Idyllwild Campground

This was an advanced party one night stay to check out site. We will be coming back is my bottom line upfront. There are 33 spaces, two restrooms looked new and in perfect condition with soap and paper towels. Showers also available at one location. Bathrooms have a handicap ramp and are well lighted at night. Rangers made rounds a couple times a day, talked with folks who have been there for weeks and they report very safe. Each site has a storage locker with hasp. (bring your own padlock) Lots of traffic noise which died down later at night. But you can walk to town, which I thought was worth a bit of noise. Full hook up at 1,2 and 26, Electric only at 4,5,6,28 - majority of other sites are tent, but some are able to accommodate small trailers with no services. Roads are paved and sites are compact sand. Some sites are not level with some very slopped. I thought site 4 was the best with large area, privacy and shade. Sites 5 and 6 are able to accommodate smaller RV's but these two sites are next to each other with just a row of rocks for separation. So one close neighbor. Site 3 is handicap and next to bathroom ramp. Has two picnic tables, and electric which wasn't listed in map. Site 24 and 21 back up to construction type equipment and business, also homes. Sites are wooded with very tall Cypress Trees, some 100 foot tall or better, also a mix of oaks and lots and lots of manzanita shrubs that provide some visual separation between sites. I love the red, peeling bark on manzanita. Noticed that the reservation system will show all sites booked but if you arrive, they had availability. My original reservation was for Stone Creek, but Idyllwild is much better, and Ranger was able to move my reservation. Very friendly and very accommodating. We have a Pembroke Welsh Corgie and the park and town are very dog friendly. In fact the Mayor of Idyllwide is a dog (no kidding), I think his name is Max. So, will be coming back.

We were tent campers, Thursday through Monday. These were the cleanest flush toilets and token showers I've ever seen. An outside sink and dishwashing sink are also available. Very well maintained with a regular maintenance employee on hand. Fire rings for use when conditions allow, which it did not over the 4th of July 2022. While the campground was booked, according to ReserveCalifornia there were many empty sites available for one night's use. EZ check-in with ATM-like ease and a 24-hour machine to get shower tokens, $1 = 5 minutes. Probably due to this campground's location near larger metro areas, it's easy for quick 1-2 nights camping, so there were a lot of those just getting an introduction to camping. In my opinion, there is a good mix between tent and RV, however, the majority of the sites are smaller and definitely good for under the 24' limit. With a few exceptions, of course. We saw some sites with all the accessories, to those who arrived with just a tent, lantern, stove, and small cooler. In fact, it was easy because you could stop at the market for fresh, and not really pack much at all. There's a mix between sites with shade and sun and it's hard to predict because with tall trees the shade wanders. We had a fairly sunny site (#9) and over the day it worked out just fine... very pleasant. The campground has Rangers in residence, helpful volunteers manning the office, and usually a Camp Host. Idyllwild is a delightful town, and if interested, check in advance for community events... there are many and most are free. It seemed that some campers were there specifically to attend local events. So many good places to dine so that you don't have to cook every meal if you don't want to. They looked so inviting it was hard what to cook or what could be taken back home! Shopping for supplies is easy; two local markets, a liquor store, propane, Shell and Chevron, hardware, and just about anything. Many hiking possibilities for the casual hiker to those looking to walk the Pacific Crest Trail. Permits are available at the campground. The benefits of being near town cannot be ignored, but it also makes this campground anything but a 'wilderness' location. You are indeed near the sounds of the community (very light) and the highway which comes to an end near the side of the campground with lower-numbered campsites. For us, we could basically ignore the noise because it was not constant, and it was minimal at night through the morning. In spite of this, it is a well-maintained campground proper with lots of trees and greenery... it's not an urban picnic park.

We'd definitely go back... in fact, we are already reserved for October!

Do not confuse reviews or photos with the Riverside County Idyllwild Campground

Nice campground right at the town of Idyllwild, a very quaint little mountain town. We looked at both the Idyllwild Park campground and this state park campground. Both were nice but Idyllwild Park seemed pretty dark and lots of runoff damage to roads and sites, I also didn't see any hookup sites which we were hoping for due to the chilly weather (it was getting dark though and we were moving quick to get in a site so I may have missed hookups).

At this time of year, mid-week we would have been the only campers in either park.

Limited hookup sites here but there were a few, I imagine during peak periods they may be tough to get. The driveway angles were wrong on some sites so backing in would have been a bit difficult on those. Some sites weren't very level, full hookup sites seemed to be the most level as all or most had cement pads.

Restrooms were very clean, we didn't try showers so can't speak to those.

We decided to reserve a site with full hook-ups for the weekend, which we normally don’t do. There are only three full hook-up sites available in the campground (1, 2, and 26) but only two of them are available, as site number 2 is the camp host site.

Site 26 was one of the best in the campground because of the size. The State Park states that the sites will accommodate trailers less than 24 feet in length, but it is pretty tight and might be difficult with a 24 foot trailer.

Pros: The campground is just down the street from downtown Idyllwild, which is a great place to walk around and explore. There are tons of gift shops, coffee shops, and boutique stores to check out, as well as really good restaurants and brew houses. The campground has really clean token operated showers ($1 per token=5 minutes of hot shower) and bathrooms.

Cons: Being so close to the town means there is some road noise from the nearby highway that runs through Idyllwild.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the campground as a good place to explore from.