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Chilao Campground
7 reviews for Chilao Campground
7 reviews in English
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Review from Antonela M.
Los Angeles, CA
10/27/2011
Ha! boy they have reviews for anything here, don't they. Why am I leaving a review here? I just went to see if they to have reviews for this place and guess what? They do.
Okay, da, time for the review. I love this place. No showers, but there is water to cook and clean in and there are firepits and there is amazing beauty there. The campsites are bigger than the norm and the price is small. . . twelve bucks. A real value. Will return!! -
Review from David a.
Los Angeles, CA
9/7/2011
There are a couple of campgrounds here, and this one is for Little Creek. At only 12.00 a night, this place is a grand bargain and only 1/2 hr from La Canada.
The Station Fire took its toll on this place, but the forest is amazing and has a tremendous capacity to regenerate itself from a state of total loss. My fondest wish and desire is that the government and all the fools therein burn down as bad as the forest.
There are new bathrooms and tables, and the views to the SW are pretty wonderful despite the charred pine trees. This place was not even close to full over the Labor Day weekend, and there is a ton of free firewood all over the place. With some cold beer, fresh fish cooked over the fire, some cheese for dessert, and some mushrooms or some acid and you got yourself a pretty good time.
South of the campground, the Silver Moccasin Trail goes on for miles. The initial descent for the first mile should be considered when you are deciding how far to go. Several miles of the trail have recently been re-routed and the new route is a partially paved road for a couple of miles. It is still scenic and wild, and there are some pretty good views of the north side of Mts. Wilson, Lowe, etc. This is a cool trail. Me and my brother saw only two other people on our entire 10 mile jaunt. We saw a ton of yellow finches, however. -
Review from pauline c.
Los Angeles, CA
11/9/2010
Chillin at chilao.
Angeles national forest is a quick hop and skip from LA, proper. Its just northeast and about a 1.5-2 hour drive. There is actually currently a detour along CA-2 right now because of all the road work they are still doing from the fires. Follow the signs and you should be fine.
The camp ground itself is nothing to complain about. Trees, fire pits, benches and flat grounds for tents. The mountains always make for a good time when you have good friends, good food, and prolific amounts of booze and other mostly non-toxic substances. There are outhouses if you look close enough to find them, but mostly you're in the wild. Tough it out! Beware for bears. Throw your trash in the bear-proof trash cans ! -
Review from Kat And Bobby D.
Tustin, CA
7/7/2010
Went here on 4th of July weekend and it was HOT. Read Nate's review about the good and he's pretty much right about that. We got there at 9PM and it sucked setting up camp with little light since we used my boyfriend's car lights; and then his car battery died, so don't do that! We got there so late because the person who invited us got lost and kept making stops so he can get stuff. There are definitely no showers and the toilets are incredibly scary. We didn't even use the toilets since it smelled really, really bad and there was probably poop on the toilet seat or something since our camping neighbor said there was something on the seat that's brown. We basically popped a squat to pee but we all went to Newcomb's Ranch to poop. It's like a motorcycle-bike stop at a bar and they had flushing toilets.
It would be nice to have cellphone service since we are up in the mountains. This one guy had a flat tire on the side of the mountain. We saw him try to take the tire off but we don't know what happened. Two hours later, we drove back up the mountain and we saw him WALKING down the mountain and there were little sun that was out. I hope someone gave him a ride because it would have taken him all night to the morning to walk down to civilization.
When you do go, the cross streets are Oro Vista and Foothill. The other entrances are closed due to the fire when it happened. On those cross streets, there's a 7-Eleven, Jack In The Box, and a gas station on different corners. If you need help, there's a Sports Chalet that's across a Shell gas station and you can ask them for a drawn map of how to get the Chilao Campgrounds.
And there's also cold water that comes out of that thing that you have in your backyard, where you attach the water hose to.
Other than that, my boyfriend and I are thinking about going back there this weekend with just us two but at a different camping ground. -
Review from Julie G.
Los Angeles, CA
7/29/2007
I just returned from a long weekend of camping at the Chllao Campground in the Angeles Forest. Just off Route 2, past La Canada, only an hour away from the city, is a dusty little camping haven that feels like a secret in a big city such as LA. The campgrounds are first come, first serve and cost only $12 per night per site. Each site includes a fire pit and a picnic table. They also provide latrines and a water spigot. The latrines are disgusting, sparking many a gross converstation about latrine monsters, but what do you expect.
We opted for a camping site in the LIttle Pines campground. The site that we selected was quite large, actually it was two sites side by side, and there were enough trees around the perimeter to provide some shade. Thankfully, we also brought two canopies that were indispensible throughout the weekend. It was HOT up there, even at night. I didn't need my fleece, even at midnight. And my +20 degree sleeping bag was more for decoration than anything else.
The hikes are plentiful and quite nice. The views aren't spectacular, at least not any we saw, but all had nice vistas with views of the forest. The hikes range from easy to difficult, and provide a good range for different levels.
The sun was hot and unrelenting, so if you're thinking about heading up, definitely bring sunscreen. Lots of it. At least SPF 40. I didn't need my bug spray because it was too dry for mosquitos. Beyond that, bring some good food and good company, because you won't be plugged in as long as you're there. It was a welcome change for me and my computer-centric life. Now that I'm back, I'm on my computer Yelping about it. But hey, isn't that part of the fun? -
Review from Nate C.
Newport Beach, CA
6/28/2009
The Good: Nice views, plenty of available spots even arriving at 7:30pm on a nice Friday night, cheap ($12 a night), pet friendly, no pet fees, feels like your 500 miles from LA even though it's only 40 miles out, no cell phone service.
The bad: No showers, frightening toilets, 2nd night stay had a large 'party group' being loud all night, no near-by supplies, CA-2 seems to be a favorite spot for 20 somethings trying to prove how bad ass they are on their crotch rockets, no cell phone service.
Overall a great quick night of camping right outside of LA. Just stay on CA-2 and it's about 30 miles past La Canada. It's the first campground on the left. -
Review from Pauline M.
Los Angeles, CA
7/19/2009
If you want to get away from it all, there are probably better campsites near Los Angeles.
Both nights over a weekend camping trip, we heard generation y'ers raving all around us. If gazing up at the starry night sky while hearing the rhythmic beat of techno in the background is for you, then this is your camp!
Saturday at 11am, one of the ravers came into our camp several times wildy and menancingly tripping out on some drug, followed by a friend of his who was making a very unsuccessful but good faith effort to desperately to control him. An hour later, thankfully, the sheriff and a medical crew with paramilitary gear came in to take the drugged-out man away.
While I think the encounter with the man tripping out was a freak thing, the raving is not. So be warned. Particularly if you have kids!
On the positive side, we met up with a great group of people so we were able to enjoy the wonderful great outdoors, only 30 miles from LA. There are many pleasant little hikes (some even shaded), and it served a good basecamp for mountain biking.
Pop up tents are highly advised. There are some shady spots, but not enough in the summertime.
