Millard Campground :: Angeles National Forest

Lesson learned, don't taken what you have for granted. Friends, family and a nearby campground.

Millard campground is about a five minute drive from our house, so when a few friends asked if we wanted to go camping there we jumped at the chance to check this place out (it was our first time camping there and we've lived in the area for five years!)  Sadly, because it is so close I think it's easy to take this place for granted, but Millard really is special. It sits in a canyon of oaks, nestled up to a seasonal creek. There are old cabins in the area, lots of trailheads and a hike to a waterfall (which had been closed since the Station Fire until just recently).

Millard Campground is on the edge of Altadena just inside the Angeles National Forest. A quick drive up a small winding road leads you to the campground. The Forest Service locks a gate at the beginning of this little road at 8 o'clock every night, so people coming in late at night to party is not a problem. (And note, you are locked in!) We stayed on a Friday night and there was only one other group camping.


The campground has 5 walk-in sites (a good 5 minute walk from the parking lot) with picnic tables, fire rings and vault toilets, but no water. Best part: the campground is free! A lot of people use the campground as a picnic area before or after a hike. There are a handful of great hikes that start from the campground: Millard Falls, Dawn Mine (one of my favorite), Sunset Trail and Inspiration Point, to name a few. We have hiked through the campground many times to get to the trailhead for Millard Falls and Dawn Mine and the other hikes. The mine can be explored, so bring a flash light if you deiced to take a hike it.

Peppermint Campground :: Sequoia National Monument

What better way to celebrate Amanda's 31st birthday than with friends, cooking over a campfire, jumping off rocks into cold water, and camping under a dark star-filled sky.

Most campgrounds in this area are still closed in early May, but Peppermint Campground (which is at 7,200 feet) opens from May-October - as long as the road is open. While camping at Wishon a couple of weeks ago we met some local Porterville folks who gave Peppermint a very high recommendation. They said it was their favorite campground in the area. 

Peppermint is a dispersed campground - which we discovered to mean that it's a bunch of dirt roads and you can camp pretty much anywhere off the road - there are no assigned "spots." There are a few tables, and we happened to get one of them. There are also random rock fire-pits here and there, which are helpful, but you have to get a fire permit from the Ranger Station. Fire permits are free they just want people to be informed on how to have a fire in the forest. 

Another thing to note about this campground - no trash cans. Pack it in, pack it out people. And there is one structure with vault toilets. 

We set up camp right next to the stream. The sound of the rushing creek lulled us to sleep at night. We really lucked out because there were NO mosquitos. Those things eat Amanda alive. 

Ain't nothing better in the world then a stream-cooled beer while campin!

 

 

Noah made an obstacle course for the kids.

These two were having a great time together. So cute.

Our new dutch oven is amazing!
The guys cooked Audrey and Amanda breakfast (bacon, biscuits and gravy) for Mother's Day.

We all cooked for each other this trip and it lead to the best camp food experience we have ever had.
Food is key to an epic camping trip.

 

On Saturday we took a drive down Hwy 190, back down to around 3000 feet, and we found a turn out with some stairs leading down to the river. We all took a jump in the ice cold water, and it was wonderful! What is it about jumping into cold water that's therapeutic and healing?

Picnic in the shade by the swimming hole.


On the way home on Sunday our little family made a stop at the Trail of 100 Giants to see some of the biggest and oldest trees in the world.

In September 2011 this Giant Sequoia fell on to the trail. We read that a German tourist was actually there when it fell and got a video. I cannot even imagine the impact that tree made when it fell.

Directions:

From Highway 99 near Baskersfield, turn east on Highway 190. 

Travel 31 miles east on State Highway 190, Western Divide Highway and Road 21S07. Look for a small "Peppermint Campground" sign on your left. There will be a few dirt roads, follow the roads a while till you see somewhere you want to camp.

Wishon Campground :: Sequoia National Forrest

Last summer we discovered the Sequoia National Forest - only a 3 hour drive from us (after a foiled attempt at going to Mountain Home in June).

This last weekend we made a return trip up to the same area because it was a warm weekend, perfect for camping in April. We were hoping to go to Belknap again, or maybe even Mountain Home State Forest, but with a call to the local ranger (we always call in advance now) we learned that the Belknap doesn't open until Mid-May - no matter the weather! And Mountain Home, doesn't open until Memorial Day weekend, or after.

We found out there was one campground open in the area: Wishon Campground.

We figured up in the Sequoia National Forest we couldn't go wrong - and we were right! Wishon Campground is great. We camped in a thick canopied oak grove with a mixture of conifer and oak covered mountain sides surrounding us. A good sized creek runs through the campground running into the Tule river, offering fishing, swimming... and even rock slides a little down the road! We didn't go to the swimming holes or rock slides, but we could see them from the road that leads up to the campground. I bet it's great later in the season when it's hot - we heard it gets pretty busy up there in the summer months.

We met some local Portville folks up there. They were pretty surprised that we drove all the way up there to camp at Wishon. Sounds like Wishon is the "local" thing to do. Makes sense, but this is as local as it gets for us! We don't exactly have large beautiful rivers flowing through oak groves and redwoods right around the corner in good ol' Altadena.

A view on the road to Wishon.

JW checking out the first section of the campground. 

There is also a cabin that can be rented at the entrance of the campground, it looked simple and comfortable.

When we arrived on Friday afternoon there were only a few other people in the campground, but late Friday night the place was almost filled. Seems that the warm weather called everyone up the mountain. During the summer this place is packed (we hear), but in those summer months I think we will be finding ourselves a little higher up, seeking a little relief from the heat in the shade of giant sequoias.

The campground itself sits at 4,000 feet and is open year round. It's set up in three loops. The first 5 or 6 sites are just off the road at the entrance, and the last 25 or so are on the other side of the river in the loops. The latter sit in a beautiful oak grove. Some sites are closer to the river then others, but the peaceful murmur of the river can be heard throughout the campground. The sites along the edges of the campground offer the best seclusion.

This camp site wins coolest fire ring. Notice the t-shaped arm bar over the fire ring,
it was adjustable and had hooks to hang pots and dutch ovens! 

There is a really nice 1/4 mile self-guided nature trail that informs on the local environment. JW had a blast on this, but then again, any place with lots of rocks, trees, dirt and water is like heaven for him.

Great little hike. Perfect for little ones. 

Manzanita in bloom.

There were little informative signs along the nature trail which was pretty cool,
but a couple of them seemed out of order.. which made for a confusing hike?!

There are also some amazing places to see in the area. There are six giant Sequoia groves in the area: Wishon, Silver Creek, Burro, Maggie Moutain, middle Tule and Upper Tule Groves. On Saturday we tried to drive to the 100 Giants  (some of the biggest, oldest trees alive in the world!), only to find that the last stretch of the road wasn't plowed yet (heard the plow broke down!).

Great little spot to stop and relax in Pierpoint Springs. Friendly people and good beer to boot!

This campground also wins a prize for coolest bugs. The crazy looking white centipede was bioluminescent. At night away from the camp fire light the ground glows green, and the glowing spots move! In a ten by ten foot area I found 5. Call me strange, but I was so intrigued that I put my face about 10 inches or so from them at night, it was one of the most amazing things I have seen.

We forgot TOYS for JW. I thought dirt and rocks were enough,
but he found an umbrella and fly swatter in the car to play with... 

 Realities of camping with a toddler. 

One of our go-to bean dishes.

Our new camping bowls!  Wood dosent break easy and it's light.

Directions:

From Highway 99 near Baskersfield, turn east on 190. Travel on 190 through Springville to Wishon Drive/M208. Turn left on Wishon Drive and travel about 4 miles. The entrance to Wishon Campground is on the right