Big Rock Campground

pb b

Beautiful campground. Unfortunately, we got hit hard by mosquitoes. We were there in late june. Without mosquitoes I would give this place 5 stars.

Nat Reynolds

Excellent small campground with hiking spots nearby.

Tom Llewellyn

As far as close campsites, this one is our fave. Just a hop, skip and a jump from home (Palmdale) and you're in the mountains surrounded by trees. Being the end of the line, this site is usually the least crowded of those in the area. Don't be put off by the prison camp next door (no, really). Site offers parking and pit toilets. There is no running water and a forest adventure pass is required.

Karla Henriquez

Big Rock campground is beautiful. We had a group of 12 (9 adults - 3 young kids). Camped during the last week of August 2015, 3-day stay. The drive to the camp sites are very manageable for any standard sedan vehicle. There are a lot of goods and bads for this campsite. Based on our experience, they are as follows: Amenities: -Fire Pit w/flip grill -outhouse/pit toilets -lock trash bins Good: -Isolation. This site gets very little use so it is very isolated. We were the only campers at this site when we went. It was really nice because it was very quiet and peaceful. -Stars. because it's not a popular site, you really get to enjoy the stars without other campers light pollution. -Tent sites. The tent areas are pretty level but you do need to clear very sharp rocks. The fire pit areas in a slight slope so you have to be careful where you sit. -Great hiking paths. Ideal for young kids and adults. -SHADE::: Big PLUS. We went camping in Aug (in the middle of a heatwave) average temp H94/L64 and although the day did get a bit warm, most of the campsites are perfectly covered by the trees on the hill behind the site so even during high noon, you sit in great shade. This was wonderful. -Toilets: Outhouse/pit toilet. again, because this site gets very little use, the bathroom situation isn't that bad. I do recommend taking an air freshener tho. -campsites: very few. I think there is only about 5 camp sites ideally distanced apart. Bad: -The campsite was poorly taken care of by previous campers and many of the camp spots are littered with broken glass all over the ground so be careful. -The trash bins are not emptied regularly so your trash will accumulate. We highly recommend taking down the rangers phone number and making calls to have bins emptied. -MOSQUITOS... bug repellent HIGHLY recommended. AND maybe a mosquito net would be a good idea too! mosquitos will devour you alive if you are unprepared. -Ranger only available during certain hrs. If you have a problem and you need the ranger, you may not find her so address all these little things early (fri/sat). Our trash backed up and when the sherrif did a drive by to check on us, she called the fire dept to come and empty our trash bins because it was pilling outside. PS::: The local Sherrif Dept. and fire station personnel are wonderful. Very friendly and helpful. If you need anything, you can always drive down the road to the conservatory for assistance (about 10 min away) Overall, this campsite is truly a hidden gem IF you're prepared. We had a great experience and had we known about these little issues in advance, we would have given this site 5 stars instead of 4. But don't be discouraged, this site is very nice. I'm told that during the winter, the creek actually flows and the site is not accessible by car and you need to trek in ... and we think that sounds damn cool too!