Trail Discussion: camping

[MNTNGOAT]

Hey guys im new to the area so i dont know very many places but me and a buddy are looking for a few places to camp out. pref. near a lake or river or some place we can trail out to spend the night and come back. so where might thos places be. we wouldnt wana drive to far out but he lives in oceanside and im in anahiem so 2 hours out from either of thos places would be awesome! thanks for the help guys.

[Ol Man]

Well, that would make the Big Bear area a great place to visit. Here is a link to established camping areas:

http://bigbear.us/big-bear-campgrounds.html

There is also dispersed camping allowed. There are some links on the left you should explore, including the Adventure Pass requirements. A good place to learn about the area is to visit the Adventure Center:

http://nationalforestassociation.org...verycenter.php

You can also look at a lot of the threads on this site for trips.....in the past and in the planning stages. Search and you will find a lot of info. The mountains are a great resource for those enjoying the outdoors. Welcome to the group.

[Mike]

Welcome to MJR!

Ol Man already posted info on one of my favorite areas near you. Near your Oceanside buddy is the Corral Canyon OHV area. Fun trails, great views, good camping, and not too far from a lake.

Another option for adventure out of Oceanside is the Anza-Borrego State Park. It is desert terrain with cool things to see.

[TipsE-Z]

If you're looking for something really close to the both of you, Main Divide Rd off of Ortega is good. Not any real rock crawling, and I'm not 100% on the camping regulations but from one side trail near the towers you can get up on top of Santiago Peak (I think). The misses and I used to run out there on a Saturday with either breakfast or lunch, drive up and admire the view. You can see the ocean, Catalina on a clear day, Rancho Cucamunga, and the desert to the east. That side trail has a few rocks to climb too which was fun. I imagine it would get pretty cold up there at night though.

[Pikeman]

Idylwild area just East of Hemet. It is part of the San Bernardino National Forest with a lot of good Yellow post sites and group camprgrounds to camp at with mutliple lakes and stream/ river crossings. Your friend can go North on 15fwy to 215Fwy to 74 East. and you can run the 60 east to the 215 south to 74 East