Upper Oso Campground

My husband booked a one night stay for us here for my birthday last year. We were so excited and drove up from Los Angeles. When we arrived, the campground was fully booked, it was scorching hot (as it usually is in the summer), and we were completely disappointed by our camp site. When we booked online, we very carefully selected a site that had a big tree for shade since it was during the middle of summer. When we arrived, we learned that the tree had been struck by lightning during the winter the year before and had fallen. Remains of the fallen tree took up part of our site, which led to an infestation of insects and hoards of ants which ran through the entire site. It was impossible to find a footprint for our tent that wouldn't be on top of a highway of ants. To make matters worse, the site looked like it hadn't been used all season as large weeds and uncut brush covered most of the site, which even had there been no ants, would have been very difficult to lay a tent on. My poor husband was so determined to make it work that he hacked away at the vegetation to try to create a space just large enough for our tent. After almost an hour in the mid-day sun and completely drenched in sweat with blisters on his hands, I told him to stop and to cut our losses. We spoke with the camp host Sunnie, who very kindly wrote a note for us to support the horrible conditions of the site, and the complete advertisement on the website so that we can receive a refund. Unfortunately, recreation.gov refused to give us our money back with no explanation.
My helpful tip - don't trust the photos that you see, as recreation.gov takes no responsibility for the accuracy of what they advertise nor of the protection of their visitors.
Otherwise, the nature of the area is wonderful and beautiful and entirely worth visiting! Especially in the spring when everything is green.

My husband booked a one night stay for us here for my birthday last year. We were so excited and drove up from Los Angeles. When we arrived, the campground was fully booked, it was scorching hot (as it usually is in the summer), and we were completely disappointed by our camp site. When we booked online, we very carefully selected a site that had a big tree for shade since it was during the middle of summer. When we arrived, we learned that the tree had been struck by lightning during the winter the year before and had fallen. Remains of the fallen tree took up part of our site, which led to an infestation of insects and hoards of ants which ran through the entire site. It was impossible to find a footprint for our tent that wouldn't be on top of a highway of ants. To make matters worse, the site looked like it hadn't been used all season as large weeds and uncut brush covered most of the site, which even had there been no ants, would have been very difficult to lay a tent on. My poor husband was so determined to make it work that he hacked away at the vegetation to try to create a space just large enough for our tent. After almost an hour in the mid-day sun and completely drenched in sweat with blisters on his hands, I told him to stop and to cut our losses. We spoke with the camp host Sunnie, who very kindly wrote a note for us to support the horrible conditions of the site, and the complete advertisement on the website so that we can receive a refund. Unfortunately, recreation.gov refused to give us our money back with no explanation.
My helpful tip - don't trust the photos that you see, as recreation.gov takes no responsibility for the accuracy of what they advertise nor of the protection of their visitors.
Otherwise, the nature of the area is wonderful and beautiful and entirely worth visiting! Especially in the spring when everything is green.

Swimming hole and AMAZING stargazing on dark nights!
This has been our go-to campsite when we NEED to get out of LA in the summer and other, more popular sites, are all booked up. The sites are clean. No showers. Toilets are peddle-flush.
The campground, itself, is HOT during the summer months, so the swimming hole is def worth trying to find. The camp host is friendly and will point the way. There is also a nice hike along the edge of a canyon that feels far away from the city.

Swimming hole and AMAZING stargazing on dark nights!
This has been our go-to campsite when we NEED to get out of LA in the summer and other, more popular sites, are all booked up. The sites are clean. No showers. Toilets are peddle-flush.
The campground, itself, is HOT during the summer months, so the swimming hole is def worth trying to find. The camp host is friendly and will point the way. There is also a nice hike along the edge of a canyon that feels far away from the city.