Oak Flat Campground

So I can imagine it getting loud and rowdy on weekends and holidays. On a Monday, there is only one other car besides myself. But there were 2-3 other cars that drove up (LOUD motors… and waited … for what I do not know) and left.

The bugs were not bad at all as I relaxed at a picnic table in the afternoon / early evening. They are concrete and most are clean (except for a couple with annoying graffiti). So I decided to eat dinner outside. TERRIBLE MISTAKE. I was swarmed with BEES!!! So I finished preparing dinner and ate in my vehicle.

The grounds seem clean, until you start walking around and look down. Broken glass, beer caps, misc wrappers … there are huge trash bins all around, so this is so not necessary.

Says there is water here. But a quick look around and I cannot find any. Also did not check out the outhouses, but there are a couple.

I would stay here again if it is during the week. It is easy to get to. Not much noise (only those looking for a party). There is excellent cell service.

#1 - Do NOT trust Google Maps when searching for this location (coming down I5 South) - Google maps wanted us to make a 90-degree turn off of the freeway onto some service road which looked super-sketchy from the satellite view. Instead, we drove to the first offramp and then drove down the Golden State Highway (which is full of potholes and not a good road at all).

The entrance is an easy find with a big marker out front (see photos).

Since we have a 32' RV with a tow vehicle, we took off our tow vehicle on the side of the highway (plenty of room) and went and checked out the sites first. Only about 21 spots and about six were occupied. We drove our RV in and had to get on the roof and cut down some overhanging branches but our RV fit into one of the only level campsites (20) and we parked our tow vehicle in the unoccupied site nearby.

Once we were all settled, we went on a hike up the street. Beautiful views of the valley and I5. Bear, deer, and other animals in the area.

Used our America the Beautiful Pass for free camping.

Pit toilets and fire rings (Extreme fire danger - so they were not available to use at this time).

Really cool area, it was the site of an ancient village and some of the large rocks have mortar and pestles. Because it is free and there is not a camp host, there seems to be a few colorful characters there every time we go. It seems some people go up there simply to do bad things. One time we were there and there was a large and rambunctious group of teen or young adult boys drinking and doing other substances for sure. A few times while up there, an arguing meth couple living out of a Prius have become loud and a little frightening. There was a young couple with an infant in their old RV and I almost called 911 because of the sounds I was hearing from that RV... a ranger even came by to check on them in the morning. There are a lot of vagrants in the area, most of them are totally nice and love the outdoors and are respectful and keep to themselves. But beware the other types are here too, and they usually roll in after dark.

I've driven the grapevine all my life, and camped in dry-dock situations for over 40 years and never knew about this place.I found it on this website and never knew it was here. Can't say how many times I've wanted to stop while heading up North, but was not aware of this place.
I couldn't find a pay station, so while others paid $2-5, we couldn't find how to pay. It was well worn, and maybe not the cleanest - but that was OK. Looked like a few folks who might be staying awhile and then people like us traveling through. All in all, a pleasant stop/

I’ve been camping many places before. This was unlike all of them. Btw this was my first FREE camping spot(you need an adventure pass though). Obliviously the forest service checks every 2 weeks or so if people have the pass (which they don’t). This place WILL attract homeless people! They mind their own business though. What will really irritate you is the annoying teens that drink and have sex all night. Since this is a free campsite, anyone at any point In time can arrive and set up camp. Just like something that happened to us with a group of teenagers at 4 AM. Yelling and screaming. The place does have an eerie vibe, yet it is maintained very well by the forest service weekly. Would I come here again? Depends. I would come again ONLY if we had a group more than 2 men. Never saw any children here. Nobody had a campfire going at night (most people lived and slept in their car.) THERES NO RUNNING WATER. Just be safe and have fun

This site was easy to find and, although we rolled in after dark and had to hunt for a spot, I imagine if you get there before sunset, there seems to be plenty of spaces. While we only had a good experience and no trouble at all with other people, I can understand from the other reviews that there's potential for some trouble like that. The site next to us did drink and play music well after midnight, but they were at least kind and civil. It is a pretty area, and I imagine you could easily find a trail nearby. Setup was easy, with a dirt/gravel spot to park, grass to pitch a tent, fire ring, picnic table, and a toilet not too far away. We also did not understand where to pay or check in, and it seemed as though plenty of others were in the same boat.

That was an experience!

The campground is conveniently located near Santa Clarita, and while it's supposed to be $5, there was nowhere to pay and no one to check even if you did pay.

It is actually a cute little campground - tight spots with large boulders so you wouldn't want to come here with a large rig. There is a pit toilet but it is the nastiest I've ever seen. I have a very high tolerance for gross toilets and this was beyond anything I'm willing to use! There were several large dumpsters that seem to get emptied, but that was the only sign of any maintenance.

It was winter so I had okay solar - almost all the spots are in the trees, so it was dappled sunlight. The cell signal was very good, though. So that made working easy.

There is a great hike up to the top of the ridge through the neighboring Boy Scout camp. It was spectacular! There is also a trail down to the Golden State Highway that is fun if you need to stretch.

The thing that makes this place sketchy is that it has attracted quite a few tent and car campers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, until one of them gets drunk and goes off on the camp. The Sheriff ended up coming out and hauling him away, but it made me even more leery of the place after that. The Sheriff did say that this was where his people end up because it's as far into the wilderness as they are comfortable going.

Surprisingly, it isn't trashy. The tent/car campers keep their sites clean. There were a lot of people coming and going. I did keep my doors locked at all times though. Just a vibe I was picking up.

Oh, and be sure to go slow on Golden State Highway coming in. There is a ferocious bump that just has some red slashes painted on it. If you're going too fast (as I was) it's hard to see until it's too late.

Well then.

I pretty much NEVER stay in campgrounds, for a multitude of reasons. This campground stay seemed harmless enough as it's cute and is free with an America The Beautiful pass. However, if you don't have one, well, nobody is checking for payment. In fact, even if you TRIED to pay, there is nowhere to pay. Likely because if there was, it would get broken into and stolen.

Why do I say this? Because it's pretty much abandoned as far as any authority goes, and, well, we had an incident. So let's talk about the logistics of this place and why that makes it not awesome, but maybe just an acceptable place to stay. (People ruined it. It could be really nice, otherwise.)

It's just north of Santa Clarita, which is an outer lying part of the greater Los Angeles area. When I talk about boondocking being safe, I am talking about boondocking AWAY from large cities. Usually, I am close to being in the middle of nowhere. However, I had to be in LA with my rig, and so this place seemed like a good place to stay while moving away from the city. It was free, and Becky had stayed here before with no issue. Still, I locked my door when I was inside, AFTER 'the incident'.

Ok, first, it's a nice location. There is I-5 traffic noise but it's not bad. There are deer. Really nice views, especially from my site. I was on a bluff and since it's winter, I had a good view of the mountains in the distance. There are bathrooms but the members of my caravan say it's one of the nastiest bathrooms they have ever seen. I just decided to take their word for it. There are trash cans here.

It's a tight campground, so you aren't supposed to be longer than X to come here. (I don't recall the length) I have a Toyota Tundra and a 24' camper. I could manage all the turns. If you have a larger motorhome, not so much. The spots are short- that's the biggest issue. I had the longest spot and COULD get in with my truck attached to my camper, but I pivot in the middle. There are large boulders lining the road and the sites, so don't think you can just stick your rear end 'in the grass' or drive over the grass and get away with it. You can't.

Sites are dirt and gravel. No issues getting stuck in wet weather. Most are fairly level. There are stone picnic tables and fire pits. There is a great hike you can get to if you walk through the boy scout camp that borders the CG. There was a trail from my site going down the hill that leads you to the Golden Highway. Steep and good for exercise.

There is also a fire station bordering the CG, FYI. What looks like an old ranger station or office is an abandoned building, full of nothing but squirrels. The driveway- it's long and ONE LANE. If you are a larger rig and you come upon someone coming out, have fun.

When you get off of I-5 and take a right, beware, there will be a pretty severe bump that you don't want to be going fast over. Go slow until you get to it- just before where the hill starts to climb. Or you're in for a nasty surprise!

What else? Verizon is smoking here as you can see the tower. ATT is also good. I could stream video using ATT so it's all good to me. Solar is not the best. I had one of the best spots for it and it is winter so there are no leaves on the trees. It will be worse in the summertime. I'd say here in this spot, I have a good 7 or 8 hours of full sun. The others here- not much full sun at all. Maybe an hour or two here or there.

Ok, here's the kicker. This place, being free and so close to a city, attracts people who are living in their cars and/or tents, living here because they can't afford anywhere else. There were about 4 or 5 during our stay. They have been here since before we got here according to another tent camper staying here. That's all good and fine, but, well, sometimes they can be... well, let me just tell you the 'fun' that WE experienced from one of them.

The day after I arrived, there was a couple that came back in after leaving in the morning (while revving their SUPER LOUD muffler-less car BIG TIME and screaming as loud as he could, "WAKE UP BIT**ES, ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!) -very nice. They came back and they were drunk. He starts screaming, at the top of his lungs, at his GF. Things I cannot repeat. Well, it got uncomfortable to say the least. Screaming ridiculousness at the girl, revving the engine and going on and on about signing the title of the car over to someone. Eventually he started shouting about "the neighbors" (Me and my 4 friends, mostly. Hardly anyone else here) and how he might just shoot them up with his BB gun.

Well, that was it for me. I called the cops. They came, thank god, (and they thought he pulled a rifle out, so THAT was scary when they drew their guns on him "DROP IT, DROP IT!!") Ugh. It was an ax.

Everyone in my caravan was all packed up and ready to leave once the cops got here unless he was arrested. Thank goodness he had an outstanding warrant, and they happily took him off to jail. YIKES.

Campgrounds. No thanks. 😂

Still, I understand this might be a 'rare' occurrence. But the cop did say that that's what this place attracts. So, if you are looking to stay here, just be prepared for some possibly undesirable neighbors. You may not have that at all. It's going to be hit or miss. Likely it WON'T happen to you, but I'm letting you know what happened to us.

The rest of the stay? Fine. No problems at all though we kept a good eye on the GF. She knew all of the other car dwellers who stayed here. We worried that Drunk Guy would get out of jail and come back. That didn't happen.

Would I stay here again? Only if I NEEDED to. We only all stayed for 5 days because the weather was not cooperating for us to leave where we were trying to go.

I still prefer boondocking, away from campgrounds. 🙂