Dark Canyon Campground
Sites are first-come, first-served. Recreation.gov lists this campground for paying on site, and you may be able to pay with the Scan and Pay feature of its app.
More like this: first-come in California
Season & status
| Status | Closed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date. |
| Forest | San Bernardino National Forest |
| Fees | $12 per night (includes 1 vehicle) + $5 per additional vehicle. Use fee envelopes to pay by cash or check on site. |
| Rules | First come, first serve sites are available. The fee allows for a maximum of 8 people per campsite and entry for 1 vehicle and 1 legally towed vehicle. Additional fees of $5 per extra vehicle will be collected at the campground. There are no refunds for inclement weather. |
Weather by month
Getting there
| Coordinates | 33.8040° N, 116.7321° W · Directions ↗ |
Supplies & services
| Outdoor gear | Nomad Ventures ↗ | 4.1 mi |
| RV sales & service | Mountain Air Mobile Home Sales ↗ | 13.9 mi |
| Dump station | Dump station ↗ | 24.8 mi |
Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.
No site-by-site records, no amenities, no fee schedule or directions in the Recreation.gov record. What is here comes from the agency's own listing. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the record fills in.
Explore
Video
Dark Canyon Campground - San Bernardino National Forest, CA
Worth a stop
- 2.7 miIndian Mountain Ohv Road 4S21 ↗OHV / range
- 3.8 miHumber Park Trailhead Parking ↗Trailhead
- 4 miMellor Ranch Ohv Road 4S05 ↗OHV / range
Trails nearby
- 0.4 miSeven Pines1.2 mi trail
- 0.9 miMarion Mountain1.5 mi trail
- 2.1 miPCT Section 27 ↗5.2 mi trail · national_scenic_or_historic
- 2.1 miPCT Section 26 ↗1.8 mi trail · national_scenic_or_historic
- 2.2 miBlack Mountain3.7 mi trail
- 2.3 miPCT Section 28 ↗2.1 mi trail · national_scenic_or_historic
Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.
Public land it sits in
San Jacinto Wilderness begins about 1.1 miles away, and it is the closest of these.
- 1.1 miSan Jacinto Wilderness ↗Wilderness · Forest Service · 32,186 acres
- 1.3 miSan Bernardino National Forest ↗National Forest · Forest Service · 805,483 acres
- 6.6 miSouth Fork San Jacinto Wilderness ↗Wilderness · Forest Service · 20,158 acres
Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.
Other campgrounds nearby
Historic landmarks nearby
Guidebooks for California
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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
Do I need a reservation at Dark Canyon Campground?
No. Dark Canyon Campground is first-come, first-served. Sites are taken on arrival and paid at the fee station.
Source: Forest Service
How much does it cost to camp at Dark Canyon Campground?
$12 per night (includes 1 vehicle) + $5 per additional vehicle. Use fee envelopes to pay by cash or check on site.
Source: Forest Service
Is Dark Canyon Campground open right now?
Closed for the season as of Oct 16, 2026.
Source: Forest Service status
What if Dark Canyon Campground is full?
The nearest public campgrounds are Marion Mountain (0.8 mi, partly first-come), Fern Basin (1.1 mi), and Boulder Basin (2 mi).
Source: Campgrounds nearby