open year-round. However, piped-water is turned once temperatures reach freezing. Each site comes with a spacious spot for all your family camping needs and includes a picnic bench, fire ring, and vault toilets. It's located within a short drive to historic Mt. Baldy Schoolhouse and Visitor Center where visitors can discover the land's Native American roots. Close by, hikers have several options to begin their day's adventure including, Mt. Baldy Bowl trailhead. This trailhead can be combined with another major route, Devil's Backbone, to reach the summit (10,069') to form an impressive 11.3-mile loop hike. For the more casual hiker, a 1.4 mile round trip to the 75-foot San Antonio Falls is available. Bears are very active in this area, so it is recommended that all campers use provided bear boxes, personal bear canisters, or seal all food as to eliminate scent.
$12 / night
Currently NO toilet facilities at this site.
Just above Crystal Lake lies Little Jimmy trail camp...a backcountry campground nestled just 2 miles off the Angeles Crest Highway.
It features seven first-come, first-served sites with picnic tables, fire rings, vault/composting toilets, and vintage backcountry ovens.
Hike-in only (2.5 miles one-way). After parking your vehicle at Islip Saddle, cross the highway and begin hiking for 2.5 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 Bigcone Douglas 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 it please secure your food and scented items in bear-proof boxes provided or bring your own bear canisters. As always, make sure you follow the "Leave No Trace" principles and pack everything in and out!
Scout
Have camped at new port dunes several times, they have a beach front for group tent camping on the sand, and also have tent camping in the resort. You can camp with RV's, Trailers, tents, and they also rent out cabins. In the middle of the lagoon they have blow up obstacle in the water to climb on.. great place to relax. It's pretty pricey because it's a resort but well worth the trip.
Traveler
Cottonwood is for the true RV’ers. Lakeside is more for tent camping. Nice park for family camping.
Scout
Very Rugged Camp Ground presented with all that you need for comfortable tent camping. Plus fishing is good!
Scout
The Dyrt shows "Tent" sites, but it's only for RVs
Ranger
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.
Traveler
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
Traveler
Stayed for a quick weekend when hubby still had to work. no tent camping, but RV and wood cabins. easy to get in and out of but the 91 freeway is overhead and loud. Nothing stopped us from enjoying ourselves and relaxing. bike path nearby as well as washing and having fun.
Traveler
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.
Scout
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.
Traveler
Very well maintained campground with RV and tent sites. It’s right on the PCH so you get some great views of the pacific and the beach is just across the highway. It’s a bit noisy since the PCH is a heavily traveled highway and isn’t very remote, if that’s what you’re looking for. Great campground for families.
Guide
This campground is close to the 15 and 215 interstate freeways, with easy access. It is better to make a reservation then to just show up. There are RV sites and tent sites as well as group camp sites. Not much to do at the campground but if you go across the street to the park there is fishing and picnic areas.
Guide
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!
Traveler
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.
Guide
Toilets available, 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. It has so much charm!
Guide
This is a great park in Southern Orange County. I have tent camped here for years with my kids in the Live Oak campground and never had a bad experience. There are hiking trails everywhere with lots of wildlife to watch. I switched to a travel trailer several years ago and now use Ortega Flats campground. The sites are big and well spaced, with 30 amp electric. The water is off for the time being. The dump station is very close by and easy to access.
Ranger
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.
Ranger
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
Traveler
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.
Guide
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.
Guide
Giant oval loop with camp sites all along both sides. Rv sites, tent sites and equestrian (horse) sites. Paved road is good for bike riding. Behind my Camp site was a few different hiking paths. Restroom buildings have water, toilets, and showers. It says to bring quarters for the showers but they were free. Each site is typical... Picnic bench, fire pit, and metal grill. No gathering fire wood, gotta buy it at local grocery or gas station. $20 a night. Lots of families with kids. Feels really safe here. Saw the park rangers driving around and the front has a gate guard who checks you in. Also only 10 minutes away from city.
Guide
The San Gabriel Mountains are my favorite mountain range, and the beauty and majesty of this local treasure are often overlooked even by lifelong area residents. Because of its large size and tall summits over 10,000 feet high and the range offers tremendous diversity, encompassing granite peaks with stunning views, lush alpine forests of pine and cedar, lovely stream fed canyons lined with old growth oaks, and spectacular gorges where pure mountain streams cascade over magnificent waterfalls.
GuideThis 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.
Traveler
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!
Guide
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.
Guide
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.
ScoutThere 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.
ScoutVery 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! :(
Tent camping near San Gabriel, California offers a variety of scenic locations perfect for outdoor enthusiasts looking to escape the city and immerse themselves in nature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near San Gabriel, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near San Gabriel, CA is Millard Trail Campground with a 3.8-star rating from 8 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 51 tent camping locations near San Gabriel, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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