Keller Peak Yellow Post Sites

CM Kennington

Late June 2022: San Bernadino National Forest near Running Springs, California. For information go to website: fs.usda.gov. The 4 miles long and paved KELLER PEAK RD. is located off of Hwy 18 (Hilltop Rd.) near Running Springs and has 8 yellow post first come, first served campsites and 2 trails. Campsites are free for a 14 day limit in a 90 day period. Hunting and shooting of weapons is not allowed! FIRE RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT!!! No charcoal or wood fires!!! A PERMIT is required for use of propane camp stoves. A Calif. Forest Adventure Pass is required for parking at the trailheads. (For info: fs.usda.gov). ++ Keller Peak Rd is off Hwy 18 (Hilltop Rd.) near Running Springs. We drove to Keller Peak from Highland, CALIF. by way of hwy 330. Two trails are located 4 miles up Keller Peak Rd.: the Observation Trail and the Children's Forest Trail. The Observation Trail also has a parking area on Keller Peak Rd. about 1/8 of a mile in from Hwy 18. FIRE RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT. Permit required for use of a propane camp stove. DETAILs: - absolutely beautiful area! - Group camping is available for $104 a night through Recreation.gov & is located near the Children's Forest Trail. A paved parking lot, one bear container for trash disposal, 4 picnic tables and a locked restroom is at this trail. - Free first come, first served 14 day free camping during a 90 day period (only 8 marked campsites available): #1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9. #3 campsite is CLOSED! 2 cars/6 people per campsite Campsites #4, 5 & 6 are near each other. #4 & #5 campsites on Keller Peak share a parking area & are large campsites with picnic tables. They are located across the road from #6 campsite. (There is an OLD trailhead that is being entered by way of campsite #6. People still come to hike this OLD trail and are parking in campsites #4 & 5s parking area. There is a large empty turnout on the right, just before campsite #4, that is better suited for parking for this OLD trailhead). Other campsites on Keller Peak Rd are much further apart from each other (sites 1, 2, 7, 8, 9) but are smaller in size. - Peaceful most of the time. - Road is used by bicyclists during the day. Dislikes: - THEFT!! Yes, theft!! - Car break-ins at trailheads - Walkthroughs of the occupied campsites by people who are 'just looking'. They actually were looking for a forest 'toilet' and actually took care of 'business' in an area very close to our campsite. - several people wanted to use our campsite table. - Noisy campers nearby with too many vehicles. - Our campsite parking being used by #6 campers, as well as others who were looking for hiking areas. - Fires being burned during the fire restrictions period - 5-6 pounds of trash picked up in campsite #4. Most of it was broken glass, rusty metal items and used toilet paper - Only 8 free campsites. - Locked restroom at end of Keller Peak Road. - No water available - Trash bin at the Childrens Forest Trail is usually full - Night traffic!! - SQUATTERS. After dark we had disturbances by a male squatter in the woods. Law enforcement is on this issue. June 2022. - Did we mention mountain lions? Yes, this is their home. Have a pleasant day!

Anna Flannery

Fantastic place to camp. 8 people per site, free to set up shop for up to 14 days. No fires permitted. No facilities (VT, water, etc.). We did get reliable cell service! A decent amount of wildlife for what we've seen of other desert areas. Some type of small squirrel, lots of lizards, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, crows/ravens, and other small bird species. Could hear toads in the evening. There are 9 sites, each one further up the mountain to Keller peak and the fire lookout. The AllTrails app actually shows each site's location; I don't think Google maps does). The sites are very large and private, though 4, 5, and 6 are right next to one another (good for large groups?) Very busy place for campers as well as hikers and bikers. You may have trouble getting a site any day, but especially on weekends of course. We drive a Ford Transit van and tow our car, and had little trouble with the road. A bit windy and narrow at times, but all paved. We camped at site 5 which gave us plenty of space to turn around when we left. Another turnaround point is at a Y in the road between sites 8 and 9. After that Y the road to Keller looks to get a little rougher, but didn't drive that far so can't say for sure.

Bergwerff

Great location, has alot of hiking trails, and killer views! If you plan to camp overnight there are designated yellow posts for that. Only downfall is that the location gets booked pretty fast and finding a spot can be a little difficult (especially over the weekend). The tower is currently closed due to COVID19, but you can stand by it and still see the view. Overall, it was very peaceful and quiet up until our last night. There were campers who were blasting music and it was projecting over the peak. However, they couldn't be heard anymore after the ranger showed up (they do tours in the evening). Highly recommend, nice get away.

Mark English

About a dozen or 2 yellow post sites starting shortly after you exit the 18 all the way to intersection at top of mountain. Road is paved entire way, wide enough for two vehicles entire way (until intersection at top of mountain). RVs and anything 2wd will work. All yellow post sites are located immediately off the road, some with large parking areas. The 1st yellow post site is off the main road, but closed. Since paved, no dust. Traffic is generally slow, but there is no room on shoulder to walk. There is a hiking and biking trail that starts at entrance to yellow post area and continues to top, but I'm not sure if you can access this from the campsites. If you are unfamiliar with yellow post, it's first come first serve camping. No running water, no bathrooms. You are provided with a picknick table and fire ring. Usually no fires allowed. If they are, you need a permit (found on forest service web site). Parking requires an adventure pass (find on forest service web site, also sold at Big5 and ranger stations). At top of mountain is a repeater/radio station and a lookout tower (open 9-5). Highly recommended. Also some trails. Great views of everything. Attached photos are only of Keller Peak. Forgot to mention, there are vault toilets at top of mountain interesection, to the north as you approach the other campground. Not sure if running water though.