Green Valley Picnic and Campgrounds

Well this campground is very nice, secluded and exactly what you want if you wanna get away. The fire pit grates aren’t the best for cooking so I recommend you bring your own grate or I just brought a good cast iron pan. There’s plenty of wood around to gather but it will take some work. The Rangers were nice surprisingly they didn’t even stop by once the whole time. Very private sites.

Just brought my family up to site 76 and had a great time. If the price was lower ($ 38/​night is pretty steep) and there was actually a host here to sell firewood this review would have been a 5*.
Beautiful grounds, really spacious and clean (restrooms are very clean!)
There are some pretty large ants around and plenty of fire ants so come prepared.
Bring your own firewood!

Had such an awesome time camping out here over the weekend, but I would not recommend going here in mid-​August unless you are used to camping out in the heat. Some of the campsites are out in the open with no natural shade from trees, so make sure you do your research before you book. We stayed at sites 60 and 62 and both were pretty well shaded, but there were certain times in the day when the sun became unbearably hot. I refuse to camp out in Joshua Tree during the summer, and now feel the same way about this place. It was just a little bit too hot to be camping without a natural water source nearby. But to each his own. We all have different expectations and requirements for campsites and other than a lack of water at the falls, the campground is super nice, clean, secluded, peaceful, surrounded by trails and semi-​majestic mountains.
The most appealing aspect about this campground for me was the green valley waterfall (it’s why I booked), which unfortunately was completely dried out. Apparently, it usually is dried out during the summer season, so I probably should have done more research before booking. Rather than small rushing waterfalls and pools for people to cool off and swim in, like we see in all of these cool pictures, there were one inch puddles, suitable for mosquitos, not humans. The rangers did let us know that there wasn’t much water, but we were still pretty optimistic and made the short hike anyway, only to have our hearts crushed when we got to the rocks.
One of the senior park rangers here had some serious beef with me. He walked over to our group, pointed at me, and said «you in particular have a very loud voice. I can hear you from all the way up there.» Then he went on to explain how quiet time was at 10:00 pm, started walking away, and said «yeah, I’ll be seeing you again.» I was the last person standing in our group, and I could hear our neighbors celebrating the night away well past midnight, but for some reason, I made his poop list. Not a big deal, I probably just reminded him of himself when he was younger and more handsome. The rest of the staff was awesome. No other complaints, other than my newly found arch nemesis. If you’re reading this, «I’ll be seeing you.»

Let me preface that I have been coming here since I was a child with various groups, because I loved the place so much. The poor review is not for the good times I’ve had over the years, but for my most recent visit in Sept 2013. Had I not visited that day, this review would surely have been a 4 or 5.
The good:
Green Valley gives you a large spacious camp site with covering trees. You may be on an incline so prepare for that, tentwise. There will be a metal fire ring with grate, table, and a neighbor may have a water spigot nearby. There are no TRASH CANS near each camp site so be a good camper and bring something to put your waste in.
It’s in a valley with topographical areas to isolate it which makes for amazing stargazing (even more so when you consider you’re an hour outside San Diego)! Be patient and wait for the moon to set over one of the mountain ranges and your eyes will be delighted with clear star views and even the milky way (says my friends who claim to have seen it while I slept). You don’t have to come to GVF for the stargazing though, just pull over in one of the many view points along the 79 and bring a comfy beach chair plus warm clothes. I did that one year to see the Leonids and it was spectacular.
I was pleasantly surprised that the bathrooms were clean and almost modern. No soap so bring your own (this is common sense to campers because you never know what amenities a site will have). I am so relieved I didn’t have to go into some slimy poop smelling cave of grossness.
They sell campfire wood at the ranger station, and the ranger ladies were very friendly.
The bad aka what ruined this review
First off prices have gone way up. When I registered it cost me 38 bucks to register, 8 of which was to those reserve America idiots. This is an obscene amount of money for one night of camping. You can literally get a motel 8 or travelodge cheapo econo room for the same money. And this was for a pile of dirt LOL. After paying this amount, I was totally let down after all the other things which happened — read on. And to anyone who says you can’t fault green valley for reserve America ripping people off, yes you can. Green valley — or its managers — chose reserve America. They also chose to not allow you to register any other way. You can’t drive up to the ranger station and get a campsite. You have to go online and be bent over and pay 38 bucks. For one night. This is absurd. I will not be back. Period.
Their dog laws are annoying. The whole point of camping is to get out and on trails and explore yet dogs must be kept at the camp, supervised, or on roads. This is bad for campers because it means your pet will need a babysitter and someone will always miss out on fun goings on, or you’ll have to kennel them. After reconsidering, I’m undecided on this because while a responsible dog owner would bring baggies and clean up after their pet, a moron owner might let their dog loose, have it shit in the stream, etc. Is it really too much to ask of dog owners that they assumed and made rules for the lowest common denominator?
We got down to the waterfall and I was horrified. The water was completely black. I’ve been there many times with many people in the water and the sand always stayed on the bottom. But for some reason, it turned into disgusting marsh looking water. I half expected it to smell like a sewer from its looks but it did not. I don’t know if this is a seasonal thing but like I said I’ve been coming here for YEARS — dozens — of times — and it has never been like this. Second of all, the giant hole in the granite rock — which for years you have been able to jump off the waterfall and splash into — is half filled with sand. That’s right, a 6′ man who could jump in to chest/​shoulder high water now barely has water to his thighs. That means there is at least 3ft of sand in this hole, ruining the only reason to come to this camp site. I know this is a state park but it seems like they should maybe use their heads and shovel that stuff out, so people can continue to jump off it and have fun. Beaches are public areas too and they bulldoze sand or do things to preserve the area. Why not the granite sinkhole? It’s literally THE attraction to come for. Oh okay we have to preserve the natural state of things. Sweet. Let’s everyone check out the really cool dirt filled hole.
It was like fricking attack of the flies all day long. And that anti bug spray won’t do squat because they aren’t mosquitos (I tried 2 sprays). At least later on when we set a campfire the smoke scared them away. And as a bonus a bat dive bombed over our camp all night eating the little bastards. DIE IN BAT TUMMY HELL FLIES.
All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this latest trip. The entire reason for going was rendered void, the place was overpriced. I just read about the La Jolla indian reservation with 3 miles of inner tube rafting and camping. I’ll check that out next time.

We just returned from a 6 day camping trip at Green Valley and it was amazing. Spacious campsite, complete with a fire ring, picnic table, and water spigot, tons of nature, clean bathrooms, ice and firewood sold onsite, and friendly staff/​rangers.
We will definitely be back!

Green Valley was a little taste of the mountains of North Carolina, if you’ve ever been there, though not as lush. I really like this camping area. The sites all have there own distinct character and ambiance. My sight (possibly all) have a water spiked which is A-​MAZZING! Especially after camping in areas with very few accommodations, available water and clean restrooms are a nice bonus. There’s a beautiful little falls area next to one of the picnic areas. There a boulders to Both Green Valley and Paso Pico are 30.00 a night, cash or check only. Descanso has a small market with an ATM and treats that you may need over a campfire. :)