Southern California dispersed camping suggestions

[mindfield]

I am traveling in a unlimited jk with my girl friend and am opening up this thread to anyone with advice or ideas on cool places to camp away from people in so cal ( were in Pomona)
Ive got an aev 2.5 inch lift with 33" tires if that matters open to any and all suggestions

 

[SoCal_80]

Given the time of year:

- Big Bear yellow post sites
- Coyote Flats
- Monache Meadows(Haven’t gone but planning to at the end of the month)
- Up 395 with plenty of spots but cooler near Mammoth and further North



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[BigSwede]

Might want to move this to the planning section... this is the after-trail report section.

 

[EMrider]

Given the time of year:

- Big Bear yellow post sites
- Coyote Flats
- Monache Meadows(Haven’t gone but planning to at the end of the month)
- Up 395 with plenty of spots but cooler near Mammoth and further North



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All great suggestions, but I would not expect to avoid crowds right now. I was up in Monache week before last and it was PACKED on a Thursday at noon. Every spot was taken. On prior trips I’ve never seen more than 5-6 other groups up there. Ditto for any camping in the Mammoth area. You may be able to shake the crowds by going into Coyote Flats. Camping seems to be the way many are choosing to escape afrer weeks of being forced to stay at home.
R

 

[FordGuy1]

Go to Owens River Road above Mammoth. Take the road down a mile or so. Camping is great, no one around. Once you get past where the motorhomes can go, you will be alone.

 

[wyowandering]

CA has the largest population of dispersed campers right now - watch-out for the used needles.

 

[pluton]

Ha Ha...but really, needle folks generally don't go camping and don't own 4WD vehicles, unless they're extra-fancy Hollywood types, in which case they stay at campgrounds that only rich people know about!

 

[MikeCG]

Anzo-Borrogo. I lived in Escondido for a few years while I was stationed at Naval Base SD and I camped there many nights to get away from the city. Some great trails in that area too. Don't forget to stop for one of "Mom's" Apple Pies on your way there. I actually have a book that lists all the SoCal trails with turn by turn (based on odometer mile) instructions.

 

[SBSYNCRO]

Anzo-Borrogo. I lived in Escondido for a few years while I was stationed at Naval Base SD and I camped there many nights to get away from the city. Some great trails in that area too. Don't forget to stop for one of "Mom's" Apple Pies on your way there. I actually have a book that lists all the SoCal trails with turn by turn (based on odometer mile) instructions.

I just drove through that area on Friday and it was 111º. Not sure I'd recommend camping out there right now.

For what its worth, I have spent every single weekend for the last 3 months exploring all my favorite places in central and so Cal, most which require modified 4WD to get to, and ALL of them have been PACKED with people. I mean EVERYWHERE. And any 'out of the way' places that no one used to know about are now packed with drone-wielding, soy-latte toting vegan Youtubers with a Subaru and a RTT. Do I sound a bit cynical? yea... The internet & Gaia have made map-reading a non-essential skill and all the "secret" spots can be figured out with a little time on Reddit. Anywhere you go is going to be unusually crowded, particularly now with Covid when so many people aren't working (whether or not they are being paid). If I was in Pomona, I'd be heading for the trails up in San Bernardino National Forest - check out the Holcomb Valley area. There are some cool spots to dry camp out there, but you wont be alone, even mid-week.

 

[Regcabguy]

Ha Ha...but really, needle folks generally don't go camping and don't own 4WD vehicles, unless they're extra-fancy Hollywood types, in which case they stay at campgrounds that only rich people know about!

I'm not rich,nor a celebrity but I do own a 4wd and can't remember seeing junkies in campgrounds. If I was a junkie,proximity to the cities and adulterants would be closer I'll concede. We normally hibernate in summer and looked forward to after Labor Day when things formerly slowed down some. This year? I doubt it. Too many folks out of work and on the dole.

 

[pluton]

I was just (3 weeks ago) out at very nice spot in the Mojave Preserve (high temps about 88ºF), and it wasn't crowded on the Tuesday we got there, but every night we had one car arriving at about midnight. That's more traffic than this particular spot usually gets. Also, there was human waste...a few days to a week old, I estimate... with accompanying toilet paper left right on the surface, right at the campground. Lovely people...whoever they were.

 

[Superduty]

If camping/overlanding wasn't popular before Covid it now seems to really be the thing to do. Everyone and their mothers has taken up camping/overlanding. Many hotels are closed and people want something to do. The word is out. Not too many "secluded" spots anymore.

 

[jhmoore]

I just drove through that area on Friday and it was 111º. Not sure I'd recommend camping out there right now.

For what its worth, I have spent every single weekend for the last 3 months exploring all my favorite places in central and so Cal, most which require modified 4WD to get to, and ALL of them have been PACKED with people. I mean EVERYWHERE. And any 'out of the way' places that no one used to know about are now packed with drone-wielding, soy-latte toting vegan Youtubers with a Subaru and a RTT. Do I sound a bit cynical? yea... The internet & Gaia have made map-reading a non-essential skill and all the "secret" spots can be figured out with a little time on Reddit. Anywhere you go is going to be unusually crowded, particularly now with Covid when so many people aren't working (whether or not they are being paid). If I was in Pomona, I'd be heading for the trails up in San Bernardino National Forest - check out the Holcomb Valley area. There are some cool spots to dry camp out there, but you wont be alone, even mid-week.

Dude, your report depresses the living crap out of me... but matches what I’ve been hearing. There’s gotta be *someplace* left that all the drone-wielding, soy-latte toting vegan Youtubers haven’t found?!? ********.

 

[AbleGuy]

Dude, your report depresses the living crap out of me... but matches what I’ve been hearing. There’s gotta be *someplace* left that all the drone-wielding, soy-latte toting vegan Youtubers haven’t found?!? ********.

And yet, at the same time we members here inadvertently become part of the problem, as we continue to respond to others’ inquiries about cool places to go on outings...and share our secret sweet spots with them.

Doing that of course is part of what we’ve signed up for, but it’s starting to make me wonder whether I still should so quickly share this kind of info, especially when I keep reading about how crazy crowded, noisy and trashed even these last remote secret sweet spots have become these days.

There simply are too damn many people recreating outdoors (many with no good sense of tread lightly ethics), the of over use of social media and availability of hi tech mapping gizmos make nothing secret or sacred any more, and worse yet, the use of our outdoors is becoming more and more defined by the uncaring, ignorant, selfish lowest common denominators of our society.



So, what’s the solution? We easily could have a separate thread on this topic.

 

[SBSYNCRO]

Indeed. Its a bit depressing.