Pine Mountain Campground

Overview

Perfectly situated high above the Sespe Wilderness offering stunning views of the valley below and the Channel Islands in the distance lies Pine Mountain Campground. You will find yourself surrounded by moderate hills, tall pine trees and the sounds of silence. At an elevation of 6,650 feet, it offers cooler temperatures on hot summer days, and a chance to let everything else go as you take in all that nature has to offer.

Recreation

There is one designated trail in the area, Boulder Canyon (23W03). You may also want to walk around the surrounding hills to see the views and the trees. And just a mile up the road there are a couple of trails leaving Reyes Peak Campground - Chorro Grande Trail and Raspberry Spring Trail. Drive past the gate at the end of the paved road and you will end up at Reyes Peak Trailhead.

Facilities

Pine Mountain Campground consists of six campsites fashioned in a circle with a large open area in the middle. There are tables, barbecue grills or fire rings, and one pit toilet at this campground. This is a "dry campground" so please bring your own water.

Natural Features

You will find Jeffrey pine, sugar pine and white fir trees at the campground. Along the outskirts, you'll notice chaparral species. These species include manzanita, and California sage. You may also see some scrub oak. Be dazzled by wildflowers, which are abundant in the spring and early summer. Lupine, false lupine, scarlet bugler and many others round out the scenery. Keep your eyes open for red-tailed hawks soaring above the trees. If you are lucky, you may see a California condor! Other birds in the area include woodpeckers and chickadees. Deer, bear and coyote also live in the area.

Nearby Attractions

Hiking trails, biking and fishing are all within 30 minutes from the campground. On a day trip south along Hwy 33, to the Rose Valley Road (6N31), you will find the Piedra Blanca trailhead located across Sespe Creek. The Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail (22W03) in the Sespe Wilderness will lead you to nearby massive white rocks, called Piedra Blanca! It is an easy walk for the first three miles.

A principal attraction to this section of the Sespe is Rose Valley Falls. This trail to the falls begins just before you enter Rose Valley Campground. Follow it for a short half mile and you will be at the base of the falls. The cliffs at the falls are arkosic sandstone and crumble easily, so tread lightly. Rose Valley Falls is the tallest waterfall in the range and while it is an easy hike to the base of the 100-foot tall lower tier of the waterfall (0.8 miles round trip with 150 feet of elevation gain), it is adventure to reach the more impressive upper tier. Please do not climb around on steep sections or get close to the edge. You will need to park outside Rose Valley Campground to hike the trails.

Another trail, the Sespe River Trail (20W13) will lead you downstream into the Sespe Wilderness. You will find some swimming holes along this walk. Remember, no mountain bicycles allowed on wilderness trails. If you would like to go on a mountain bicycle ride, take the Middle Sespe Trail (22W04) that leads up river eight miles to the west to Middle Sespe Trailhead.

Camp site features

Across 7 camp sites:

  • Picnic table: all 7 sites
  • Pets allowed: all 7 sites
  • Longest rig: 40 ft
  • Largest party: 6 people

Directions

To get to Pine Mountain Campground, follow Highway 33 to the turnoff at Pine Mountain Summit (6N06), mile marker 42.50. Turn right and follow the partially paved road another 4.7 miles. Pine Mountain Campground will be to your right.

Stay Limit

Check in from 3 PM, check out by 12 PM.

Reviews

23 reviews
5 stars
10
4 stars
6
3 stars
2
2 stars
4
1 stars
1
Stefanie T
Loop:Loop 1
Site:
Reviewed 2 months ago
We arrived at our reserved campsite and found that someone else was already there. We showed them our confirmation email, and they said a ranger had told them the site was available. They ended up moving.
Annie K
Loop:Loop 1
Site:
Reviewed 2 months ago
Pretty dusty campground, but having no water nearby was helpful in having almost a bug-free camping experience. There’s no bear boxes or trash cans available here, so please plan accordingly. Bathroom situation still dire- bathroom door is broken, spiderwebs covering ceiling, and flies everywhere on the toilet (which has already been reported by others on here years back). I enjoyed that it’s a small campground, but being at site 6 is worst choice if you want to avoid being the closest to bathroom, since other campers at site 5 would frequently walk across through our campsite when walking to the bathroom. It’s also terrible that ranger/staff rarely comes by to enforce quiet hours so good luck if you end up camping next to loud group. It was also very unhelpful that the ranger/staff literally comes to the campground once a day early in morning just to take money for fees and perform minimal cleaning for the bathroom. No firewood to offer or helpful advice about where to go, etc… wasn’t very friendly in general which is very different from other experience at different campgrounds. Make sure you follow the GPS location as marked on website. Easy to miss the turn to enter the one-car half paved road to get to this campground. Overall, enjoyable stay but not the best location I’ve camped.
Jaime D
Loop:Loop 1
Site:
Reviewed 10 months ago
Awesome site location! You do need to bring everything you need there’s no services like other locations, but it is worth it every time. Has become family tradition each year. Always great memories and the best time
Thomas W
Loop:Loop 1
Site:
Reviewed 2 years ago
Trip took place in early August 2024. Campground has a nice layout and a good 10-30 meters between sites depending on which site you choose. The only issue I had was with the restroom. I wouldn't have a problem with it but there was someone who got the toilet seat pretty dirty (fecal) and I did have to get that scrubbed off to be able to use it. There was a pretty good amount of flies also that would hover around the campsite but nothing that would be too bad if you were prepared, bring some bug spray so they won't land all over you but they still might buzz around you regardless (plan some off sight activities until nighttime or maybe have some indoor activities as a backup so you can chill in the tent if its too much for you). Overall had a pretty fun time excluding the bathroom experience and would give it an extra star if I didn't have to deal with that. would recommend doing the Boulder Canyon trail that's right across the road or driving up to the Reyes Peak hike for some nice views and scenery. I would probably also say the fly problem might also get a lot better once they get the bathroom pumped out, we just went when everything was undermaintained a little bit and got unlucky with the bathroom situation.
alan s
Loop:Loop 1
Site:
Reviewed 2 years ago
A nice, quiet little campground. All the campsites are good.
Christopher C
Loop:Loop 1
Site:
Reviewed 4 years ago
The camp was fine, but it was infested with yellow jackets. We had to stay in the tent most of the time, which was a huge bummer. I would not recommend that campground until the yellow jacket problem has been resolved.
Availability

See the Camp Sites section below to find detailed booking availability.

Popularity: Quiet

Busiest in August, when about 26% of guest capacity is reserved. Based on 8 years of reservations.

Camp Sites

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