Marion Mountain

We were never notified that we couldn’t have a campfire until we got there. We stayed only 1 night and left.

We love this campground because it’s very quiet and beautiful. No road noises and it’s very lovely & peaceful. Beautiful tall pines and oak trees.

This is an average campground. The spaces are large but there is no privacy from shrubs growing between them so your neighbors are in full view but at least they are at some distance away. There was potable water available at just one spigot and the toilet was reasonably clean. The campground was not full and the people camped near me were quiet and considerate but there is no campground host here and there was loud music and yelling in the evenings and into the night from a couple of sites across the campground. The noise did decrease after 10pm. If you are interested in hiking to the top of Mt San Jacinto this is an excellent place to camp. The trail runs past the campground and is easily accessed. This campground is at the end of a long access road so there is very little in and out traffic which is a plus. This area is hot in the summer, too hot to be in a tent during the day, so plan accordingly.

Excellent campground tucked away in the mountains. Couldn't have a campfire, but that was worth it for the remote experience. Stayed at campground 1 and had an excellent view of the sunset. Lots of great hiking in the area, and Idyllwild (15 min away) has some great restaurants.

I booked a campsite at Marion Campground back in May for a trip in October, wanting a specific site particularly for the view. I originally had the site booked for two nights but a week before the trip realized we wouldn't be able to make it for the first night, canceled within our window, and planned for a one night trip. We show up at the campgrounds around 4pm for our reserved night and there is a complete setup in the spot we had reserved. The simple "reserved" notes on the site post were visible but apparently over looked. I assumed someone set up in the site as a "walk-in" and ignored the reservation dates listed on the post. We waited hours before even setting up our stuff hoping the people would return. We finally set our tent up and unloaded before it was too dark outside.

Eventually at 8:30pm two people showed up, hiking into the campground. Immediately the man started verbally accosting me, accusing me of stealing their site, refusing to look at my printed out reservation information, with an overall attitude that he was in the "right" and we were in the "wrong". Low and behold, he was wrong, clearly, and was supposed to be "checked-out" of the site by 2pm that day, per his reservation confirmation. I did not receive an apology or any sort of awareness from him about how big of pain this entire situation was because he didn't pay attention to his reservation that he literally booked that week.

My biggest regret is canceling the booking I had for the night before, perhaps if I would have kept the site reserved even though we would not be there that night, none of this would have happened. Is this seriously what camping is like in California? As someone who grew up camping my entire life in Colorado and New Mexico, this was the absolute worst camping experience I've ever had. I'll stick to camping on the public lands and not in reserved sites if there is not an on-site host to make sure people like this man pay attention to their simple reservation!

Love this spot. great hike to the top.

We go camping here several times a year, so we are well acquainted with this beautiful campground as well as Fern Basin and Dark Canyon, other beautiful federal campgrounds that are close by. We used to tent camp quite a bit at these campgrounds when our kids were growing up. Now we have a motorhome so we don't go to Dark Canyon anymore as the road doesn't accommodate our motorhome. With the motorhome we don't need to use the vault restrooms. We carry our own water, which is good as there is not always water available. We are in a drought after all. And because of the drought, all of the campgrounds in the area need to ban wood burning campfires, sometimes from late summer, sometimes earlier, depending on the conditions. We are allowed to have a portable propane campfire, which we bought for this purpose. You are supposed to have a fire permit for this; call the ranger station for information if interested. The ban also includes charcoal, but a propane stove or a propane grill is acceptable. I have no problem with these bans as we need to protect the forest and surrounding communities. Being located on the mountain, the sites are not very flat, so expect a little incline to walk on. I would suggest bug spray/lotion. Depending on the time of year, the bugs (mosquitos, bees, little natty flies) can be pretty annoying, especially for dogs. We have a screened canopy. Knowing what to be prepared for, we have a great time, whether it is summer or fall when the leaves and acorns are falling. There is a hiking trail nearby, and the town of Idyllwild is about 15 minutes away with restaurants, shops, and a couple of grocery stores. Pine Cove also has a small store, which is only about 5 minutes away. The only drawback is that we don't get cell service up in the campground. There is not a lot of room for maneuvering trailers and motorhomes into the short sites so I would recommend only those with smaller RVs come here. Of course tents are always great.

Clean vault bathrooms. Spacious sites and close to trails.

Had a wonderful weekend with the wife and dog. Campsites were clean, of course the fire ring was marked no use because of all of our recent fires and subsequent risk. Just had to adjust the menu. Great tree cover, restrooms were very nice for pit toilets. Water was iffy, we brought our own. Nice views to the west if you walk to the right spot, beautiful sunset. Even though camp was sold out on rec.gov, only about 1/4 occupied. Great walk up a spur trail off the official Marion Mountain trail…suitable for the wife and dog. Hiked up to San Jacinto peak many times from here, but never camped. Will definitely do again.

Camp site 21 is nice because it has a lot of shade and is relatively level for a tent and for a car with a rooftop tent. It was quiet and relaxing. However, more attention to keeping the vault toilets clean is needed. There are great strenuous and less strenuous hiking trails that campers can access from the campground. It works for a one or two night stay. The small town of Idyllwild is about 15 minutes away, and you can find a few shops and restaurants there.