Expert: Steve Summers - 6/1/2006

Question
Hi Steve
I'd like to go tent camping in a nice, secluded drive up lake or river area, fires allowed, facilities, no RV's, and that will allow my small dog. I'm hoping to fish and have some hiking trails nearby. Do you know of such a place? I live in Santa Monica and will drive up to 2 hours or so in any direction. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Iaine,

That's a pretty tall order, for several reasons:

First of all, SoCal is basically a desert, so lakes and rivers are scarce to begin with.
Secondly, any lakes and river access have been developed to the point where you cannot guarantee that an RV won't pull up next to you. RV'ers like lakes and rivers too, and the cash-strapped forest and parks services discovered long ago that an RV site pulls in more money than a tent site.
Third, the 2-hour drive time limits us geographically. There are a lot more tent-only areas in the Northern and Central California, particularly the Sierras.

With that in mind, your best bet would probably be some of the smaller lakes in the San Bernardino mountains. Lake Gregory in Crestline and Lake Silverwood have some campsites, and Big Bear has some areas that are not so RV-friendly. Check out http://www.bigbear.us/campingf.html for a list of family campgrounds. If you want to get away from the RV's, then check out the Yellow Post campgrounds. You'll need permits, but it fits all your criteria. The Yellow Post campsites 30 primitive campsites, each at the end of a long dirt road, totally isolated from other campers and the noise that goes with them. These sites are scattered throughout the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear. What they all have in common is plenty of space in which to set up camp under the pines, and easy access to hiking trails that lead far into the forest.

To get a site, stop by the Big Bear Ranger Station for a wilderness permit. The rangers will show you photographs of your options, assign you the site of your choice, and send you away with driving directions. In the summer, these sites fill up on weekends. Getting there early is a must. Directions: Take Interstate 10 to California 38. The ranger station is on 38, three miles east of Fawnskin.
Information: 909-866-3437 Reservations: No

Info on Silverwood Lake can be found at http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=650 You can make reservations online as well.  

Have fun!

Steve