Rose Valley Campground is a small camping facility in Rose Valley, approximately 3 miles East of Highway 33. It's very easy to find by just following the signs about 14.5 miles North of Ojai. Note that this is a review for the campground, not the nearby hiking trails, off-road trails or Rose Valley Falls.
Rose Valley Campground has only 9 campsites and they're all 1st come-1st serve, so you cannot make reservations in advance. During peak times, this means it will most likely fill up. If it does, you either drive further up Rose Valley Road to the Middle Lion Campground or drive down Highway 33 to Wheeler Gorge to camp, which usually has spaces available.
The campsites are very spacious, level, well-marked and well equipped with a picnic table, firepit and a separate BBQ. There's also excellent enclosed trash receptacles around the park and an unlit single unisex pit toilet. There is NO potable water here, no showers, no power or other hookups. This is extremely basic camping and being literally 20 miles from services, you want to make sure you bring everything you need, including fresh water. Also don't expect a lot of shade here. There are shade trees here and there, but none of the sites have a true canopy.
Unlike other campgrounds, the payment information when you arrive isn't real clear. There's no obvious sign, payment vault and there is no camp host. You pay for your stay by obtaining a Forest Service adventure pass, which can be done online before you arrive, or you can pick one up at the Wheeler Gorge FS office on Highway 33. An adventure pass for one day is only $5, so this is an extremely affordable pitch! Make sure you validate your adventure pass and keep it posted prominently in your vehicle. If you forget your pass, speak with a Ranger when you see one and ask. The Rangers here are really helpful.
Once you arrive, the camp has the sites arranged counterclockwise in a loop with unpaved parking spurs. In my opinion, sites 5-9 are marginally better than sites 1-4, only because they're closest to a small creek and have some cottonwood and sandbar willows for coverage and shade. Despite the fact that this campground has a creek nearby, there are actually few insects, which is really nice. Site 2 is apart from the loop, however it's also right next to the Rose Valley Lake Road entrance, which is a popular off-road vehicle trail. That means you will probably have Jeeps, trucks, dirt bikes and ATV's cruising by your site all day. However site 2 would be perfect IF you're one of those folks with a Jeep, dirt bikes or ATV's...
The campgrounds are surrounded on three sides by hills/mountains and it can get cool inside this natural North-facing bowl. You may also experience some wind gusts, so securing equipment is a must. Unfortunately being surrounded by mountains also means cell coverage is poor. With Verizon, this is a dead zone, which isn't a bad thing if you're truly wanting to get away from it all...
Campfires may be restricted at anytime, and information about this over the telephone may not be accurate. One camper told us they spoke with someone at the FS office and they said they could have a campfire, however once they arrived with their wood, it wasn't permitted. The only way to know for sure is to show up and look for the "NO CAMPFIRES" signs.
On the night my friend & I stayed here it got down into the forties pretty quickly and with 80% humidity, no wind and no dry brush nearby, the fire restrictions didn't make much sense. Needless to say, by 7:00 PM, we could see other campers starting fires to stay warm and enjoy the evening, so we did too. By 8:00 PM, every single camper in the facility had a campfire going. Sorry Forest Service, but common sense on a cold, damp, late November night must prevail...
Being at the 3500 foot level and removed from civilization, the night sky here is fantastic, especially when viewing North. This is a perfect place to view meteor showers, satellites, comets and other phenomenon, especially after midnight when any remaining stray light from Ojai is gone.
If you do camp here, I highly recommend taking the short hike to Rose Valley Falls, with a trail head between sites 4 and 5. There's a couple shallow stream crossings and the rest of the way is easy and scenic. The falls are truly spectacular, but with the recent drought, there's not as much water as usual. I also recommend staying on the trails, in the campgrounds or on the roads. Avoid wandering around the creek or in the woods as I noticed quite a bit of poison oak in the area. Fair warning... Also, for those who want to take their chances using water from the creek, make sure it's thoroughly boiled or sanitized.
I highly recommend Rose Valley Campground and with a few minor changes, this would be a very easy 5-star review... read more