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!

Closed

Road is currently closed, bummer.

First to Review
Nice secluded campground

I found this campground when I ventured onto a dirt road off the 12, it was just me so it was perfect. Summit creek was flowing good, perfect to dip your feet in, you had to walk down a bit to get to it though. There were a few campsites with tables and fire rings that were nicely spaced out, the outhouse was nice and surprisingly there was still toilet paper 💪🏼 There’s a sign on the outside about it being decommissioned so I just had some lunch, hung out a bit and did some exploring before getting back on the road.

Primitive campsite

If you like mosquitoes and a tranquil setting with the occasional car driving through, then this is the place for you. I was in the area and decided to check this place out since it was grayed out on the map, the road in is not bad at all and I saw a few sedans and mini vans driving on it, that road is NFD road 68 and it takes you to necklace valley trail and to the West fork foss lake trail. When you come up to a fork you’ll want to stay to the right, the left side is NFD road 6830 and that takes you up the mountain to the Tonga ridge trail. The campsite has no table and no restroom, the river is a several feet from camp, you can drive into it (perfect for rooftop tents) I’d say it can accommodate around 5 tents. The mosquitoes are horrible!! We were going to setup camp but that drove us away. I like how secluded it is and would’ve given it 5 stars just for that but the mosquitoes killed the vibe. I can’t say this enough, but LEAVE NO TRACE BEHIND there is no trash can or restrooms at the site, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR TRASH!! PACK IT OUT Take biodegradable toilet paper so it can break down and relieve yourselves at a minimum of 200 feet from the river.

Again, no space...on a Thursday night lol

I decided to checkout the campground and was impressed at how nice it was, it’s clean, campsites are decently spaced out and the restrooms were clean. The host is friendly and there’s wood for sale at $7 a bundle. You can reserve or try to snag one up on a first come basis. There’s a few spots for rooftop tent setups but they’re limited. Again, I ended up parking along the road next to a creek due to no availability and it was perfect.

Beckler river road campsites

I headed to this campground with the intention of grabbing a site, it was around 3pm on a Saturday so I figured I was out of luck and continued on down the road to look for a spot to camp next to the river, since I have a rooftop tent the space didn’t really matter. The drive alone was scenic, you could hear the river flowing. I took first entrance leading towards the river and sure enough there were people already camping (free might I add) of course it’s very primitive since there are no tables or restrooms (remember, 200 ft min from the river if you want to relieve yourself. Use biodegradable tp to keep it environmentally friendly). Roads are sedan friendly btw. I continued on and found many nice looking sites right next to the river but they were all taken, I mean…3pm on a Saturday? Lol. I headed back towards the campground and made one last attempt at the first turn off and landed a site, not super close to the river but it worked out. I’m pretty sure the campground is great and maybe I’ll check it out one day, but for now with a rooftop tent any spot can be turned into a campsite.

Leave to trace behind Pack it in pack it out

Short hike to a nice campground

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 for many reasons, I’ve backpacked it with friends and even kids, you can take the road or the trail down to camp but I’d suggest the PCT for the scenic views. It’s around 2 to 3 miles exposed on the road and somewhat shaded on the trail but mostly exposed, you can get on the road from trail if you don’t want to take the long route or continue past it to stay on the PCT. The gnats are annoying so I recommend a bug screen cover for your face. When you get to camp you have two options, out in the open or nestled in the trees…I always went with the open site due to the bugs since there’s a creek there, they’re not too unbearable but they’re there. Several trees with good spacing for hammocks, lots of space for tents with tables and fire rings. The creek has water for the most part, not a lot which explains the bugs, enough to filter. At night, you have an amazing view of the sky. You can relax at camp or get back on the pct and check out some falls. This camp can get packed with scouts, so be ready for that. No trash bins so PACK IT OUT!!! Pit toilets on site. Have fun hiking uphill to get out, lol…the service road is a lot faster.

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.

Camping without leaving the city

It’s a nice little getaway without leaving the city, perfect for a one nighter or to backpack in with the kiddos. It’s around 2 miles to camp on a leveled surface with a few stream crossings. It’s known for squatters but didn’t encounter any unpleasant ones. Running stream at site so no need to bring a lot of water, just a filtration system and a jug. Pit toilets on site as well, bring your nose plugs and TP just in case. The trail continues past the campsite so you’ll get plenty of hikers throughout the day.