Best Campgrounds in California

Yellow Post #2 – San Bernardino National Forest Secluded, free, first-come-first-served tent site tucked deep in the forest near Hemet, CA. No amenities—no toilet, water, or trash—so pack in and out. Fire ring and picnic table on-site. Shaded by mature trees with a dirt/sand/rock surface. Site fits up to 8 people and 2 vehicles.

Access road is rough and rocky but doable in dry conditions with a careful 2WD. Signage is limited—offline maps recommended. Site sits near a dry creek bed and has a short walk to a west-facing boulder with expansive views of the valley.

Wildlife includes deer, lizards, snakes, woodpeckers, and lots of squirrels. Mosquitoes come out at dusk—repellent is a must. Fire bans usually in effect during summer. Great for quiet retreats, hiking, light climbing, and off-grid solitude.

A rugged but rewarding forest stay for self-sufficient campers.

Booked same day and about 4 hours before we arrived. We got lucky and got a premium ocean spot. We only stayed one night. Showers and bathrooms were okay— but we usually use our own bathroom/ shower. There is a noise from the light house all day every few minutes but it’s not unbearable. I’m a heavy sleeper and the tv drowned it out. Dog friendly, but people definitely a lot more lax on cleaning up after their dogs (had do dodge poop on the beach and around our spot. Great price for the view. Easy booking and check in process. Didn’t interact with any staff since we checked in after hours (5:30pm) and left at 8am.

The staff here gets the first shout out. Lana Banana and Mary at the front create a real pleasant atmosphere as you roll in. I camped here twice already this year and once a while back. The rest of the staff (shout out Martin) and the rangers who advise on bears like Cinnamon* are all great.

Pros:

• Camp store has some basics like ice, firewood, and s'mores stuff.
• The sites have bear boxes and even though they are very close to each other with little separation, they are big sites with lots of tall trees.
• Flush bathrooms and showers dispersed throughout camp.
• Hiking trails right out of camp.
• Rushing river to the west.
• You can walk or ride a bike across the street to Lake Tahoe, but you are separated from the chaos of the lake, and a bit more insulated from the storms.
• The lake (see below).
• Cell service is unlikely.
• Sites have nice bear boxes, are very well maintained by the hosts (multiple hosts per loop), newer firepits that aren't too tall, and picnic tables.
• Plenty of ground wood to collect to help with the campfire. Make sure you have a a CA fire permit. Takes 4m online and is free.

Cons:

• You really need to pay attention to your food. Bears are not just possible here, they are likely.
• It is hard to get a site. Be ready. Set alerts.
• Traffic getting in and out can be a bit of a pain in the busy season.
• Even in the summer it can snow...BE WEATHER AWARE.
• The store doesn't sell propane.

The lake, oh my, maybe the most beautiful lake in the entire Tahoe region. It isn't as big, but it is flat like glass, deep, and crystal clear. It is cold as an icicle–colder. Cold as a frozen heifers nose. That's probably a saying somewhere. Either way, bring a hammock. Bring a paddleboard (which will get checked for invasives), and bring yourself ready to relax.

Great hiking. Chill vibes. I can't recommend this spot enough. Compared to the parking lot style campgrounds or resorts throughout Tahoe-region, this is really camping and the rates are low comparatively, though not low, actually. $48/night. There are a few yurts if you go for that sort of thing.

Midweek in June the park, which is fairly large, is still nearly empty. The sites are fairly close to each other, which matters because one of the other campers is right next to mine (46) and doesn't understand basic camp etiquettes like not using generators all night or letting their dog wonder through other sites and the bathroom areas off-leash. Still the campsites all have decent views–though best ones abut the lake on the map. They look close to the lake on the map but they are actually way up high above it. There are trails running throughout the park and around the lake that are a mix of wider open trails and narrower, through the woods, but groomed trails with plenty of up and down to make for a good hike.

Lots of birds and wildlife–beware says the sign...all the signs, but I mostly only saw turkeys and a few water birds. Because the camp was empty, I moved over to site 56 when it was clear my neighbor was a camp d-bag. It was a pull through with a downhill slope in the site but not in the drive. The views and solitude over here were great with the setting sun through the trees, and the knowledge that the Bay in the distance.

There were a few other weird vibes in the park, namely some e-bikers charging up phones at the bathroom drinking 40s and smoking joints, while watching very loud sitcoms on the charging phones. They seemed mostly harmless, and were gone well before dark.

The warm waters* of Lake Chabot was beautiful and tempting as a siren, but don't touch it, or let your dog touch it, unless you want to get mutated like the Ninja Turtles...

Actually, that is a bad example. That would be awesome. The water will make you sick or your (or your pets) skin break out in a real not fun way. It is toxic. It will not make you a Ninja Turtle.

The showers were great. Hot and FREE!

Finally, this is a well-kept park with proactive rangers only limited by their working hours, and despite it being quite accessible to Oakland, the park felt like camping in the wilderness, even though I could hear cheers echoing through the canyon from a graduation somewhere below.

The road in is fairly winding with a bit of a drop down the cliff. If you're heading in at dusk or dawn, go slow. You will see deer stepping through the road.

*I don't know if it was warm. I didn't touch it.

Oh, hello you beautiful cove with your heavy waves and moss laden boulders. Hello more birds, more deer, more meddling raccoons than expected. Hello hiking and biking trails. Hello local market with your reasonably priced ice and more reasonably priced beer. Hello. How have you been off my radar all this time?

I've lived only several hours away for 11 years without knowing this simple loop campground was even here. The state park offers days worth of outdoor activity and views forever and ever, with the ability to feel alone only miles from town. The sunset from the cliff is a must.

There is a little camp store, but it was closed during my visit (closes at 4pm). The campground is spare, and the camp host spent the better part of the day I was there smoking weed with friends. No shade, you do you, and they were friendly but the campground wasn't as kept as it could be. My site had trash from the previous resident and the grounds were...okay. The campground is fairly open site to site with the bathrooms in the middle, which I was surprised to find were flush with a faucet. There are two water spigots but they are a bit hard to find. They are right in the middle but hidden behind things. 

Sites 17-19 have a decent amount of shade and the most foliage separation. They back up to the park, and there are trails on the hillside above, so people coming off the trail might kind of be able to see you (briefly) as they pass. Raccoons will 100% rush your site as soon as you go to sleep to see if there are any fun goodies laying about. Put stuff away. Some sites have bear boxes, so I assume...bears. However, not every site had one. I assume because the bears aren't that much of an issue, but I'm not a bear expert, or anything.