Miranda Pine Campground

The drive up to camp from 166 was a slow and rough 10 or so miles, and it took about 50 minutes. However, we made it in our Subaru Crosstrek as did five other non-off-road vehicles. So, you don’t need a specifically rugged vehicle, though it might have been nice to have a little bit more clearance. Once we got to camp though, the views were absolutely worth it. There are three campsites, but additional space to set up if you’re okay with no table or fire ring. Met and heard some hunters in the area, and saw their spent shot gun shells all over the road. The restroom has been “upgraded.” It’s now in an enclosed hut. AT&T service was spotty and pretty weak. Overall a great spot and one we’d definitely visit again.

We stayed 2 nights at this campground.

It's a rough and windy 10 miles from Highway 166, on Sierra Madre Rd. The Forest Service closes the road during wet weather. There were a lot of large rocks in the road, so I'd recommend a high clearance vehicle (mine has 8.5 in), but 4WD isn't necessary.

The campground is on top of a mountain, which offers great views of the San Rafael Wilderness and the Caliente mountain range. It's far from any hiking trails. For that kind of thing, you'd have to continue along Sierra Madre Rd toward McPherson Peak or drive down Pine Canyon Rd, which intersects with the former near the campground. The campground, which sits around the 4000' elevation mark, is surrounded by pine trees (hence the name) -- a break from the relative chaparral of the area.

The campground was mostly clean, but with a few shotgun shells and pieces of trash lying around. The toilet -- which is outdoors, with three walls for privacy -- was cleaner than I'd expected. Bring toilet paper. One of the picnic benches is falling apart but still usable.

Being on a mountaintop, you can expect a lot of wind. This made setting up a tent, cooking and starting a fire difficult, but not completely impossible. Make sure to stake your tent down well. The wind chill also makes the campground much cooler than the surrounding area. The views from Miranda Pine, however, make up for this. Each of the three sites has its own scenic view.

The wind is loud at night, but there wasn't any other noise to speak of. We went on a weekend and had the campground to ourselves.

Our cell signals at the campground fluctuated. Both Verizon and AT&T alternated between having no signal, a voice-only signal, and 4G, without any sort of pattern.