Los Prietos Campground - Santa Ynez National Recreation Area

Los Prietos Campground is one of the many campgrounds that lay along the Santa Ynez river in the Santa Ynez National Recreation Area, due north of the town of Santa Barbara. Other campgrounds within the recreation area include the smaller Fremont Campground, Paradise Campground, and the upper and lower Oso and Camuesa campgrounds. At the time of our visit in mid July 2011, the Oso and Camuesa campgrounds were closed as a result of heavy rain that destroyed the bridges leading to them. Unfortunately, with the budget shortfalls affecting both the state and federal parks systems, these roads had no timetable of reopening, but are likely repaired at the time of this post.

The campground is open April 1st through October 30th. There are a total of 37 campsites with fire rings, barbecue, and a picnic table at each site. Most sites can be reserved on Reserve America, but there are a select few available on a first come, first served basis. For reservations, you are required to book at least 4 days in advance, and each campsite is $20 per night. Los Prietos has the luxury of flush toilets and and garbage bins, but there are no RV hookups available. Firewood can be purchased from the camp host, who will likely visit you in their golf cart to check you in when you first arrive. White Rock Day Use Area is less than a quarter mile away as well.

NFS Map of Santa Ynez Recreation Area. Note the location of the Los Prietos Campground (in Pink) 

A view of the Santa Ynez River Valley from the Vista Point on Highway 154

Getting to Los Prietos can be a little bit of a challenge, especially at night, which of course is when I got there. Remember to account for traffic on the 405 from LAX through the Santa Monica Mountains and on the 101 through Thousand Oaks, as well as construction in Ventura. Once you get to Santa Barbara, look for the exit to the Chumash Highway, Route 154. It isn't an obvious intersection and can be easy to miss, so keep your eyes out. Once over the San Marcos Pass, the turn off is called Paradise Road - if you hit Lake Cachuma, you've gone too far. Paradise road was reduced to a one-lane road at a certain section at the time of my visit, and was controlled by a traffic light that regulated traffic flow at the point where erosion from the river compromised the road - another thing to watch for (again, likely fixed by now, but you never know!)

The campsite itself is hard to miss, as long as you're paying attention to the marked NFS signs. We had site # 30, right in the middle of the camp. The map is displayed below.

Campsite Map of Los Prietos

The campground is laid out on the side of a hill, and stretches more sideways than vertically. The sites towards the inside of the campground are largely exposed, and there isn't much separation by the way of trees or bushes throughout the majority of the campsite. The loop towards the right of the map above has the best campsites, best according to privacy and division. The two creeks displayed in the map are rather misleading - they are only filled with water when it rains. If you do nothing else at this campsite, don't book the campsites directly near a bathroom. Although the toilets are flush and it never went past 80 degrees when I was visiting, the stench often wafted over to where my site was 50 yards away. Sites I would recommend - in no particular order, although #15 and #16 were unanimous favorites of my buddies - are  #15, 16, 6, 11, 17, 19, 20, and 22.

A look at the campground from my site - notice the beautiful oak tress and lack of separation between sites

My Campsite, #30

The best part of this campsite is hands-down the proximity to the Santa Ynez river, which in rainy years flows steadily all year round. I recommend avoiding the main tourist river access points, such as the one  almost directly across the road from the campsite. The spot that we found was past the Lower Oso day use area, where you park before walking along the river, past the main day use area. There's a small trail right next to the edge of the river, find it and take it for a few hundred yards and you're at the swimming hole. This is the only point we found all day where the water is deep enough to actually swim in (of course all dependent on the year's rainfall). The water is clean and warm; plan on spending a solid chunk of time, and bring a picnic lunch and some cold drinks!

The swimming hole

Overall, we really enjoyed our time at Los Prietos. It isn't the coolest campground around, but its location can't be beat. Even if you chose not to go swimming in the river, you're within a half hour of both Santa Barbara and Solveng, as well as the great fishing of Lake Cachuma and the beautiful Santa Barbara coastline. Just make sure to check the conditions of the river before you leave, as this last year has been a tough one for rain (a good site for river information is Friends of the River). Click here to make reservations, and let us know what you think of the site below in the comments!

Stone Creek Campground - Mt. San Jacinto S.P.

Mt. San Jacinto State Park encompasses the mountain of San Jacinto and surrounds the mountain town of Idyllwild. Better known as the mountain that towers over Palm Springs or the mountain that you take the tram to, Mt. San Jacinto has a summit of 10,834 feet and is protected by both the San Bernadino National Forrest and the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. There are over 10 campsites throughout the area, some within the state park and some within the national forrest. For this trip, we stayed at the Stone Creek Campground, one of the two developed campsites within the state park. 

Stone Creek Campsite. An example of the surrounding Mt. San Jacinto Wilderness is on the right.

Stone Creek campground is a relatively small 50 site campground about 6 miles away from downtown Idyllwild off of SR 243. The easiest way to reach the campground is to take Interstate 10 to Banning, where you will exit on SR 243 going South. The 243 is a very small and windy road, and it scales the northern face of the mountain that rises straight up from the desert floor. Be careful and drive slowly and safely. After you climb the mountain, the turn to the campsite can be easy to miss at night since the sign announcing the turn off the highway isn't very big, so turn around if you hit the small town of Pine Cove to the south or if you pass Lawler Lodge to the north. State Parks usually leave their campgrounds open throughout the night, meaning if you don't get off work until late then you can still arrive after hours, which meant 12:30am in our case. Don't forget to check in with the camp host if you arrive during standard hours.

Map of Idyllwild and Stone Creek

Keep in mind that Stone Creek is a different campground then the Idyllwild campground (see Map above). Although both are administered by the same state park, they are nothing alike each other. Stone Creek is about 6 miles from the actual town of Idyllwild, while the Idyllwild campground is right next to the main ranger station in town. Also, Stone Creek is less developed, meaning amenities such as showers are only available at the Idyllwild campground. Firewood can't be brought in, so you'll have to shell out the $6 per bundle (don't hold me to that number, it's subject to change). The high elevation means that the campground is seasonal, usually open from early April to late September, so make sure to check the Reserve America website to make sure the campground is open. Stone Creek campground reservations are open through mid-September,  after, first come - first served camping available based on weather (snow) conditions. 

If you can't see the map, the full PDF version can be found here.

The hike I decided to tackle on this trip was the Devils Slide Trail. Although it looks easy on the map at only 2.5 miles, it actually gains 1,600 feet in elevation, bringing you to Saddle Junction at the top. It's a doable hike, but be prepared for a decent challenge if you aren't accustomed to it. Don't forget your water, the temperature is usually in the 90's during the summer months. If you're not looking for too intense of a hike after scaling Devil's Slide, I highly recommend is to take the pacific crest trail south from the Saddle Junction towards Tahquitz Peak. Otherwise, there are other trails that can take you all across the mountain and up to the various peaks. Personally, I was content with finding rocks overlooking Idyllwild to lay out and sunbathe on. If you'd rather stick nearer to the campground, the Marion Mountain trail starts a short drive up the forrest service access road from the campground. Don't forget to get your hiking and wilderness permits from the forrest service office in Idyllwild!

Stone Creek Campground Map

The campground is shaped exactly like the map above, except that it is laid out on the side of a hill and is relatively well spaced out. The middle road, campsites 38-50, are the sites to avoid, for they all have relatively little privacy and are generally close together. Sites along the fringe of the campsite are the ones I would recommend, since they offer the most quiet and privacy. We stayed in site number 12, and although the map shows it to be right next to the bathroom and nature trail, it actually proved to be one of the best campsites, in my opinion, throughout the site. Since the campsite sits at an elevation of 5,700ft, the main vegetation is pine trees, although in a few sites additional shrubbery serves as a great separation. Bear lockers are also installed, but there was never any instructions or urgings from the hosts to put them to use. The only thing against this campsite were the flies, they got to be so bad that I made the ten minute drive to Pine Cove just to get bugspray. I don't know if I just smelled particularly attractive to flies that evening or what, but don't forget the bugspray.  

Our Campsite #12

Overall, Stone Creek was a great campsite, and our campsite was very private and quiet. The surrounding State Park and national forrest hikes are well worth the effort, and the town of Idyllwild is filled with cool diners and shopping. Again, don't forget the bugspray! Reservations can be made here, or click here to visit the State Park's website.