Best Tent Camping near Tehachapi, CA

Tent Camping Reviews near Tehachapi, CA

518 Reviews of 31 Tehachapi Campgrounds

• 

  Jeremiah F.

  Guide

  Jul. 21, 2020

  Chula Vista Campground at Mt. Pinos

  Great Hike-in campground with nice hiking nearby!

  At the top of the Cuddy Valley road is a large parking lot (Adventure Pass required) for the hiking trail to the top of Mt. Pinos. Off to the other side is a dirt trail on the edge of a meadow, after about 200/300 yards is Chula Vista Campground. The camp sites vary greatly in size and flatness, so check around for the good ones.

  First Come First serve camping, with some great spots overlooking the nearby meadow. The sites were clean and decently spread out, with fire rings and picnic benches.

  It can get pretty windy up here so make sure your tent is staked down well. If you don't have an Adventure Pass, Mountain View Mini Mart in Frazier Park is the closest place i know that sells them. $5 a day, or $30 for the year pass. (you can get a second year pass for only $5).

  Met a guy named Bob and helped set up his telescope in the parking lot, he let anyone who wanted check out the amazing night sky!

  Pros: Free camping!

            Great hiking nearby.

            Shady, clean sites.

            Great sky gazing!

  Cons: Lots of flies, very active during the day.

             Bathrooms were pretty messy. below average for vault toilets. Bring extra TP.

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• E

  Elaine V.

  Guide

  Nov. 6, 2020

  Ricardo Campground — Red Rock Canyon State Park

  Fantastic Beauty

  Nearly all these campsites butt up against the Badlands-esque rock formations with mini slot canyons to explore right at your campsite. My son absolutely loved this place. I loved it. We had a great time!

  It costs $25 per night and has zero amenities but the landscape makes up for it. Joshua trees and amazing rock formations, Jack rabbits and desert squirrels... it’s just great.

  1 bar AT&T if you’re lucky. No water, no electricity, but there’s a dump station near the visitor center. No electric car charging. Lots of tents and small rigs, nothing big. Campground uses narrow one-way dirt road. There are about 50 campsites with a picnic table, fire ring, rocky tent pad and fairly level gravel parking spot. At least 2 spots are ADA with concrete parking spots and nearby restroom.

  Now during COVID time it’s self registration, not sure about other times. We stayed one night and never saw a ranger. The campground was about half full and didn’t fill up while we were there.

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• 

  Dani P.

  Guide

  Jul. 12, 2019

  Chula Vista Campground at Mt. Pinos

  Hike In Gorgeous Campground with ample space

  Park at the lot up top, then walk about 1/2 mile to campground via dirt path. Plenty of sites. Old rustic bathrooms work well. Picnic tables at each site. Brought my dogs here and they had a blast, plus no ticks found. Plenty of hiking directly around this campground. Stayed here for three nights and found plenty of exploring to do nearby. Highly recommend, especially because there is no fee. Being said, Pack it in and pack it out! Leave No Trace principles are crucial to keep this place beautiful

• 

  Antonio C.

  Guide

  Aug. 30, 2019

  Chula Vista Campground at Mt. Pinos

  Summer Heat Getaway!

  It’s a nice drive to get to the campground. Nice clean area with lots of space. Love it that’s it’s a Walk in campground so no cars or RVs. Lots of Hiking trails nearby. It’s a lot cooler up here so it’s a nice way to get away from the summer heat. Awesome area for stargazing. The bathrooms could use some cleaning but other than that it’s a beautiful area.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  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.

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• 

  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.

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• 

  Mike N.

  Guide

  Oct. 5, 2020

  Camp Three Campground

  Great Seclusion

  This is a great primitive campground if you truly want to disconnect for a few days. No cell reception, no WiFi, there are restrooms but no showers. Take a 3 minute walk through the woods to get to Kern River and you have a little oasis away from it all. Bring everything you need with you. Currently no fires permitted. Great place to unplug and decompress.

• K

  Katt J.

  Scout

  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.

• 

  Chanel C.

  Legend

  Jun. 18, 2018

  Saddleback Butte State Park Campground

  Ranger Review: Snap Buds at Saddleback Butte State Park

  [ PROS ]

  • Each site comes with a shade shelter, BBQ grill, and fire pit (max 8 to a site)
  • Great for solitude! It’s pretty quiet and empty, and there was only two other groups at the campsite so finding a place to set up was not a problem.
  • Sites have a good amount of distance from other sites. Not much privacy in terms of bushes/trees (it’s a desert!) but they are well spaced and the campgrounds is relatively empty so you can pick and choose where to pitch your tent.
  • First come first serve, cash only. Sites are by self-registration so it’s the honor system. You fill out the form and place $20 fee into an envelope and deposit into the drop box. Don’t forget to take your stub to show proof of payment in case someone comes around to verify.
  • You can hike the Dowen Nature Trail or the Little Butte Trail. Both are easy walks with flat/wide trails. Great for kids and elderly (wheelchair accessible)! Just make sure you wear sunscreen, good shoes, and drink lots of water.
  • Lots of flora and fauna to see! From rabbits and rattlesnakes, to Joshua Trees and wildflowers. You can also see one of the oldest living plants on earth, the creosote bush, and they can live over 10,000 years! It’s pretty awesome!
  • You can see granite buttes all around, which is one of the natural characteristics of Antelope Valley. If you want to hike up the buttes it’s a little steep so be prepared.
  • Evenings here are SPECTACULAR. The sky lights up with endless stars and you can see the milky way very clearly. Also, you can watch shooting stars ALL NIGHT. Absolutely magical.
  • Updated restroom facilities with nice flush toilets and sinks. They are relatively clean and well kept.

  [ CONS ]

  • No fires allowed! Which is weird because each campsite comes with a fire ring.
  • Lack of ranger presence, which is a pro or con depending on how you look at it. In some ways it’s nice feeling off the grid and removed, but the lack of ranger presence means that neighbors don’t always follow the campground rules and it feels a little sketch. Camp Host here is awesome though!
  • Really dusty and windy with constant 20mph winds. Our stuff was flying away constantly so we had to take the time to have everything tucked, staked, and held down securely. The inside of our tent was constantly covered in a fine layer of dust, even with the rainfly on. It was hard to sleep at night because our tent was rattling and flapping all night and dust was flying in.
  • SCORCHING HOT during the day and frigid cold at night. Just like you’d imagine a desert to be. If you come prepared, you’ll be fine :)
  • No showers here but there are water faucets if you need to splash some water on your face to cool down.

  Product Review

  As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - this weekend I tested Snapbuds. Snapbuds is an earbud detangling system which keeps your earbuds from ever getting getting jumbled up into one of those hair-pulling knots. I love that they found such a simple solution to a problem that is VERY REAL. If you’ve ever spent time untangling earbuds than you understand the frustration.

  When I received the product it seemed simple enough, but I was a little overwhelmed with how much instructions came with the product. There are 2 ways - original and bolo - that you can set up your snapbuds, and I went with the original. Just be careful when setting up because they are permanently affixed. I screwed that up the first time opening the package because I got excited to snap them together without reading directions and ended up having one less snap.

  Once you have your snapbuds in place, it’s really simple and easy to use. They look a little funny on the ear buds at first, but they are pretty small and light so they don’t affect the function or design. I crumbled my earbuds and shoved them into my pocket to try to tangle it naturally a couple times and they never tangled! The magnet placements really make them hassle free. Snapbuds are one of those products that you never realized you needed until you own it! It’s great for travel and people on-the-go, which makes it great for camping/backpacking. It’s nice to be able to pack your headphones away into a stuff sack or pocket, and easily pull them pull them out without having to deal with the nightmare of untangling them.

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