Great group site. There are 6 running toilets with a hose bib outside to wash hands. The site has tons of shade and picnic tables and a fire pit. There is a 3.5 mile downhill bike to Jackson lake. The observatory is a 10 minute walk from the campsite and offers great views. read more

Jackson Flat - Hiking Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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I would agree with everything the previous reviewer said. This place is is private since you have to unload your stuff and then go park your car in the lot 250 yards away. The group sites are for 40 people but realistically can fit about 20 people comfortably. There is a BBQ, Fire pit, huge long tables and flush toilets. There are a couple of short hikes from the site that offer great views, but nothing too hard core, so if you're looking to hike through, this probably would not be the place for you. The host is a nice old man who is good about enforcing quiet hours, but is lenient at the same time. Quiet doesn't mean complete quiet :) This place is good for one or two nights, but anything more would be a stretch. read more

My family and friends camped here August 3rd-4th. We paid for lot 2 which was the best space to have; right near the entrance. Liz, who patrolled the campgrounds was amazingly nice. This was our first time camping in the actual forest and she made our stay very pleasant. The restrooms were clean at all times; spotless! They have flushing toilets. We were informed about the two bears that came on the grounds the night before, however, they were at campsites 2 and 3. We didn't see them. Hiking trails were great. Kids had a great time. Will definitely go here again! read more

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This campsite is beautiful. It is spacious, and considering the number of people you can fit here, is not a bad deal. There are amenities like running water and toilets (no showers). The PCT runs through it, and it is close to Wrightwood. The main issue that I had here was the staff. It seems that they are not trained on how to be hospitable to their guests. I was the trip organizer, and rather than communicating with me, they were very rude and demanding to my guests. When I first arrived, there was nobody even on the site to meet me. We had to wait over an hour to get into the site. To be fair, the site director did help us move some supplies in her truck. But after that, she was extremely demanding. People came after work, and after a long and stressful drive, the last thing they need is to be barked at about silly rules. There are arbitrary rules about only having cars next to the campground for 15 minutes. That is not nearly enough time to unload a car full of people and supplies, let alone set it up. We rented 5 spots, but were only allowed 2 cars in the campsite at a time (we were originally told 10). On Sunday morning, when we needed to start packing out, there was nobody on site to open the gate so cars could leave. When we actually needed the site managers help, they were gone. The site managers weren't malicious, but they seem to lack a lot of social skills that are needed to run a site with actual people. We payed good money to be there, and rather than being treated like guests, we were treated as if we had to do whatever they told us. read more

Jackson Flat was an excellent site for my boyfriend's recent birthday. We were able to reserve the site ahead of time, so we didn't have to worry about finding a spot to fit all of our friends. There are five campsites, but they aren't so close to each other that you don't feel you can have some privacy. It was especially nice in the summer, as it is at an elevation of 7500 feet and so was about 15 degrees cooler than the valley below. The hiking around the campsite is absolutely gorgeous. The campsite itself is fitted with bear boxes (to keep food in), enclosed trash bins, a fire pit with benches, three large picnic tables, and a fairly large standing grill for charcoal w/ two large areas for prep work. The manager made himself very accessible, and lovingly checked in on us. All in all, a top-notch campsite! read more

We just got home from a weekend at Jackson Flat with 6 families. If you are looking to totally check out of civilization for the weekend, this is the place for you. While the scenery was beautiful, our entry was a bit rough. I didn't receive a confirmation letter or a phone call back with the code to enter the locked gate. When I arrived there was another family from a different group site also waiting for the gate's code. Thankfully, the gentleman who helps with maintaining the facility was just on his way home and was able to both open the gate and provide us with the code. In our case, this was the first time for our group to camp together. We had 6 families, all arriving at different times. Cell phone service was "zero bars" in one spot, and "3 bars" just two steps away. This made getting the gate code to everyone very difficult. Flush toilets are nice and clean. Do be mindful of the Campground Manager's warnings* about snakes sneaking into the toilet stalls. There are no electrical outlets in these bathrooms. If you are a nursing mom looking to plug into run the pump, or just looking to charge up your phone/ipad/devicethatkeepsyourkidquiet, I suggest you find an alternative way to make this happen. There are no showers up there either. We knew that going in, but didn't really appreciate the full force of this until after a day in the woods. We stayed in campsite 3, and if given another chance, I would have taken campsite 1. Campsite 3 has an amazing view of the AV and VV. At night, I was just in awe of the amount of electricity our world needs to light up the sky. And, even with that...the rocks, the edges (and steep downhill) made Campsite 3 probably a better spot for older kids (not the 3, 4, 5, and 6 YOs we had with us) Campsite 1 looked to have a lot of open space, access to the bathroom, and a great fire circle. The other campsites were tucked in the woods, and would have left no room for the kids to run around. My other tip has to do with backing up the food. You need to put all the food in the bear bins at night. Because we had 6 families cooking for each other, the bear bin space was at a premium. The coolers took up so much space. Either plan on repacking the coolers to make them fit, or better yet - bring as much dry food as you can and minimize your cooler needs. read more

We literally just walked into the front door from our awesome camping trip to Jackson Flat. When reading this review, please take into account that I am not an avid camper, and this was my first time camping in 5 years. With that being said, I loved it! My husband and I decided to take my step dad, 5 sisters (ages 5-23), and 10 month old niece here for my birthday weekend. A short 1hr 45minutes from home, and we felt so nicely removed from the city. The campground is easy to find, small, and quiet. Despite the fact that the campground was full to the brim with families this weekend, we still felt very much at peace (considering I come from a very loud group). Each site is generously clean and spacious, complete with a fire pit, 3 grills, 2 bear boxes, and 1 food preparation table, and 2 picnic tables. We stayed at campsite 5 which is directly next to 3 & 4, but that was fine by us! There was mention of curious bears, so make sure you keep your campsite clean, when you head to bed! Also, rattle snakes are known to frequent the area, so keep your eyes open. We saw neither of these at our campsite! P.S. the super clean & convenient restrooms definitely add a star! We also took a short 10 minute drive to Jackson Lake (which is more like a large pond), where my sisters had a blast swimming, fishing, and kayaking. All in all an amazing weekend! We definitely will be going back :-) One last thing, the manager Liz is an absolute sweetheart, that makes herself very accessible! read more

My phone died shortly after arriving so I don't have any pictures. I will do my best to give information I wish I would have known below. I need to note 1st I was not the person in our group in charge of booking the site. 2nd it was raining heavily when we arrived and it hailed 10 minutes prior to our arrival. Fun adventure, Lightening struck one of the trees at one of our two sites. We were expecting a larger group so it was our overflow site and no one was there at the time. We have 2 sites; # 2 (we used) and #5 (our overflow site). Pros: 1 hour from our home -Bathrooms were clean and had lights. I would not place my tent near the bathrooms, the doors were slammed by other campers. Both sites had restrooms near them, however at the time of arrival site 5 restrooms were not open (unsure why). Also there was a water fixture next to the restrooms to risen your hand and for teeth brushing. I wish I would have brought a soap on a rope to hang on it. -Trails to the bathrooms were kind of pathed -The tents could but set up in any clearing -Lots of pine trees, needles and pinecorns everywhere for the kids to play with. Also tons of fallen twigs. -The campsite host allowed 2 cars per, site at a time, to load and unload gear (he give a 15 minutes allowance). It was not and easy drive down or back up would suggest only trucks go down if possible, little cars and vans can make but it was very rocky. - Bear/food lockers were placed next to the food tables. We had three of them. The flyer at the campground suggested to leave coolers in the cars. We had brought a keep cool bag so we place items needed for two meals in the keep cool bag and switched it out. The host informed us that they had a Bear problem few years back when campers were not instructed to be so careful with the food. That said a few of our fellow campers did leave there drink chest out. -Trash bin on each site made it nice not to have to carry out our own trash. - Fire rings, had log seating around them. We had difficulty with our fires because all the kindling was damp. We brought the wood there $6 a cord. Next time bringing an alternative kindling. -Trails, there are several trails near the site. We choose to do the Lake trail. The heavy rains from the day before washed out several areas on the trail. It took us about 2 hours to hike down to the lake. I would not suggest this trail for families with children under 10, unless you have someone picking you up from the lake. We were told it was a 2 mile hike, Google maps stated it should have taken us 1 hour and 38 minutes to hike down from our campsite and it is a 5 mile hike. The trail was very poorly marked. After you get down the mountain there was two forks that were unmarked, it was very nerve-wracking. I would suggest the hike to the water tower for young families or just hiking a little ways on the Pacific Crest trail. -We have fun and would return. I loved the birds I could see just at our camp site. We didn't see any scary wildlife; bears, rattle snakes, aggressive squirrel, raccoons, skunks, etc. Cons -Being asked for a $200 damage deposit fee that was not mentioned when the sites were booked and paid for in full up fornt. Glad one of us had our check book -No electricity -No showers, I still give it five stars because we knew there were no showers. I would have loved quarter showers. -The gate at the entrance to the campgrounds doesn't look like and entrance gate. Mainly because signs are posted everywhere saying no overnight camping as you approach the gate. read more

This is a beautiful campground that should deserve 4 or 5 stars but the host ruins what should be a great experience. Most campgrounds are run by the USDA Forest Service, while this site has unfortunately been outsourced to American Land & Leisure. If the two individuals we interacted with are representative of the company at large, the USDA should cancel their contract. The hosts were very rude and intrusive. They were not knowledgeable about the campground policies so you are at the whim of their mood. While the campground website clearly allows dogs, which is evidenced by signage around the campground requesting campers to keep their dogs on leash, one of the hosts told me dogs were banned and the other told me (on the last day of our stay) she only allowed me to bring my dogs "out of the kindness of her heart." Dog owners beware. You may be turned away at the gate regardless of the published policies. One of the hosts rudely interrogated everyone at the campground about locking the gate, a policy everyone understood and the violators of which were from a different group that had already left. The other host frequently walked up to and through our campsite with her own two dogs. She insisted our dogs be tied to trees all weekend and would then allow her dogs to go right up to the tied up dogs, aggravating them. I have been a lifelong camper and the poor attitude taken at this campsite is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Most campground hosts are gracious and eager for everyone to enjoy the campsite and outdoors, while maintaining the grounds and ensuring the safely of all. The constant interruptions and badgering by these hosts ruin the experience for everyone. These are public lands meant to be enjoyed by everyone but these hosts make you feel like an unwanted house guest. I regretfully wouldn't recommend this campsite to anyone. read more

The campgrounds Was well maintained lots of trees flash toiletes. But the cholo looking host that they have He's extremel RUDE No Showers , Cant Not Park your car next to your campsite, ROAD to entre your campsite in Not nicely paved if your car is to low Good Luck the Price for this campsite is to much $$$$$130/150 per night And No Showers 1 Star for those Reasons. 9/2016 read more

I second what another reviewer said about the host (old lady). I've been meaning to write this review for so long. I need to say that it's been over a year since I visited the campground (May 2014) so maybe things have changed since then. I found the host of the campground to be extremely rude. My mother and I were hiking a section of the PCT and we got caught up in a snow storm so we went to the campground to ask if we could stay there. The lady at first was very, very nice, saying that it wasn't a problem at all, that the campground was still technically closed but we could definitely stay and not to worry. At that point I had blisters all over my feet so we decided that it was best to take a rest day so the next morning we asked her if we could stay another night and then leave the following morning. Again, she was all nice about it, saying that it wasn't a problem. Due to the previous snow storm all our stuff was wet so during the day we placed it on the tables to dry. That's when she got all frustrated with us. She said that she didn't expect us to just take over the entire campsite (which we weren't doing) despite nobody actually being there - remember, the campground was technically closed. With every passing moment it became clearer that she actually did not want us to be there. She kept coming over, telling us how frustrated she's been with PCT hikers and wanted us to tell our fellow hikers that this was not a PCT campground. She said this over and over again. We felt more and more uncomfortable so we told her that we wanted to pay for both nights there because we didn't feel comfortable staying there for free. Then she said no, she doesn't want any money and she would rather have us help her clean up the campsites (she saw that I was limping!!). So I did, limping with my blister-covered feet, during which she again told me multiple times how she did not want PCT hikers there. This campground is NOT a hiker-friendly campground if that lady is still around and I urge every PCT hiker to get your water elsewhere and not spend a second on that campground. read more

Our family planned a last minute camping trip and luckily Jackson Flat was one of the few that had availability left--this is a great camp site! Like the other reviews, there are 5 campsites, each meant for parties up to 40. Campsites 1 and 2 are the largest while 3, 4, and 5 would probably be more comfortable with 20 people. 1 has the best view of the city but closest to bushes and trees...there was warning of bears and rattlesnakes when we went and tall grass and bushes are friends to snakes. We stayed in site 5 and loved it. Each site has a fire pit, barbecue grill, long picnic tables, prep tables, enclosed trash bins and bear boxes. There was a camp host available everyday. She kept the bathrooms clean and took the trash and always made sure to say hi. There are small trails you can go and it's super fun to just take little hikes. The nearest lake, Jackson Lake, is really small and still a few miles away (aka a long walk) so definitely bring games and activities to do at the site. It was a hassle to have our cars parked in a parking lot away from us--they don't allow you to have the car sitting on your campsite for too long--but that really is our only complaint. We went during mid summer and it definitely got chilly at night! So make sure to be prepared for that because we weren't! Overall we loved our weekend here! read more

The campground was very well maintained, clean, and scenic, but the host was terribly intrusive and almost racist. She came over to us and told us that people were saying that people at the other campground were killing snakes (the Mexican group) and said that other campers were accusing us of feeding rice to the bears (yes, we were the Asian group), which were not in the area. I think she was making up stories because she was so bored and had nothing else to do. I will never go back there again until they change the host. I feel sorry for the poor old lady, but she is something else. I tried searching for a way to file a complaint with recreation.gov, but haven't been able to navigate that yet. Would have given it 5 stars if not for the host. Do not go there, unless you want to be hounded every 2 hours about how you are doing things. During initial confirmation, she called at which point I asked if we could use a Weber grill. She said it was OK, and when we used it she started freaking out about the potential fire hazard. She was very condescending when speaking to us, referring to us as "you people" and bitched me out saying "Did you even think to rake before lighting the grill?" She then gets out a rake and rakes a circle out which does absolutely nothing because underneath the pine needles she rakes are more pine needles. Anyways, I was tired of her incessant bitching, so I left early. My brother had to deal with her along with the rest of my group. He later mentioned to me that she was walking a fine line between doing her job and being verbally abusive. I was supposed to do a final walk through before checking out, but I couldn't handle her anymore and thought that I was gonna say something mean to the old lady, so I just left. Good riddance. I'll be back there in a few years, when she is no longer there. read more