This campsite cost $20 per night and has toilets that drop into the ground and a spigot for water…read more You'll need to bring everything else for your comfort and truck out your trash. It's about 45 minutes from the bottom of the hill off Sierra Madre Ave and San Gabriel Canyon rd. No cellphone service a mile from that intersection going north into the canyon. If you're going in two or more cars you should bring walkie talkies and that'll be useful when you look for a campsite if it's packed or all sites are taken. Drive around separately to locate a site for yourself. Some sites allow for single car usage and others allowed for three or more cars. The car that pays for the campsite doesn't need to buy the adventure pass but those additional cars do and it's $5 per day. As soon as you find a site. Park your vehicle there and trek over to the ranger station and tell them the Loop your on and the campsite # your at and pay the fee. They'll give you a piece of paper you attach to your site number so when the ranger comes by to verify they'll know you paid. They have trails to Crystal lake and around the campsite. Bring plenty of drinkable water especially during the summer months. Most campsites have shade but some do not. There are roughly 125 campsites in all. You can just go there for the day but you'll still need an adventure pass to park in the parking lot. The actual lake as of summer 2025 is low and not safe to swim in but you can fish and you'll need a fishing license to do that. You don't need a 4x4 vehicle to go up to the campsite as the roads are all paved. Come and check this campground out in your next adventure to your local mountains!

Crystal Lake campground bathrooms need help! Let me emphasize this...the bathrooms here need…read moreserious help. I love camping and I understand that the idea of maintaining a toilet may be difficult in a forest environment, but these facilities need either regular maintenance or should just be shut down. The smell is horrific, and the amount of flies in the bathroom feasting on the poop that is drenched along the rim and bowl of the toilets says to me that these spaces haven't been cleaned in months. I really enjoyed Crystal Lake itself and the grounds, but I highly recommend that people plan an alternative solution for bathroom needs. In my opinion it is required that you bring your own toiletries and I feel the best solution is to bring your own portable toilet tent. I noticed others had made this choice and if I had known, my 3 day trip would have been better. On one night, in the women's bathroom, someone decided to poop on the floor. I imagine pooping in the toilet was too gross for them. The level of abhorrence that person must have felt is truly undeniable.

Pretty great. There are fire pits and picnic tables at each site. The pit bathrooms were in pretty…read moregood shape.

-First come first serve. -Trust system $12 fee paid in a…read morebox at the entrance -This campground is small and intimate which is actually really nice. -There's no water faucet on site. -Porta potty with swarms of flies living inside. Gnarly! - Not much shade!! It is so hot in June -Dogs are allowed. It was cool for a quick weekend getaway but I think Id rather drive out of LA a little longer for a campground with amenities.

I have been there as a scoutmaster with my scout troop in the 1990s the camp is a great camp for…read morefirst time scouts the hiking is not to hard a good training hike have a great time ! .

I've fancied myself an outdoorsman since I was a kid--fishing, hunting, kayaking, hiking,…read moreorienteering... heck, all I needed was an Eagle Project to finish the whole BSA thing, but instead, I got a girlfriend... oh well, I was THAT close... But all that as prologue to a couple of weeks ago, when I went with my son, another dad, and a slew of Boy Scouts on a two-night backpacking trip into the San Gabriels. I've completed the Sturtevant Falls hike more times than I can count, and I've hiked and re-hiked all sorts of trails in this area. But I can't say that prior to this trip, I had taken the path to Spruce Grove Campground... it just never came up I guess. I'm glad to have experienced this nice little spot just a few miles from the parking lot at Chantry Flats. The campground is little more than a marginally flat area between the trail and the creek. Plenty of shade trees in the riparian spot makes for a tranquil camping place, despite the steady flow of hiking and trail biking traffic just feet from your tent. Each campsite features a fire pit, and there is a rather unique toilet with a conveyor belt "flushing" system. Kudos to the engineers for not only a waterless set-up, but also the clear plexiglass roof offers light and a nicer view of the laurel and sycamore trees. Just a few minutes from Sturtevant Camp, this simple little camp site is first come, first served, and free to use. No bear boxes here, so bring a good bear can/hard-sided bear container. Unless you're really good at it and know what you're doing, don't bother trying to hang a bear bag. Really, you're doing it wrong. Pack out what you pack in, trash wise, too. If you're camping here, it's probably during the "absolutely no fires.... seriously, what were you thinking even bringing a lighter?" season. So there's that, too. Four stars for being a cool, free, close, and relatively pretty campsite in a high traffic area. The consistent parade of people in their REI-inspired plumage was definitely a few steps higher on the food chain than the Eaton Canyon waterfall people, but still distracting.

The smaller sign is first and then the big sign for Buckhorn Campground is shortly after and now…read morehas a small arrow pointing to the left. That's where you make a left onto a small road. Keep driving and you'll reach the campground.

No fires, stoves or grills. Not until Jan 2026, found this…read moreout the hard way. I didn't see much on the websites or reviews. I should have called first.

As an avid hiker, Sturtevant Camp was always something of a unicorn; relatively close to the…read morenearest parking lot, but even closer to much easier hikes often taken with young Cub Scouts and inexperienced hiking parents (like Sturtevant Falls, for example)... I just never had occasion to visit. Instead, I would just happen upon the website (http://www.sturtevantcamp.com/) from time to time, and marvel at this relic of yesteryear, so close yet so far.... Well, that all changed a few weeks ago. On a short weekend backpacking trip with my eldest son and his Boy Scout troop, our 12 mile loop passing through nearby Spruce Grove put us on the doorstep of Sturtevant Camp... literally 0.1 miles from it! Not wanting to miss the opportunity to visit a place I had read about for years, I took the two minute walk from camp. Upon arrival, you really feel a sense that you've traveled back in time. Huge trees tower overhead-- much larger than any of the laurels and oaks that dot the landscape near the creek. Sturtevant Camp offers small rustic cabins, a mini-museum, a large mess hall (that offers hikers free coffee right nest to a tip/donation jar), and plenty of campy camp. Seasonally, irises bloom in small plantings, a big rope swing between big cedars is eye-catching, and the whole place makes you feel like you're a kid at summer camp, even for the briefest of moments. Due to its proximity to the REI in Arcadia (yeah, I went there, which is to say... I WENT there), large shoals of twenty-something hiking-social groups come through here frequently, especially on weekends. Clad in puffer jackets, workout crop tops, yoga pants, and $200 trail running shoes... oh, and with plenty of fancy hydration devices... the whimsy of your time travel is quickly Thanos-snapped back to reality. Unless you're into that sorta thing. But no matter-- they move along, and you can linger as long as you like. I suppose it might be worth it to try staying here sometime. Per the website, you can hire a mule team to carry your gear in for a nominal fee. Heck, there's even a honeymoon suite (probably not quite as fancy as other similarly-named accommodations at other places down the hill, but not without its charm, I'd guess.) In the meantime, this one is worth hiking to sometime. One note: the trail here from the south is very scenic, very narrow in places, shared with trail cyclists who often ride very fast, and has steep drop-offs that would certainly result in first responders coming to rescue you or recover your corpse. If you bring little ones-- or if you're one of those people who hikes with headphones so you can't hear bikes coming-- please be careful!

Who knew someplace this rustic and wild still existed so close to Los Angeles?! The camp is an…read moreeasy four-mile hike -- mostly well shaded -- out of Arcadia, CA (a suburb in the San Gabriel Valley). They offer a bunch of terrific cabins for rent...very cheaply as it's a non-profit. They have CLEAN men's and women's bathhouses with hot and cold showers, plus a fully equipped camp kitchen with EVERYTHING you need to make and eat as extravagant a meal as you want. All you need to bring is your food (and they even offer a mule train to haul THAT for you if you want!). There's ping-pong, a zip line, a huge swing between two mammoth Redwood trees, archery, horseshoes...even a piano in the lodge that at least one guest always seems to know how to play. The whole thing is nestled in a heavily forested canyon under a thick canopy of massive trees...you'd swear you're in Sequoia or Yosemite even though you're only a few miles as the crow flies from the big city. Totally unique experience...a great quick weekend adventure without going far at all.

The restroom's are nasty you can barely pee the smell is awful and for the price you pay the night…read more. I don't think so

I give this place two stars, just because the restrictions not being able to have a restroom and a…read moreshower tent up, or you will get a fine for having one. The restroom was dirty which I didn't like the trash containers were full. The days we were there they weren't being empty, also there was trash everywhere. The reason they don't let portable bathrooms tents is because people would throw their poop into the river which is disgusting people need to respect Gods nature, please don't leave trash when you leave. Besides all this place is beautiful slightly quiet but some noisy with cars and motorcycles racing on the Main Street going up or down hill. Be careful and stay safe have a wonderful time, oh also didn't see or hear any bears just foxes

The journey started a year ago in an attempt to plan a multi-family reunion. Bonelli was a…read moreperfectly, central location so we decided to go for it. From day 1, Shane V. And team were the biggest help and so supportive in what felt like a big undertaking. Shane helped coordinate our camp sites and location and throughout an ENTIRE YEAR of TIME stuck with us the whole way through. His time, effort, consistent communication and professionalism really kept this feeling organized from the beginning. I along with our entire family cannot thank Shane and team enough and to say it was a huge success is an understatement. Thank you again Shane V., we are very grateful for your hard work in allowing us to make forever memories. Bonelli is an extremely clean, well kept and centrally located campsite that allows you to feel like you're away from the hustle and bustle. If you want to have an easy and beautiful time we would highly recommend Bonelli.

Great staff in the front office. Talked about parking and KISS!!!…read moreParking is tough at the actual camp ground but the property is nice! Will definitely come back again!