Boulder Basin

Nice and peaceful location. Site 25 was excellent. The dirt road up could cause a lot of issues for 2wd and low ground clearance vehicles. Toilets smelled so badly. Other than the hikes up to the lookout tower, there is not a lot to do if you are not bouldering.

Great place to camp 🏕 and enjoy the grounds. Our site was just as the images shown. We hiked up the moutain to the look-out tower for the views. FYI the roads just before the camp site need a little TCL so had to drive a bit more carefully. Me and my gentleman can't wait to come back and enjoy next summer!

Beautiful campground. It says water is available from a spring along Black Mountain Road. I couldn't find it. It would be nice if there was more information about where it is. The road was very rough. I made it in my 2wd SUV, but it is not for the faint of heart or passenger cars.

Beautiful place and we had the place to ourselves.

Boulder Basin was a perfect getaway! Went Tue-Thur and didn't have one person there aside from myself. The campgrounds were clean and you can easily tell this place is well maintained even though it's a bit of a trek to get to.

Be aware getting up to the campgrounds it is highly recommended to have a vehicle with a high clearance and to call the local rangers to see the status of the road as it is a dirt path and has parts that would be risky with a sedan.

Amazing spot!

Road was PRETTY banged up. Going in my Corolla was a bit of a challenge but made it up fine. Definitely recommend 4x4 lifted vehicles

I probably should have read the description a little more closely when I booked this. When I was due to drive to this place and camp for the night, it was there that I saw it was 20 mi off the freeway. No problem I had enough daylight to get there. However, I didn't realize it was close to 17 mi of small two-lane narrow road, up up and deep back into who knows where, and when I got to the turnoff to the four-wheel drive part (that I did remember reading about, I believe it said "the last bit is four-wheel drive only,") that bit turned out to be 5 mi. 5 mi. About a thousand feet into yes a classic medium four-wheel drive rut filled, bouncy, holey road, I decided to turn around. It probably would have taken me about an hour to do that stretch, and by that time I was losing daylight. I turned around in a nice scary narrow bit in the road, came down the mountain, and slept a couple hours at a truck stop. It's probably a very nice, remote, quiet, peaceful campground but not for this chickie.

Best campground for kids, there is so much to explore. The hike to the tower is a must. It’s beautiful.
There is 30 minutes of dirt road right before getting there, a low clearance or sedan type car may have difficulty getting there.
We were there in October.

Amazing secluded campsite with tons of trees. You have to drive 5 mi on unpaved path similar to hiking paths. But overall great site for family as the campsites are adequately spaced from each other. Will definitely come again!

The Boulder Basin campground is my favorite in southern California. It is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from north San Diego county. The last half hour drive up the dirt and rock road to reach the campground was a bit of a challenge for me. I was thankful I had an SUV with all wheel drive and reasonable ground clearance. Still all the bouncing around at slow speed took away my appetite. The Boulder Basin campground looked nicely maintained with lots of new guideposts to separate campsites from the roadway. There was a peaceful sense that everything amongst the large granite boulders and tall pines was as it was meant to be. Occasionally the sound of the wind blowing gently through the pines adds its relaxing music. The restroom near my campsite was clean and deodorized. The metal trash cans around me all had new liners and lids that could be securely closed. The sign at the campground entrance declared a bear warning and said proper food storage required. Just what that means was left unmentioned. No bears were seen or heard. When I reserved my campsite, the page said that water could be collected from a spring a half mile back down the road from Boulder Basin and that fires were not permitted. The entrance sign was silent on fires, so I stayed dark. Early the next morning, I walked the road up to the fire lookout tower on top of Black Mountain which was closed. It was a beautiful morning, filled with new sunshine and awesome views. You can see for dozens of miles, from I-10 way down below and across to Mt. San Gorgonio with snow still hanging on around its peak. Think about packing a camera and binoculars along with your water and snacks. After enjoying the magnificent view and sunshine, I went back down the road, still trying to find my appetite.