Easy to book online. Relatively cheap! About $15/night. The spaces are pretty spread out. I believe most spaces have or are near a water source. Pros + the ranger we spoke with, is very friendly. + dumpsters are on site Cons - bathrooms are literally a hole in a ground. Beware it does smell - far from the main freeway - no showers on site - hard to find the actual site, no signs anywhere... read more

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Not far drive from Riverside, beautiful area, well priced! No showers, restrooms can be a little nasty later in the day. Great camping spaces & staff of friendly & easy going read more

Fern Basin Campground - Campsite - Hiking Near Me

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33°47'22''N 116°44'14''W = Fern Basin. That's what you put into your GPS to get there. We got a little lost since there is no street address but if you stay on Highway 243 for awhile you will eventually see a sign a few miles north of Idyllwild. This campground was really awesome on a Sunday night. We didn't make any reservations (although it's the middle of the summer) and had no problem finding a big empty area in the forest. We probably had 1/4 of the campground to ourselves. Camping here was great.. totally quiet and relaxing. No one blasting terrible music like a crazy person. We stayed at site 18 which felt super secluded but wasn't too far from the bathrooms. There were a lot of mosquitos so bring bug spray! The toilet is a non-flush and there are about 8000 flies buzzing around in there. Still, they had toilet paper (no sinks) and that's what counts. Each site has a little grill, a fire ring, and plenty of space for your tent if that's how you camp. You have to get your firewood and everything else outside of the area.. but that's what we do every time anyway. The only downside is there isn't really any running water to clean off dishes and stuff. Still, for the places I've camped at this is definitely one of the nicer areas. Didn't see a ranger once when we stayed there but I think they must be around on weekends.. every single site said it was reserved for the weekend that just passed so you probably need reservations if you are coming at a busy time. Only $10 a night = deal!!!! read more

Fern Basin Campground - Hiking Near Me

Pros: clean, pretty, good shade, quiet, close to a lot of hiking trails, cools down at night, short drive to town Cons: lots of mosquitos- come prepared with bug repellent, no showers. Also there was a rattle snake at the campsite next to us Best Sites: 12, 13, 14, & 15. We were in site 12 (see pics) read more

Fern Basin Campground - Site 12 - Hiking Near Me

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**update August 2020, Highway 234 is now open and a very nice road Just had another great weekend at Fern Basin. The bathrooms were cleaner and did not smell since my last review. I wanted to write an update for those driving from LA that the mountain roads sustained very considerable damage in February and Highway 234 and Highway 74 are both under construction. They were offering escorted drives up Highway 74, so if you're driving from LA you will want to drive that way (through Hemet) but just know that you might have to wait up to 30 minutes for the escort. read more

Absolutely beautiful camp sites, very quiet and deeply forested area. If you're trying to get away from the city and relax, this is the spot. read more

Awesome campground nestled in the San Jacinto mountains just a few miles north of Idyllwild. Perfect for weekend camping or for anyone wanting to get away from that busy city life just to relax. It's only 10 bucks a night and there's plenty of pine trees that offer lots of shade and the bathrooms are surprisingly very clean compared to others I've seen. so check it out!!! read more

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Cool campground for the most part. There's no trails near the camp, so you need to drive out if you want to go hiking. But the biggest drawback is ALL THE FLIES AND MOSQUITOES. You will be harassed by them from the moment you leave your tent. Bug spray keeps the mosquitoes away but the flies aren't afraid of flying up your nose or into your mouth. Bring some kind of net, seriously. read more

Fern Basin Campground - Site 6 - Hiking Near Me

My friend and I camped here last weekend and it was wonderful. We stayed at campsite 12 and I would highly recommend it if you have a small group/1 tent like us. It is not a super large site as it backs into a Canyon, but the privacy was nice. It was close to the bathroom but far enough that the smell was not a problem. Bathrooms were decent. No campfires allowed right now with the high fire danger. Plenty of trees and shade. And you can't beat $10/night. I reserved online for 1 night, but you can also pay at the entrance to the campground. Someone complained that there was no host -- it's pretty common for campgrounds to have a self check in system like this one. It's also very close to Marion Mountain trail for a good hike (connects to San Jacinto trail). About 10 minutes from the lake. I hope more people opt to tent camp in this location. We really enjoyed it! It was my friend's first camping experience and she LOVED it! read more

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Love the scenery, camping here is one of my favorites to get away and enjoy more of the beauty in the mountains

Camped here (spot #9) over the weekend with the girlfriend and it was really great. Fern Basin grounds were full, but it was still quiet and peaceful. We just had 1 tent and some chairs. Each site has a fire pit and a picnic table. Trees abound if you have a camping hammock. Lots of mosquitoes, so bring some spray. Water is available to wash your hands and dishes. Quite private. And there are pit toilets that kind of smell, but we were far enough away that it wasn't a problem. Also, we walked around off the beaten path to set up on some rocks to watch the sunset each night. The surrounding area is great. Went on a massive hike to Devil's Slide and chilled out in the nearby Idyllwild town. Got a beer at the new brewery, had some great coffee and browsed the cute mountain shops. Highly recommend! read more

This campground is easy to get to, super scenic with plenty of shade from trees and nearby hikes. It's small with 22 spots (I think?) and there are pit toilets. Now for the bad: I give it a low rating, though, because there is little privacy from site to site and from our spot we were able to see at least 6 other campsites. We heard all conversations, music, Etc so if quiet camping is what you're after, I'm not sure this is the place for you. Site 16 in particular has both the bathrooms next door and a water pump in the campsite which people used constantly so there were people walking through our site at all times of the day/night. This place would be great for group camping where you can book several spots next to each other and don't care about the solitude factor. Maybe this place would be great in the off season but for summer, it's pretty noisy. Beautiful but jumping! read more

This is a really nice campground I really like the layout of it, but there was a lot of nats and bugs . They we're booked up for week I wanted to stay there but I least I got to check it out and now know how to go online and book in advance for the time I want to spend there. read more

Terrible place to stay. Nice location but people are rude and loud at night. There is clearly no respect for people camping. Worst night spent here. Campground didn't quiet down until past 11pm. Don't come here if you're looking for a nice night in nature. read more

We stayed at fern basin campground for one night for just a quick weekend get away and we're very pleased with the area. Nestled back in the woods of Idyllwild the drive up the mountain from the Coachella valley was fun for car enthusiasts such as myself, and wasn't to deep off any paved road ways for my low car to make it to. One we got there the camp ground was quite large and the hosts were very friendly and helpful. The campsites were very clean and clear of debris and rocks in the areas we wanted to set up our tent. With all of our equipment set up we still had plenty of room for games and activities we had planned for. The rules are a tad bit strict but in the summer time it is expected due to higher fire safety risks so that meant no external fires outside of the fire pit including candles. Also the music volume from a speaker couldn't be louder than ten feet out, so that meant if the music is still audible after 10 ft it was to loud but is understandable due to the fact that the sites are very close to each other. The restrooms were clean and full of bath tissue but we always bring our own just in case. Showers were only located at the main restroom at the front side of the campground so it meant walking the drive way path to get to it or drive over there with possibly no parking. Also sharing two shower areas with a large camp ground was definitely not ideal. We always bring a shower set up to avoid lines for showers and to avoid being rushed out. Overall our one night stay at this campground was fun and exciting because we love getting out in nature to just enjoy it and will definitely book some more nights here. read more

I'm not sure with the bad reviews what people are expecting. Yes, there are pit toilets. Yes, there are some bugs. I also prefer that the sites are rather large so you're not right next to your car. I think the best spot is #14 which even has a secluded "honeymoon suite" with views of the mountains & valley and is surrounded by boulders, though it does get full sun during the day. We had a group of 11 and reserved sites 14 & 15, which was a huge space, enough for probably twice the amount of people we had. There was enough parking with those 2 sites for 6 cars. It seemed rather private and secluded. I did notice that some of the sites near the toilets might catch a whiff of the bathrooms, so I'd recommend avoiding site 17. However, if people close the toilet lids, it greatly reduces the smell. There are also hiking trails within walking distance from the site to Marion Mountain and that also connect to San Jacinto & the PCT. read more

What a waste. Don't get campsite 18. We got up there after dark, so the site in daylight might be slightly better, but not much. First of all, there wasn't a flat spot to set up our tent. Second, the fire pit and table were crazy far from the parking spot assigned. Third, the table was too close to the vault toilet. So when someone opened the door, the campsite had a God awful smell. We couldn't find a camp host and ended up going back down to Banning to find a motel for the night. Not sure we will ever go back to Fern Basin. read more

We camped at Fern Basin this past July 4th, when my campground of choice- Stone Creek was full. Based on some Yelp reviews I expected to find a far inferior setting at Fern Basin, but was in fact pleasantly surprised for the most part. The entire campground is in decent-to-deep shade thanks to tall coniferous trees. Anyone who spent more than a week in SoCal knows how valuable this is. The vault toilets were fairly clean - as such places go at campgrounds. There are at least two faucets (one near each toilet) with running water. This last bit was not at all obvious after reading the campground description on reserveamerica. The campsites are indeed very spacious and far apart as few people here mentioned. It is true this sometimes means you need to take several extra steps from the parking spot to the table, but I was quite happy with this tradeoff. What was not deserving of five stars you ask? Well, our particular site #5 was not the best due to a couple of reasons: (1) it was relatively hard finding a flat spot for a tent, so we had to pitch it literally right next to the fire pit; (2) the site is near the toilet - as are several others; however, the geometry of the terrain is such that the residents of at least 4 other campsites literally walk past your tent to go potty. This was a bit annoying as there were 8+ people on one of those campsites. One last bit of advise: be prepared for swarms of bugs and mosquitoes in particular. This was probably worse now than other times I visited Idyllwild since the campground is in the shade (which bugs love), and the campfires (which bugs hate) were disallowed. It got really bad for a few hours around sunset and in the mornings - so much so that we minimized the time spent outside our tent to about 2x45min each day. Bugs alone knocked off one star in my rating. Overall, I would recommend Fern Basin, as it is a decent alternative to other places on this beautiful mountain. Next time I would probably steer clear of sites #5, #6 and #18. read more

We stayed here this past weekend. And all of the reviews aren't wrong, just not totally right either. It's camping, fairly dry, no hookups, but it's a nice little place. We had a great time and there's a lot to "do" if your kids like to climb, explore, and otherwise get dirty as kids do. Our trip was great but would agree that staying further, rather than closer, to the pit toilets would have been ideal. We had site 16 and didn't feel like there was too much traffic, just smell. read more

A beautiful campground! Most sites have privacy and are far apart. The best sites were 14 and 15, (they have amazing views!!)... We stayed at site 19, it was really private (nothing on either side). Surprised they don't have recycling like other National Forest campgrounds Ranger was really friendly A shortage of parking read more

Sweet little campground! Sites are well spaced out but watch out for #16, it's a little too close to the pit, but many great spots. People, please use and teach your family camp etiquette. it's a bumber when people think there good time is more important than others. Over crowded, noisy groups always cost at least one star. read more

Beautiful and peaceful location. Loved being able to bring our dogs. It's pretty close to the lake for fishing and other locations for hiking. But a bit I a distance to the town. (wouldn't seem so far if the road wasn't switchbacks) This as well as every other camp sites in that area are booked solid for the summer weekends. Last minute camping had to be booked during the week. Monday-Wednesday. We were pretty much the only people in the camp ground. Which was pretty awesome. Our sons and dogs loved it. A couple reasons I didn't give more stars: We booked on-line and never received a parking pass for our car...NO ONE ever came to check. But there are signs everywhere saying you need one. (??? odd) if you pay there you use an envelope at the entrance and a drop box there. Idk if it's different on the weekend but I doubt it. We reserved a specific site (retrospect, we could have picked pretty much any other site we wanted). Our site was VERY messy. We had to clean up other dogs feces and other garbage left. The bathrooms were disgusting. No running water is one thing. But for there to be lack of maintenance is another. Fly's and other flying insects were overwhelming. The windows don't open and don't provide much light. You must bring a flashlight to see what you are doing. Each site does have a spicket which was very nice. We would stay there again but I would make sure we bought a portable toilet. read more