Oak Flat Campground

Oak flat is a fairly primitive campground, set amidst a stand of oak trees, as the name suggests. There appears not to be any day use fee, but a Forest Adventure pass must be displayed on vehicles in the campground. While not overrun by riff-raff, the camp is close enough to town to allow a few unsettling folks find their way here. Some of the sites have fire pits, picnic tables, and a few have bear lockers to keep the critters out of your food. Probably a good idea to lock your car here, too, and hide valuables.In the summer, temperatures can soar above 100°, and the oak trees provide minimal shade from the sunshine. Bring your own water, too-- none here to speak of.I stopped in here in a walk from the nearby Verdugo Oaks Boy Scout camp, which is decidedly more developed, but not open to the public. Best time to visit must be in the Spring, when the grass is green and a few wildflowers like mustard, poppies, and coreopsis bloom. Watch out for rattlesnakes, and keep your trash contained or the ground squirrels and ravens will go through it if left unattended. Raccoons, birds of prey, fence lizards, and songbirds round out the wildlife you might encounter here. You're more likely to see a large gathering of humans playing music too loud and generally running amok.This one is pretty, relative to the surrounding area, but a little too close to civilization for my taste. Still, if you and 15 of your closest friends are looking for a free camping spot to drink beer and yell at the moon, this seems like your jam.

Oak Flat Campground A short drive from Los Angeles to this place. Nice setting, at least in the spring, with lots of oak trees and open areas. There are 18 camp sites as I counted. Most are small, but large enough for truck campers and smaller RVs. There are three sites that will accommodate longer rigs, that is to say a TT and TV. We have a 20' TT and a full size pickup and will only fit in these 3 sites. That said, access to those sites is pretty easy. This place is free but you need an America the Beautiful pass. Enforcement of that regulation seems to be lax though. Because of that there are several sites occupied by homeless folks. Not downtown-LA-crazy-lunatic type homeless but homeless none the less. They were no bother to us but it does give the place a weird vibe. We have had a nice stay but I'm not sure if we will come back.

Does Oak Flat work for you? It depends on what you're looking for.If you're looking for a family getaway, a campground well taken care of, with paved roads and sturdy restrooms, and lots of activities on site or close by, then this will not work, go to another campground.Oak Flat is quite primitive. But if you want the real primitive experience, like driving off the remote paved road for a mile and putting up a tent, then you'd better leave Angeles National Forest.Oak Flat is a rustic, unpaved, safe, cheap place to lay your head, and that's it. But that may be all you need. It's located just over 20 miles north of Highway 14, so it saves you lots of money over getting a motel room in a good area of Los Angeles. It's HOT in the summer, but it's in an oasis of oak trees amongst the bare golden hills, and the trees offer some shade. It's pretty in the spring with the green grass. Pyramid Lake is a short distance down (and I mean DOWN) Old US 99. Bring water and an Adventure Pass.It's nice having a camping spot so close to LA. Other places might be closer to the action, and I'd rather make my own spot, but I've read horror stories of the mountains due north along Highways 2 and 39, and I value my safety. But these yahoos causing the horrors don't travel up I-5. I can rest easy at Oak Flat, warts and all.Also note that there is not a sign on Old 99 saying "Oak Flat Campground". I think there's a sign for a maintenance area, and it's one of only a few places on the road to turn left, so go up the hill a little and you're there.Oak Flat Campground is simple, hot, and sometimes ugly. But it works if you just need a cheap place to sleep during your LA trip.

This is a really nice campground not far from Los Angeles (about 15 north of Magic Mountain). It's not too far of the freeway, but you can't hear the freeway from the sites. In April, the hills were green and it was really nice. Four stars because there is absolutely no water. Bring whatever you are going to need to cook, drink, or wash. I had heard from others that there can be problems with bugs and other campers. We lucked out on both accounts. I didn't even put on bug spray because there weren't any mosquitoes, and my group of Boy Scouts were the loudest campers there (sorry). But at other times, I've heard it can look like a homeless encampment or spring break rager.

Oak Flat deserves 3 stars but only because of the location ... right off the freeway, it was easy to turn in here. Otherwise, 2 stars. End of December things were pretty busy and we had loud neighbors. There is no water and the pit toilets were, well, quite used. We will be back in a few weeks (again, because of the location) with a dog this time and hope it is dog-friendly. Did not see anyone to enforce but we had an Adventure Pass.

I went out looking for a campground that is close but still primitive. That is what I found here. It was only lightly used, but it was September. The site is clean except the pit latrine, it needs a serious high pressure hosing and pumping out or lye. Other wise no qualms I'd go there again.Tip: Don't forget your water there is no water at the campground.