Pineknot

Pineknot is a good spot to semi-escape into the woods. Its facilities include everything except showers: flush toilets, sink, potable water, and firewood for sale ($10). Camp hosts are nice and clean/ restock the restrooms regularly. Campground is very close to the city (5min drive), situated right next to Snow Summit. You will hear cars and construction vehicles on the road at all times of day and some slight sound/ light pollution from passing mtn bikers and the recreational facility nearby.

Campsite #19 is one of the prime spots at Pineknot - huge campsite with tons of space and is also secluded, very private, and near the restrooms and garbage. However, there is a small (20ish ft) hill from the car to the site you’ll need to traverse each time while unpacking/packing or heading up to the restrooms. There is also a number of trip hazards like roots and rocks jutting out of the ground. This site is near Bristlecone Dr and bike paths so you may notice more vehicle/ bike activity. Overall good experience 👍🏼

Secluded and next to a ski lift

SPOT 40 BEWARE
First, Pineknot is a beautiful campground, with ample bathroom and fresh, potable water access. The camp hosts are excellent, with a ton of firewood for sale at a good price. The campground is close enough to town but feels very distant. I suggest sites with higher numbers to get more of that "in the mountains" feel. From driving around the campground, it looks like all the sites have ample shade. The bathrooms are fully plumbed and kept clean. I highly recommend this campground, and will return my next visit to Big Bear.

SPOT 40- I do NOT recommend this site. It is very spread out- meaning the table is far from the grill, fire pit, and bear box. Cooking meals is difficult if you are using the grill because there is nowhere to set your stuff unless you bring your own table. The site is very sloped on all sides, making everything at a tilt. The best, most level spot for a tent is on the parking pad. If you use a tabletop camp stove on the picnic table, it's a haul back and forth from the bear box. Nearly every site we drove by, all of the amenities are close to each other.

This campsite backs up to the bike park so you don’t have a ton of quiet and privacy. Also right at the entrance. Bonus is it’s next to bathrooms. It was a pretty full campground and the bathroom noise was never a problem and we appreciated the convenience. We unfortunately were caught in the San Bernardino line fire so we left a night early.

Loved this location! It's close to everything, the teens were able to walk to 7-11. We drove to different spots at the lake with ease. The campsite is quiet, and the night sky was beautiful. The sites are on a slight hill, so be prepared to take your time to find the flattest area possible. Bathrooms are single use but do not have soap. Other than that, everything was perfect for my kids first camping trip.

Nice spot… lots of shade and is walking distance to stores and restaurants. Bathrooms could be cleaner and it would be nice if they had paper towels and hand soap for $34 /nt.

Campsite was neat and hosts were awesome!! They were welcoming, friendly and very helpful. The restrooms were well stocked with paper supplies and despite the unexpected thunder showers, the roadways were clear and the walkways swept. Out of their control were some late night arrivals which were talked to by another staff person to ask them to keep their noise down. I slept like a bear but my wife was more easily disturbed by coyote yips and some louder noises in the otherwise quiet forest night.

Campsite that we had was great. Secluded away from other, lots of space. Location of the campground is also a plus, close to Snow Summit (for hiking or mountain biking), close to the Village, close to the lake, close to the grocery store, etc. Gotta go to Dank Donuts, if you get a chance.

Finding the campground might be a little trick for someone that has never been (go towards Snow Summit employee parking). What would make this campground even more awesome would be the addition of showers.

Great location!

good for beginners or a weekend of low-intensity. Quiet and clean site, polite and helpful camp hosts