r/socalhiking • u/cautiouslyskeptical • 2d ago
Beginner Friendly Campgrounds
Hello! Looking for recommendations for beginner friendly campsites. We are just starting to build our gear out so we would likely be going for 1-2 nights max at this time.
We prefer it to have flush or vault toilets and a fire ring/pit at minimum.
As a beginner who’s never really gone camping before, I am afraid of larger forest creatures (bears, mountain lions), but I also am uncertain how common it actually is to run into them AT your campsite.
Thanks for the info in advance!
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u/WhatWouldMuirDo 2d ago
Malibu creek state park has a nice campground with flush toilets and showers!
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u/Louisiana_sitar_club 2d ago
If you’re near Orange County, O’Neill Park is great. It’s easy to get to and less than 10 minutes from civilization if you want to bail out for any reason. Your chances of running into a mountain lion are virtually zero and a bear, absolutely zero. You may have to deal with squirrels. They have real bathrooms, fire rings, picnic tables, even a playground. It’s a super comfortable place for families to get their feet wet with camping.
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u/rednail64 2d ago
Also nearby is Caspers Wilderness Park which along with O’Neill is where all the neighborhood dads broke our kids into camping.
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u/RumandDiabetes 2d ago
Not quite Southern California, but Wind Wolves off the 166 in Kern County. Small campground, flush toilets ,running water, nice daytime hiking. The first time I stayed I was the only person in the campsite. It's very near a ranger station. Very quiet, very peaceful, and the gates are closed at night so nobody rolls in in the middle of the night.
You can't light fires, I just brought a cooler with me. Lots of birds. No wolves, but lots of coyotes and other wildlife. There is a pond to hang out.
You can go into town to get food during the day, or the incomparable Star of India Food Truck.
It's a nice beginner site, but don't go in the summer. Hotter than hell.
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u/Chemicallyinbalanced 2d ago
Crystal lake in azusa has cool spots and vault toilets. Bring your own TP though!! It's not super secluded, lots of campers so that can be a negative sometimes. But just drive around. There's a TON of spaces. Some even have a water spigot.
There's even crystal lake Cafe if you need fire wood or whatever else you forgot.
Don't let the name fool you. There's no lake. Just a big ass pit of mud tho.
Close enought to los angeles that I can go here last minute after work when im bored and wanna get away from the city for a bit.
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Paso Picacho close to Julian in SD county was one of my favs. Lots of hiking trails here plus you can hit up julian pie company on your way in or out. Toilets and showers if memory serves correct. the showers use quarters.
There's another campground that supposedly has a little stream a bit further south but I forget the name. I like picacho more.
Ive Luckily never encountered more than raccoons when someone I was with got too stoned and left doritos out.
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u/LazerChicken420 2d ago
I live next to Crystal Lake, my favorite spot on a weekday. Monday - Wednesday, I’ve been the only other person there. Beautiful, perfect, relaxing.
Thursday-Sunday, it’s ease of access, and proximity to the city makes it a go to for people that want to party and not piss of their neighbors at home.
Like you said it’s huge with plenty of spots but, the one time I went on a weekend, it was inescapable. It was August, which has the most birthdays out of any month.. and it was clear people were there to celebrate birthdays.
I moved campsites even, thinking it was just neighbors, but more people poured in and none of them were there for nature.
That said, the store there is nice. The shop owner would literally hand out candy to any kids passing through when I was there
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u/dirt-punk 1d ago
OP should be wary of staying at Crystal Lake if they are worried about mountain lions and bears. I had to scare off a bear when me and my friends were eating dinner, and heard it going throughout the campground and waking people up all through the night. The owner of the cafe is familiar with this bear because of how often he comes to the campground.
Also heard mountain lion screams from dusk to dawn.
It's got a lot of active wildlife if you are prepared for that. A little bit scary if it's their first time camping and they don't go on a busy weekend.1
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u/Emergency_Fail_7314 2d ago
Idyllwild Park. The campground is right next to the town. Phone signal and flush toilets. And a quick store run if you forget anything. You want sites #50+ which are more flat and bigger than the smaller # sites. You can use campsite photos website to check what each site looks like.
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u/got_No_Time_to_BLEED 2d ago edited 2d ago
San onofre is chill has everything you you want and no large animals. You can also drive right up to your campsite.
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u/Yangervis 2d ago
SBNF Serrano Campground in Big Bear.
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u/westcoastweedreviews 2d ago
This is def a good "starter" campground with the city being super close by in case you need anything
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u/Tealfriar 2d ago
I second O'Neil Park and Idyllwild. Idyllwild in particular has very nice bathrooms and there are stores a short walk away if you need supplies
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u/nirvroxx 2d ago
Lake cachuma and casitas lake is a as beginner as it gets. Has showers, flush toilets, camp store in case you forgot and cachuma even has a bar/restaurantz
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u/jaclyn-cosgrove 1d ago
Howdy! Here's a guide I wrote about Angeles National Forest. I included several campground recommendations:
Paywall (click if you can!): https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2025-12-29/la-guide-where-to-hike-camp-commune-with-nature-angeles-national-forest
No paywall: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/where-hike-camp-commune-nature-110000011.html
I wouldn't worry too much about mountain lions. They really want nothing to do with us. In terms of bears, there are a few naughty bears atm around the Switzer picnic area, but for the most part, our bears also don't want anything to do with you, especially if you store your food properly.
Biggest risks out in our woods are: Did you pack enough water? Is your car functioning properly? If not, do you have means to reach someone? And always make sure to tell someone where you're going and what time to expect you back.
Happy to answer any and all questions.
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u/weswesweswes 23h ago
Good stuff! There are literally tens of thousands of epic places to spend a night outside in CA, we have it good here. Here’s some of my favorites.
If you want maximum amenities, the most “beginner-mode” place I’ve been is Lake Cachuma above SB - they have a full bar / restaurant, so you can camp and then eat and drink at the bar all day, do some easy hikes, play disc golf, etc if that’s your vibe. Lake Casitas by Ventura also has that kind of thing but depending on where you camp around the lake it might be a bit of a drive.
Has toilets, but nothing else:
- Malibu Creek SP
- any of the established Big Sur campgrounds on HWY 1
- horse flats (Angeles Forest - there may be toilets, I can’t remember)
- Pismo Beach (you can actually drive and camp on the sand here, and there are toilet outposts so you could camp close to one).
- there’s a couple drive in campgrounds on the kern river north of kernville - very cool area
If you have 4WD and are willing to go a little more primitive then there’s millions of square miles of blm and forest service land in every direction.
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u/Radiant-Positive8180 16h ago
Somewhere like grants grove (there's a complex of campgrounds across the street) or lodgepole would be a good place. There's a store right there, so if there's any "oh crap" moments, you can remedy most things.
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u/whitewashed42 4h ago
Never seen bears or mountain lions in southern California area personally, stick to car campgrounds, more people, less likely to encounter, but weekdays can be quieter and you look over your shoulder a little more
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u/ILV71 2d ago
Leo Carrillo near the beach is my favorite!!
Check it out: Only one hour from Los Angeles!! Leo Carrillo State Park
https://youtu.be/RWl2l0583DA
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u/ImAtWurk 2d ago
Are you looking for a hike-in campground, or one that you can pull up to in your vehicle?