Saddleback Butte State Park Campground

The only thing more desolate than this campground is the landscape, but perhaps that's your thing. I'm the only one here on a Sunday night in May. A couple pulled in before me, but after a once-around, they left. Each campsite is well sheltered from the sun and wind -- 8' tall plywood windbreak wall plus lattice ceiling with room under it for two picnic tables and your tent. Too much noise from the nearby highway. By the way, if Google maps leads you to the closed picnic area, don't worry, there's a separate campground entrance south of it on the connecting street.

My family and I enjoyed the peaceful trails and the beautiful landscape

The campground is clean, but it could use some TLC. The bathrooms need to be remodeled.

17’ trailer and 17’ truck able to back in with room to spare and not need to disconnect. Price reasonable. Sites well arranged, spread out ,reasonable privacy with some road noise. Shelters over many of the campsite tables. Great solar, no trees. Quiet. Clean. Dessert. One trail leading to Saddleback Mnt leaves from camp.

We regularly stop at the picnic area and campsites to enjoy the quiet scenery while on our way to our private campground. Please make sure you pay the day fee or the overnight fee to make sure this wonderful park stays open for generations to come.

I'm quite certain the hiking here is very nice, but I wouldn't know as I was traveling with my dog and unfortunately the California State Park system hates dogs and doesn't allow them on trails.  The campground is serviceable, nothing super special, but nice sunsets, Mojave Desert scenery, etc. Some road noise and camper noise. A Boy Scout troop was encamped there when I was there, fortunately their adult leaders had them under control for the most part. (Not all do).  A few of the available sites are well spaced apart. I think I was in #1. It was badly infested with fire ants but fortunately large enough that I was able to move my camper to the far end of the site and avoid them.  None of the bathrooms had functional locks or latches. This was bizarre. Some restrooms were not functional.

This is the perfect little get away. I'll add there is electric outlets in the modern restrooms that are handy if you aren't prepared to camp without electric. Just please don't abuse them.

Basic simple campsite but there is water and bathrooms available. Each site has a fire pit, grill, picnic tables and a Ramada to provide shade and block the wind.

Variety of sites for tents, rv's, vans. Lots of trails to enjoy graded by degrees of difficulty. Bring bicycles, scooters and skateboards to explore various trails to have fun on.

Keep food and toiletries in tight containers the squirrels will get into items or keep locked in car. Great area to have day trips in explore and get some eats out. Bring wood for night firepits otherwise you will buy at host site for $10 bundle. Bring pop up awning because some sites don't have shade and it's hot.

Can get a bit windy here but there are some wind breaks set up at some campsites. No reservations taken. A little less than an hour to the Poppy Preserve. Clean bathrooms and great desert views with J Tress everywhere.

Kind of like a mini Joshua tree, can be really windy. there are wind blocks at most of the campsites. Really close to the California Poppy preserve. Good times, clear skies.

[ 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.