Lake Piru Recreation Area

Lake Piru camp area is unreal
The camp sites are groomed and bathrooms are clean. The campsite is judge and leads to a lower area with disc golf, park, basketball, dog park, volleyball, horseshoe, hiking, and a Great Lake with boats to rent.
Pros
— full hook up sites
— showers
— Landry on site
— disc golf
— dog park
— hiking
— lake area
— great camp host
Cons
-

Well… I guess you COULD call it camping as we were in tents…
I’m just use to camping next to trees and bushes, not a road. The sites are literally side by side with a street dividing the sides. A street full of all our parked cars! We were in spot #211. Do not rent this spot, there is no shade cover from 6:30am until 5:00. It was brutal. This section of sites also uses a porta potty as the bathrooms remained locked. It looks like the best sites to rent are the lowest ones. Our section was DEFINITELY better then the upper camp sites though. Up there they are packed in like sardines! The showers (2 different buildings) are located up there, but it’s not a far walk. They were pretty nasty, none of us wanted to use them. It’s 4 quarters for 4 minutes and they seemed pretty packed at night. There are also bathrooms up at this camp. I preferred to use the bathrooms at the marina but they are locked after 7PM.
The marina offers single person kayaks for $ 30, first come first serve. Aluminum boats for 4 people and Pontoons. The lake is very small so I wouldn’t rent them for half days, only the 2 hours. At the small store located at the marina they offer, ice, soda, chips, towels and other odds and ends. You can use a credit card to order ice and firewood to be delivered to your site. You can also order wood from the men driving the carts but you will need to pay with cash. At ten o-​clock no music is allowed and the cops drive by to enforce this. Each site offers a fire pit and a picnic table.
I will not be returning

We were there on Labor Day weekend so it was very crowded the campsites are very close to one another besides that we had a great time. Staff was very friendly especially Shannon she was very helpful over the phone. Showers and bathrooms are very clean. They had a movie night for the kids and free popcorn the kids had such a great time! very family friendly place to go we will come back.

If you’re looking for a place to fish or ride your boat don’t bother coming here, the drought has the water level of the lake really low. Looking at the mountain around the lake you can see where the level use to be, the staff told us they’re down to about 15% of what it use to be.
Besides the lake the camp site is actually pretty decent. The site is $ 22 or $ 24 a night & includes parking for one automobile, any additional vehicles parking at that site have to pay $ 14 for parking. The sites can hold about 3 – 5 tents depending on the size, & they are pretty close together which is good if you have a large group of people with you, on the flip side it could be a bad thing if you get stuck at a spot next to some annoying people.
The sites up top seems to be really crowded while the sites on the lower level (219 – 237) were more private, the only downside to the lower site was that narrow one lane road to drive down there.
One last thing, unless you have att or cricket wireless don’t expect your cell phone to work here. As soon as I turned into central off the 126 & got near the mountain my reception was gone. My phone caught a slight signals when we walked over to the lake but that was it.

the best, place to have fun, and very safe place

Came here to fish (told em that and they said nothing) and found out the lake its so damn low if you don’t have a boat there is no chance to fish… They get two stares only because the gave us our money back. So if you want to go fishing and you don’t have a boat don’t come here.

First and last time ever at lake piru!
Just went camping for 4^th of July weekend
Worst camping experience ever. 1^st the campsites are over priced for what they are. Camp sites are right on top of each other no privacy whatsoever. 2^nd the Rangers and the sheriff’s were harassing everybody shinning lights on people’s campsites and telling people no noise after 9:00 getting in trouble for talking and laughing you know the kinds of things you do when camping. I Will Never Go Back To That Place OR Recommend Anybody Who Is Looking To Have A Real Camping Experience To Go there. Completely ruined 4^th of July for us and a lot of other campers throughout the campgrounds

We went camping over Memorial weekend and it was overcrowded. The group next to us was up partying until 2:30am until I actually had to call the police since no way to contact park ranger we were told to mind our own business. It’s pretty sad when the guy in the next spot, hearing me calling the police thanked me because he heard my whole conversation. With that said, the camping spots are too close together because it sounded like he was in my tent :)

Water level is low but the staff were friendly and a lot of space in between rv park. It was very quiet and relaxing. It has full rv hook up but u have to call in advance. Thank you staff for taking care of us. We had a wonderful time.

If i could rate ½ I would!!! They charge $ 13 for parking! This place is a DUMP!!!

Stayed here overnight in our Vanagon, with our dog, at the end of January. I do find it silly that they charge $ 2 per dog. Don’t really get that. Anyway, bathroom facilities were clean, stocked and well lit, the camp itself was beautiful and green after the recent rains, and the staff was really friendly. Our site had some nice open area around it, and was walking distance to the lake.
We will most definitely stay here again.
I’m giving 4 stars because the camp was mostly empty, but we got placed across from what seemed like the only multiple– tent group in the whole place. They had crammed 6 tents on 2 spots and were not exactly quiet well into the night. Not that I need silence, and I guess we could have moved, but why not ask the large group to spread out or put us in another empty area. Again, something I found silly.

esta muy padre hoy fuimos por primera vez y la verdad muy agusto los baños bien pero lo q mas me gusto q ay muchos venados mis hijos estaban admirado de verlos creo q volveremos esta hermoso

I recently stayed at Lake Piru during labor day weekend with my boyfriends family and we had a nice little adventure. It was about a 2hr drive from Orange county up near Castaic and Six Flags.
It was extremely hot about 99 to 100 degrees mid day and cool at night. The camp sights were arranged within a close knit vicinity and not so spread out like at Joshua Tree. There were several other people camping and the spots for each party were quite spacious.
There were bathrooms and showers conveniently located within the camp site but of course, they were always packed. Moreso because I went during a holiday weekend.
The lake itself wasnt too far from the campsite which provided a really nice review. The water itself looked very muggy but its a lake and it aint Hawaii so dont expect anything clear. There were boats and jet skiis available for renting which is nice if you have a group of people you want to split the cost with. The prices are kinda high — $ 80 for the whole day which fits 4 people in an aluminum boat and $ 40 for 2 hours. They get booked fast so its recommended you reserve early in the morning.
The camp site is constantly patrolled by park ranger personel amd security which I liked. Made me feel safe hehe :) And the view of the stars at night were an awesome treat! Im a big fan of that kind of view at night so I enjoyed the night sky here for sure.

Very friendly, helpful staff, they go far beyond like Carrie and Fred keeping the restrooms and showers the cleanest they can be day and night, Carrie also helps out with the kids on the arts and crafts. Bob Houston a very cheerful man with his golf cart going around making sure we all have ice in the coolers keeping us hydrated throughout the day. Dennis also making sure if there is anything they can help with, my family has been camping here since 2002 and every year it gets better and better with the most important customer service!

I’m giving it 3 stars based on the fact that it’s super close to my home (an easy hour & 30 minutes).
Like other Unilocalers have stated the campsites are too close together, I awkwardly heard my neighbor snoring — _​_​–
We took our Kayak’s out on the lake for the day ($ 6 or $ 7ea to launch them for the entire day, not bad), they force you to wear life jackets even though it’s not a California law (((eye roll))). The water isn’t nearly deep enough for a grown adult that can swim to drown!
The staff at their store, the golf cart lady, and a groundsman were very pleasant and helpful… However, I had THEE WORST experience with this cranky, rude older blonde lady at the main gate who CLEARLY hates her job and has no business working in a customer service position. It was our first time ever going camping here and she just had no time for my questions or lack of knowledge about the lake/​campground. She wouldn’t even look me in the eyes when talking to me and at one point rolled her eyes and huffed and puffed at me LOL! If I didn’t go through this rude experience with this lady I would’ve given Lake Piru 3 stars.

AWESOME!
There were 14 of us who went here on June 9 – 10 Monday and Tuesday, we just walked in since they said that it’ll save us a reservation fee which is $ 8 per campsite if we just walk in; there’s a lot of vacant campsites but usually you should call a week before for a reservation!
We got 112E and 114E campsite with electricity, we only paid $ 64 and it’s the best spot with shade, nearby restroom and shower. there’s a laundry aswell, and a nearby faucet! It’s also near by the lake! The restrooms are really clean as well as the shower, which you have to pay for 4 quarters for a 4 minute shower! the water in the shower is really hot though :/​You can also take 2 cars in one campsite!
They also go around to check on you and sell ice and wood! You can swim in the lake but it feels really muddy, feels like you’re stepping on shit but it’s pretty in there! Oh and the staffs are really nice too!
All in all we had a great camping experience!

Do not come here !!
My boyfriend and I are normally pretty easy to please but this place is terrible. We were on our way to Tar Creek but opted instead to stop at Lake Puri to have a picnic and hike their trails.
First off: we paid 13 $$ for parking. The ranger gave us a full map and directions but failed to tell us that the road used to drive to the trails (which are about 5 miles away) was not open and would be closed indefinitely. Okay, so we were expected to walk 8 miles down a winding, fully paved road to do more walking? Uhm. NO. We walked about 1 and a half miles and said forget it b/​c we were literally the ONLY people there and it was creepy as hell. It was like we were living through The Hills Have Eyes. On the road to the trails, theres creepy abandoned trailers w/​/​hanging chainsaws everywhere. No rangers walked or drove by once to check the area. NOTHING.
We eventually walked back to the entrance to ask if the ranger would unlock the gate so we could drive up and her answer was no and even had to audacity to say that the 13 $$ we spent on parking at least got us half way to the trails. Half way my ass.
This place is a waste of time. I’d be wary of even going near the lake b/​c apparently its riddled w/​/​parasites and is a very long walk from the picnic area. The one nice thing is that the picnic area and bathrooms are very clean but that’s probably only b/​c people know not to come here. The camping might be better but from reviews we’ve read here on Unilocal,I’d say keep your hopes low.
Seriously a waste of gas and miles on our car. We warn everyone to stay away.

Spent the weekend before Memorial Day here in a group of two adult couples. We should have known ahead of time that boat rentals wouldn’t have been available BEFORE Memorial Day, but we were given hope over the phone up to 3 weeks in advance that boats would be available «any day now.» Ultimately, it wasn’t a complete fail that we didn’t get to rent a boat. We improvised and continued down the 126 to go to the beach during the day and came back to the campsite for dinner and camp fire.
The campground was pretty, not too busy, and full of friendly campers that weren’t nuisances. I was surprised at how much upkeep the employees do, particularly to the bathrooms. They were very clean, no awful smells, no backed up toilets, and they even were stocked full with hand soap and toilet paper.
The warm showers were $ 1.00 for 4 min and 25¢ for each additional minute with plenty of room to safely keep your stuff hung up/​set down without it getting wet.
I was also impressed by the rangers that came by every 30 min or so on their golf cart selling ice and firewood. Firewood was $ 6/​bundle. A little pricy but not outrageous.
The lake itself was very dry and the water level was low but as another Unilocaler said, «What can you do when you’re in a drought?» We actually were able to go hiking in the dry lake bed which was a fun experience and saw some quail, blue jays, a crane, and a bunch cool sediment and rocks.
Overall, it was a fun weekend and I’d definitely return.

I love this place and I want to come here again! The campsites are nice, lake is nice, and there is and area where you can drop your boat of and go out on the lake later on. There are deer here and foxes which is really cool.
Pros:
All of the above
Cons:
Skunks

–Horrendous customer service–
If I could give negative stars for this piss pond’s customer service I would. In mid July we took a day trip here for a little wake boarding. The lake is extremely low but that is not the staffs fault. What is the staffs fault is them overcharging my debit card by $ 19.00!
When I noticed this on my statement the following day I called the lake. Of course no one picked up the phone so I left a message. I then waited three days without a call back so I called them again. This time I reached someone at the front booth but she was not the sharpest tool in the tool shed. She said she would look into it and call me back… she never did. I called back the next day and asked to talk with the manager. At first the manager seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders… I was wrong. Turning an even longer story short, she had me fax my bank statement and said she would call me after receiving it. She never did so I called her back. She then said they lost my statement so I would have to send it in again. Then she sent me a text saying they found it and she would call me the next day… she never did. Are you starting to see a trend?
It has been four weeks since they overcharged my card and the situation is still not resolved. The lake is horrible and their customer service is even worse. Cheers

Worst recreational camping facility I have ever camped at, but still had fun with a large group of friends.
Privately owned camp ground. Parking is high. Camp sites are way too close to each other. Firepits seemed poorly placed on next to downward hill… can’t make a full circle around them. Worst of all… alcohol is prohibited. Yes, ALCOHOL IS PROHIBITED!
You can imagine that with a large group of 20 – 30 year olds, we brought a lot of alcohol. All wasn’t lost, we just had to keep pouring shots in our tents and in the car. But c’mon! Saturday afternoon beer pong never happened.
On Sunday morning, someone re-​enacted the Amish guy from the movie Kingpin and deuced in the mens urinal. At least it wasn’t in the shower.