Burnt Rancheria Campground

Very well kept, hosts were pleasant and facilities were functional. I had no problem with noise and the sites are far enough apart to give some space from your neighbors. We will return.

Good campground with flush toilets and showers. There’s a restaurant/​café right next to the entrance of it, if you want to skip campground cooking. Everything is maintained really well and there’s a short 1 mile trail that runs through the campground. ***caution if you have dogs*** I was at campsite 40 and there were these round little spikey things all over the ground from the plants. I have no idea what they’re called, but they would get caught in my dog’s fur and paws wherever he stepped (it must have been painful for him). This is just a warning if you’re camping with your dog here, hopefully you’ll have boots for them or they have really tough pads.

Great place for something close by! Real beautiful! Pretty green. $ 25 a night. Almost all the campsites I’ve see are perfect and most have a good amount of shade. Nice and friendly Rangers! I’ve gone back twice already and definitely will again!

Love, love this place. Clean, fresh air and lovely! The Camp hosts are great and the sites are great. I suggest trying your luck with first come first serve sites. More trees and not so over used like the reserved ones. The coolest part it is right along the PCT. So if you’re a runner or hiker this campsite is perfect!

We loved this campground. Only an hour from San Diego but it feels like worlds away. Easy to get to with plenty of campsites available. We didn’t have a reservation but had no problem finding a really great spot. We claimed site 70 for the weekend. It was close to the bathrooms but secluded from other sites. Our site could have fit 3 tents and had a tandem parking spot. When we go again we will try to claim this site. There are rattle snakes in the area so make sure to keep an eye out. We didn’t see any but the ranger told us they like to hang out around site 65.
The ranger comes around and sells bundles of wood for $ 6. If you don’t use it they’ll buy it back from you. There is a coffee shop/​restaurant right outside of the grounds and a shop down the street. Plenty of hiking in the area and beautiful views. We will definitely be back.

We loved this campground! We spent the weekend camping here and enjoyed every minute of it. The campsites are spacious and spread out. We had two tents set up with plenty of room. The campground itself is well taken care of… clean and even the vault toilet bathrooms were clean. We will definitely be back… it’s less than an hour away from where we live in La Mesa which makes it even better! Also, the camp hosts sell firewood…$ 6 a bundle. Usually they’re cruising around on their cart and you can catch them driving by or by the bathrooms cleaning. If not, I think they sell them at sites #1 and #47 if I remember correctly. There are several sites that are first-​come, first-​served and it’s $ 22/night…registration is near the entrance. Apparently there are coin-​operated showers too, which are near the reserved campsites. Check-​out time is 1pm.

We drove up here and decided to go to Paso Picacho instead. This place is cheaper but I think there are less showers and doesn’t look as kept up as Paso Picacho. It was very brown and over grown. Maybe we didn’t give it a fair chance because other reviews seem to show others had a great experience.

I had such an amazing time while at Burnt Rancheria Campgrounds. The camp sites are large and well taken care of. Will plan on visiting late fall.

Stayed at site #53 and had a great time! Had about 6 people stay at the site and there was room for all. tents were a little close together, but it worked fine. Site #53 and the ones next to it are great because it backs up into open woods. We had a nice little field behind ours.
We came here for my boyfriends birthday! I didn’t think we were toooo loud for 10:30pm, didn’t have car music going or screaming. Just some loud laughs and probably a story or two that went above your «indoor voice», our neighbor did yell out some profanities and say to be quiet. So I would say this is a great spot to come back to when it’s just me & my boyfriend and we want a quiet night. Not really, a lets get rowdy & have birthday in the woods spot.
Either way, great time!

It was the best. Super friendly rangers are at the park at all times. We felt secure but still secluded. Drove around the entire campsite 3 times to pick our actual spot but spot 56 was worth it! Perfect shade at all times. A walk through little path puts you out of the eyes of the road. This entire campground is well maintained, the picnic table was wiped clean before we got here, the ground even looked like it had been raked free of debris! My only issue was the bees, never saw anything scarier on our 3 day trip here. Showers are $ 1 worth of quarters for 4 minutes but super clean and warm water! Pet friendly, brought our Pitbull and everybody loved him.

My family and I camped at Burnt Rancheria Campground with some friends and had a very nice trip. We were at site 41 which was spacious and flat, with plenty of room for two large tents, in partial shade. The picnic table at the site was very large and in good condition, not full of splinters like many tables often are at other campgrounds. The clean bathrooms were also a huge plus.
Lots of people nearby had bicycles and rode them around some of the trails that run through the campground. The desert view trail, which is basically part of the Pacific Crest Trail, is accessible from the campground. It has lovely views and is easy enough for small children to hike.
We also appreciated the fact that, although it felt very remote, the whole area is easily accessible from the 8, and did not require a prolonged drive through windy mountain roads… very important when you have kids who are prone to motion sickness.

Loved camping here! We didn’t have a reservation for the 4^th of July but with 50 walk on spots we were pretty sure we’d find something. Really glad we did because it was pretty empty. Got spot 71 in the cherry loop with no direct neighbors.
We drove around the reserved spots which were fully booked and looked crowded and close together. I would suggest
Loved that we could actually have a fire and the rangers cleaned the bathrooms each day. Also the hiking trail was close by and a beautiful view.
Only minor complaint was the driving loops were kids confusing but it could be that I was trying to find the pay station in the dark.

We had a great time here! Camp hosts were very nice and understanding of our pretty loud group (and three dogs). They even let us use another unreserved campsite for our badminton game. We camped at spot #39 and it was a great mix of shade and sun… lots of room and about a minute walk to the running water restrooms. If you are looking for lots of shade, spot #33 seemed like a great shady spot.
This place would get five stars but I had to minus a star for the weird reservation system. We only wanted to stay one night but we had to reserve for friday night as well. This was annoying but it was only $ 20 bucks extra so we decided we would just reserve for Friday night too. We drove all the way up there to check in on Friday and then saw a sign that said campsite had to be occupied the first night. We were planning on just checking in and heading back home as our friends couldnt make it up until saturday. We didn’t read anything about this prior to arriving. Luckily we found someone who works there and she was very understanding and let us leave and come back but it seems silly that there was even an issue considering we paid for our spot… Why would it have to be occupied?
A small hiccup for an overall great trip. I plan on visiting again soon!

Clean, serene, and spacious with easy access from San Diego. Perfect spot for a weekend get away with the family. Dog friendly with lots of easy hiking trails.

One of the best camping experiences I have ever had.
We decided to catch a view of the annual Perseids meteor showers this year by camping up in the mountains to get the best view and selected Burnt Rancheria as the place to camp. There was some confusion when we first arrived but the staff that greeted us at the entrance seemed to go out of their way to accommodate us and make our stay enjoyable.
The initial spot we were given did not seem suitable and quite crowded but the staff recognized that before we even said a word about it and allowed us to relocate to a much better suited environment with more space and even more seclusion.
The sites overall are very well maintained with plenty of flattened bare spots to set tents up in. There is some hilliness to the sight because of its location on the mountain but nothing that could not be adjusted for. The staff themselves did make many rounds but nothing that felt intrusive. There are plenty of «pit» toilets near every site as well as full scale restrooms for those in need. There are also showers that you can pay to use that aren’t very expensive. $ 1 in quarters will equal 4 minutes.
The site itself sits on the Pacific Crest and Dessert View Trails which are filled with lots of sights to see. If you take a road trip up the S1 there are many others spots to see and enjoy on your way north. A store and restaurant sits nearby so if you forgot anything you can easily replace here.
As for the crowds at the site we did not experience anything unpleasant whatsoever and in general the noise level was down at 10pm and we had no issues with partying or other loud noises from keeping us up when it was time to go to sleep.
The best part was the night sky. It is awesome! You can clearly see the Milky Way and as the night progresses and darkens further the stars and moon become very intense and bright.
I loved this camping ground and can not wait to return.

Worst. Camping. Experience. EVER.
This was a busy weekend, I expected that. We were lucky enough to find a lovely «first come, first served spot» Saturday. We rolled in with plenty of food, our new big tent, my honey, my 15 year old son, and our two small pups. Our spot was nice and spacious with a fire pit (& grill) and a picnic table. The spot we placed our tent was in the midst of several nice pines – we were looking forward to a fun time.
It started off well, we set up our tent and all of our paraphernalia, had a nice lunch at our shady table, let our pups explore the campsite, and just relaxed after our drive from Poway. After awhile, we decided to explore the Desert View trail. We took the mile plus loop trail, saw some amazing scenery, took some great photos, and arrived back at camp nearly two hours later. The wind had picked up – but it had picked up high in the pines, a lovely sound as we relaxed with a beer before supper (root beer for the 15 year old). We had dinner, roasted some marshmallows, and were waiting for the evening sky star show. That’s when the fun began.
Now, mind you – the campground rules are clearly stated:
No loud music and no sounds that can be heard outside of your own site after 10 PM. They’re simple rules, not too many and not too complicated, but for this lot, completely dispensable.
At about 8:45, some 20 somethings in a car came speeding through the camp screaming, «Party in Space 62 at 9:30! Bring your own booze!» My honey and I looked at each other and said simultaneously, «This doesn’t bode well.» Well, they started partying right at 9:30, a theme that was repeated in various levels of loudness throughout many individual sites throughout the entire campsite.
There was music, loud music, extremely bass heavy music, thumping and bumping all through the camp. This went on until about 4:00 this morning. There was screaming, laughter, loud talking, etc. ALL NIGHT LONG. I finally got up at 2:00 AM and went in search of the music makers. After I’d headed far away from my campsite and was nearly on top of the culprits, the music stopped. I stopped in the middle of the street and waited for five minutes, but no music was forthcoming. So I headed back to camp and on the way back, had a «word» with the idiots across the way and asked them to tone it down. I received a few blank stares, but mostly, I was ignored completely. I went back to my site, got back into my bag and five minutes later, voila! There it was the loud music and the talking, laughing, partying bunch, going at it again – lasting for at least another two hours or more.
Where were the camp hosts during all of this? After all, there are two separate sets of camp hosts at this campground – yet not a one of them made an appearance. I suppose they were asleep in their cozy little trailers, with their generator run air conditioners pleasantly masking the mayhem that was going on around them.
I think I finally fell asleep around dawn and slept for a full 30 minutes before the loud mouth group across the way started talking, laughing, and yelling as if they were the only people in the place.
Never in all my years of camping have I ever run into such a bunch of inconsiderate a**holes and I’m really surprised that the people around them allowed them to continue.
We spent a lot of cash for this little adventure, gas, cost of the site, food, firewood, etc. I will NEVER go back to Burnt Rancheria again – and I’ll make sure that my camping friends know just what to expect as well. As a matter of fact, I plan to call the Forest Service tomorrow to complain.
I’d actually give the campsite zero stars if I could, but even then, the night sky deserves five. However, that still doesn’t make up for the lack of sleep and my wasted day today – because we had to break camp early (too tired to hike) drive home, and go to bed. I’m probably still cranky – but truthfully, the experience deserves even worse than what I wrote – I’m just too tired to devote that much energy to this review.

Amazing view of the stars at night, considering how close you are to San Diego metro! Each spot has parking, some sites are better than others. We had #17 which had the benefit of being a large space but the downside of a lot of dirt and dust. I’ve read other reviews about the campground hosts being a pain in the tuckus… didn’t get that feeling. They did patrol on a regular basis, but no more than any other campground we’ve been in.
Good hiking, but be careful with kids and dogs… we came across about a 3 foot rattler on the trail.
There are both flush and vault toilets; where we were the flush toilets and hot showers (7 min for under $ 2!) were 2 campgrounds away. Pretty quiet despite lots of kids around.
Bring what food you want, if you are not interested in overpaying at the grumpy general store just north of the campground. No dogs on the porch! No bikes on the porch! Go away! I wish I remembered the name of the store, I’d give it a poor review.
We will go back camping here, if only for the night time star show!

In desperate need of a nature adventure with little time available we set out for Mt. Laguna last Friday afternoon. Friday traffic made the seemingly short venture a bit of a pain in the ass but we still got there in just over an hour.
We did not reserve a campsite and the campground host who greeted us at the front recommended one that was considered a bit secluded and not too visible from the concrete.
There was a small trail behind our campsite that actually linked up with the Pacific Crest Trail which made for a spectacular early evening hike.
My puppy dog was in hog heaven with loads of squirrels and lizards to chase, dirt to roll in, trails to hike and of course bacon grease poured over her morning kibble.
The campsites each have a nice fire pit with adjustable grate over them to make grilling real easy, also a metal picnic table. Bring something to sleep on though! The ground seems to be unusually hard and by the second night we had thrown all of our clothes on the floor in the middle of the tent and put our sleeping bags over it in order to get some relief from that rock hard ground.
The campgrounds have quarter operated showers with nice hot water and good pressure. There is also a general store about a quarter mile down the road and a burgers and fries style restaurant «The Eagle and the Bear» in case the campground is seeming a bit too rustic for your liking.
Overall we had a blast and it was a nice little mini excursion.

Burnt Rancheria is one of the best campgrounds in the San Diego vicinity. Nestled among a panopy of tall pines and oaks, this scenic campground offers a top notch experience. It’s a well-​developed, immaculately clean, modern site with more than 100 individual campsites, plenty of vault toilets, and functioning coin-​operated hot showers. The campground is staffed by an individual host who can assist with questions, and sells firewood. This campground was voted as one of the best in California, and you’ll see for yourself why. You’ll also get a kick out of watching the wildlife at this location, as you’ll run into plenty of Blue Jays, Woodpeckers and squirrels.

Nice simple place to go camping. There is a man made road from each campsite to another and you get to park right next to your campsite for those lazies that don’t want to carry everything.
All you get at your campsite is a fire pit and a picnic table and luckily, we got a campsite right next to the bathroom. The bathroom is pretty much like a permanent portapotty but was surprising clean and didn’t smell as bad as I would think. There is a faucet outside of the bathroom to wash your hands and other things. Bring hand sanitizer. It’s not that fun washing your hands with cold water in the middle of the night. Bring a lantern or flashlight. No lights in the middle of the night. There were also showers but I didn’t stay long enough to check them out.
Most of the campsites are a good distance from another but if you have a big group, there are a few campsites right next to each other (technically it’s 8 people per campsite but ours were pretty big so we were luckily able to fit 4 tents on ours)
The manager is also really friendly. He was totally cool when there was 14 of us yelling while playing frisbee but he just came by to see if we were okay.
There are also trails which are a good leisurely hike. The hiking trails were pretty flat and really easy to walk but you get a nice view of nature.
Overall, I would come back. Nice chill and simple place to hang out when you want to get out of the city. And also the drive up there isn’t too bad either.