Serrano Campground

Such a nice campground - seriously one of the best ever! We love forest service campgrounds and we will definitely be coming back to visit this one. The sites are huge, ours was super private which was great for the dogs and remote working. The paved bike path was so nice, we either biked to town or walked the dogs on it everyday! Camp hosts were all super great and helpful. There is even an RV loop with FULL hook ups (you don’t see full hook ups at a forest service campground very often).

I travel a fair amount and camp mostly off grid and sometimes in campgrounds. Serrano is one of the best public campgrounds I’ve ever stayed at. The location is well designed to ensure you have a nutrient experience among the tall pines. The sites are reasonably separated for a campground and the location is meticulously maintained. I stayed in #59 which is in the loop of 27 sites that have full hookups. In terms of noise, campers here are more conscientious and the road noise from route 38 is ok. I had 2-3 bars LTE with Verizon but no lag for data and cell, and then boosted I had 4 bars LTE with fast speeds. Please note there are coyotes here both day and night, so maintain your dogs close. In terms of cost, if you do full hook up there will be an electrical fee in top of the nightly rate.

We are here on three weeknights, there aren’t many neighbors. The sites vary from shade to sun, and are very well maintained. They’ve even raked around the roadways and walkways so they look like Zen gardens. The showers are closed due to COVID rules, but toilets are open, clean and well stocked. Checkin was effortless and all sites seem easy to back into. Minimal traffic noise from CA38 on the north, none from North Loop Rd to the south.

Here for the week of Thanksgiving, was chilly but a nice, well staffed campground. You have to have a credit card to dump even if you're camping. Heavily shaded but solar is possible with good placement. In the non-hookup area, water is usually close by. There's a trail that goes from the end of this campground all the way to town which we used at least once a day with bikes and walks/runs. Park didn't feel crowded but the city did.

Good access to hiking trails and bike paths. Can access the water but not ideal for swimming. No beach and many lost hooks and lures to watch out for.
Don’t you dare park those tires off of any asphalt!! Not even an inch...
$10 dump should be waived for campers on site. There was a loop with hookups but we couldn’t get the number of days we wanted.
Firewood $8 a bundle. Overall, very clean and quiet considering the number of people in and out daily.

Always loved coming to Serrano, been dry camping here in tents, FHU in a 16' retro and this visit in our current rig a 30' travel trailer. Interagency Lifetime pass discount helped price a lot! Sites are somewhat spacious but you will have neighbors visible at the picnic tables and fire rings. Very family oriented campers, kids having fun all day long but very quiet at sundown until mid-morning, road noise nonexistent at night. There are no restrooms in the Snowberry RV loop, the other loops have very nice facilities when open (coronavirus closed). Hookups are located nicely but be aware some sites have the table and fire ring on your hookup side. Kiosk agents are very nice and camp hosts very busy cleaning sites and checking reservations. Double dump site if needed, RV sites have sewer hookup.
Campground is walking distance to the lake and the Big Bear Solar Observatory which has very limited tours available. There is a 3 mile pedal path that runs right next to the campsites that will take you to the main road that connects to Big Bear Blvd.
Getting up to Big Bear is not fuel efficient, you have to climb to 8,443' when coming up Hwy 38 which in my opinion is the best access - less twisty and not extremely steep climbs, very scenic drive too.
Book well in advance if you want RV spaces, very popular campground, however we got lucky and found 4 nights at same site one week before so a cancellation probably made that happen.
Bummer note; Bugs were out of control this visit. Small flies, gnats, and Moths! Moths were so bad and got into the RV we were fighting them for 3 nights after we left. We lived in Big Bear for 3 years and never had insect problems like this.

Camped here July 2019 to escape the heat from the California Valley. Its a spacious camp site. Clean. Free hot and cold shower. Flush toilet.

Our site in particular is a double site 81/82. It was very close to N shore drive and noisy during the day. The site itself didn’t have much shaded areas but very open. So it might be a good site if its spring or fall.

There are other loops that are more shady and farther from the road and hopefully quieter.

So much to see and explore in San Bernardino National Forest and an easy great escape for a few days. Roads on the way up have lots of twists and turns. Be ready for slow going if you are towing a trailer. The campground is nice. Somewhat spacious, but not very private. We stayed in spot 48. Full hookups, nice shade, but lots of road noise through the evening. Nights were quiet. Would stay here again, but so many other places to explore in California and the Sierras so realistically, we probably won’t be back.