Green Valley Campground

The last two years we’ve returned we made sure to book sites ³⁴⁄₃₅ which are the double sites. The rangers do come by and do a headcount so make sure to keep it below the maximum. They even counted the kids. And that included the little ones who were 1 and 2-​years-​old. I think that’s ridiculous but apparently that’s their rule.
We had visitors for the day and they were quick to jump on us for having them there. We assured the rangers that they were there for lunch and would be heading out before it got dark. The last few times the rangers were around more at least.
In the back loop you don’t hear the noise of the other campers which is great. I wouldn’t have minded staying in site 36 as well. We could have booked the whole back loop. Definitely an idea for next time.
Bring plenty of mosquito repellent. There were a lot of bugs since there is a small creek running through this site.

We had two families (4 adults/​4 kids total) staying in sites #36 and #37 for two nights. The sites were spacious and backed up to woods and a hill that allowed the kids to safely wander and explore nearby. Our two families ended up pitching our tents in site #37 and barely using #36, except as an open play area. The sites were at the end of a small loop with 2 other sites, one of which (#34/#35) is a double-​site, in the loop, so it was relatively private and quiet. There is one bathroom and water spigot in the center of the loop. The bathroom was fairly clean with electricity (one woman was charging her cell phone for several hours, but I think that sort of defeats the purpose of getting away from it all.), flushable toilets (woohoo!) and cold, running water. Bring hand soap or sanitizer with you since there are none in the bathroom. We will definitely be coming back.

So this place was good for what I had expected! Many negative reviews are based off of ridiculously high expectations or negative experiences with neighbouring campers.
Stayed in #32 which was perfect for 2 people and our dog. I think 4 grown adults in that site would be uncomfortable but still functional, 2 adults and 2 children would be ok, but little room for them to «explore.» There was so much brush behind us and between the campsites on the L & R of us, so that was nice and private. Across from us there was little to no brush to create privacy *oh well* and a huge lot of 4 connecting campgrounds across the way, which I could imagine being problematic if a large group (of possibly teenagers, rowdy family) got sites together. So keep that in mind; however, we had ZERO issues! Also the sunlight doesn’t really hit the site until later in the morning (nice cuz it didn’t blaze into our tent early in the morning) then the sun covered our site until the late evening. Little shade during that time, so it was fine for the high 70°, probably miserable if it’s 90°s
Bathroom was nearby & was very clean the entire 3 days we were there. However, there was no soap or towels? Odd.
Dogs allowed!
Faucet with water on almost every lot!
Wish it wasnt drought season when we came, cuz it was so cold and we couldn’t have a fire! Booooo.
When you arrive just pull into the spot you reserved and eventually the host will come up and have you verify your information. Pretty simple and painless.

I came here with my boyfriend in mid September and we had a great time. We stayed in site 36 for 3 nights and found ourselves alone in the loop for the entire trip, aside from a single camper for one night nearby. The campgrounds were well kept and clean and the camp hosts were very friendly. They came by a few times to check how everything was going and to see if we needed anything. A nearby hike takes you to Green Valley Lake and has a beautiful Lake Arrowhead viewpoint along the way. In town, you can rent kayaks and paddle boats to ride in the lake and can also swim in it for $ 5. Everyone in the area is extremely friendly and waves as they walk or drive by. Overall, this was a great experience and we would definitely come back in the future.

I like this Campground, it is in such a lovely community, not Lake Arrowhead and not Big Bear Lake, perfect to get away for a nice weekend trip and avoid crowds. A nice size campground and well maintained. The Campground Hosts were amazing, helpful, warm and friendly and yet very nicely reminded us of things like quiet hours, fire restrictions, etc. We were in Site # 33 under 3 nice large Cedar trees providing shade most of the morning, and giving us some sun later in the afternoon. We did awake on Saturday AM early to a motorcross bike event going on right next to the campground. The hosts and most campers were quite upset with the noise. Thank goodness I did not reserve the double site # 34 – 35 as the motorcross trail runs right next to it! I really felt bad for those folks, without the motorcross, that is a great site!

i have been going here for five years. every time I’ve been here its always amazing. the camp hosts are so sweet, and keep the campground up nice! its very clean, and kept up nice.

We have been camping in theses mountains for more then 35 years!!! This is one of favorite spots it’s clean, shady, open, big sites clean bathrooms the host or great, they allow pets!!! It’s close to the lake and some great trails, great off roading! There’s a cute little malt shop, I will say try not to forget anything the little store is very very expensive!!! But they are very nice, only once were we unhappy that’s when they had a big church group allowed way to many people in, it got very crowded line for bathrooms were 30 minutes the group was loud and rude we actually left two days early they would park rt by our site and talk and hang out two feet from our tent!!! But every other time has been great!!!

My family had the pleasure of camping at site 33 for two nights last weekend. Very private, beautiful site on a terminal loop in the campground. The clear area near the campfire ring, although slightly slanted towards the wash had good shade for sleeping in, and afternoon sun. There is a nice flatter tent site behind the leaning tree in a little alcove that leads down to the creek which is shady nearly all day in late summer. By mid September the nighttime temps are in the 40s so be sure to prepare for that. The creek was dry during our stay, but it is the third year of drought, so that is to be expected. Be mindful of leaving food out here, the wasps are drawn to anything with moisture. Once 6 swarmed our breakfast, we were careful to treat them like bears and make sure everything was put away rather quickly so they dispersed and did not return. Very nice, well kept little campground. I am sure we will return.

We just stayed in this campground this weekend. The highlight of the trip was the camp host, Jimmy D and his lovely wife. We had been to another camp in the area this past May and had a horrible experience with disrespectful campers. These two hosts also covered that campground and managed to diffused what was an UGLY situation. So we were DELIGHTED to see them here at this campground! We had a large group this weekend with several first time campers. Jimmy D and his lovely wife greeted us so kindly and even remembered us. They truly are wonderful people who do an EXCELLENT job managing campers, providing a clean camp environment and making you feel welcome.
As for the campground… there are some amazing sites. We stayed in the double site for our large group. I loved the feel of the large trees… like camping in the Redwoods. BEAUTIFUL campground with some amazing sites. We will definitely be back!
Thanks for a great weekend!

I’ve been camping up here since I was a kid and I always loved to this peaceful hideaway place for many years. It was a nice quiet getaway up there above Green Valley Lake where you could camp out and be left alone. But as for my last experience I was let down with the new caretakers, and all the people running by my campsite.
The new caretakers were being a little rude with me up until they got paid. After that, they went on their merry way. I set up campsite and then took a 20 minute tent nap — (what could be better) when the new caretakers busted into my campsite demanding to talk with me. The old man was Yelling Hello! I see your shoes outside the tent… It went on for a few minutes until I finally came out and paid them for a few days. The lady was being short with me when I gave her the money and said keep the change. She said No, it would mess up my books. Then the loud mouth behind her said ” Have A Nice Day! “. . like he got the final word in …, (and they got paid) They were disrespectful to me and should have given me the benefit of the doubt to came back later when I finished my nap. It was always like that with the old caretaker. He had patience and would come at a later time to collect the camp ground fees. It’s about getting out, without the hassle of everyday life. That’s something the old caretaker understood well and he always respected my privacy.
The next morning I woke up to people running by my tent just after sunrise.. 5 minutes later more people were coming down from the mountain, and 5 minutes later more and more people were jogging right passed my campsite. They must have found a mountain trail that takes them right through the campgrounds and on back to Green Valley Lake. And most of them were stopping short at the bend in the road next to campsite 18 — to recap and laugh about how much fun they were having. Seriously, over the next few hours, and over 100 people later. it finally started to slow down. This is not what I was expecting at all.
And in conclusion.
Some of the campsites had reserved tags on them. That’s to be expected. But most of them have a tag up that says one day only. During my stay I found that the reserved campsites were not occupied the next day, and what I didn’t understand is why they had 1 day only tags up over the weekend when normally it’s a two day stay. My guess would be poor management, and unreliable circumstances.

This campground is awesome!!! I had been doing a lot of beach camping recently and really wanted to get back to the mountains. We stayed in #4 & #5 and it was perfect for us. We all set up in #4 since it had it’s own hidden meadow. The camp hosts were great. Delivered firewood to our site. The lake and playground were great for the kids. Everyone had a perfect time. We will definitely be back!

Nice place and campsite #27 has lots of room and shade. Pretty close to the entrance though. Not too noisy, except for the campsite next to us. Our campsite was right across from the bathrooms, making night time pee breaks nothing to worry about. The camp dumpsters were also within a lazy mans walking distance, and we could not smell either the bathrooms or the dumpster from our site. Also the camp managers were a super cute older couple who loves their jobs and were super friendly!

I love this campground! It is small, quiet, there is plenty of shade, and the ranger, JD, was incredibly friendly and helpful. He gave us amazing tips on what to do in the local area, raced our kids in his golf cart, and kept the facilities clean and well stocked. He made our weekend a huge success — thanks JD!
We had a small group of us, and took up all the campsites from #26 to #32. By campsite…
26 — small, only fits one tent comfortably
27 — larger, could easily fit a couple of tents, separated from the other sites by a small grassy area
28 — blends into site #30, would recommend booking the two together, and would easily accommodate a small group of up to 10 – 16 people; not a lot odds shade though
29 — very shady cute site, can fit a couple of teens with ease
30 — see site #28 above; big site, works well for groups
31 — more shade, separated from #30 by just a log, can easily fit a couple of tents. 28, 30 and 31 combined make a great group site
32 — separated from the rest, smaller but shady
In addition, site #1 is in its own little Grove and is highly recommended if you want some privacy — we plan to come back to that site by ourselves someday!
We did not expect lavish facilities — it’s a basic campground. That’s what we wanted. A place to relax, unwind, and enjoy the outdoors. Loved it.

It appears that most people only rate campgrounds after a negative experience, thus unfairly skewing Unilocal results (as most campgrounds have a dearth of reviews). So let this be the corrective.
This is a nice spot with gracious hosts and clean facilities. No one was partying late into the night when we were there, but if they were I’m sure the hosts would have put an end to it as they patrolled the site with regularity.
We camped in spot 32, which was small but highly shaded. An overall good experience.

While I tend not to gravitate to developed campgrounds for reasons I won’t explain here, this was a quaint, well-​managed campground. The hosts were consistently patrolling the grounds to make sure the restrooms (with flushable toilets and running warer) were cleaned and stocked. They were also friendly and helpful.
All in all, my wife and I had a relatively quiet stay.

Just returned back from camping. We had a good time. The facilities were clean and maintained. The camp hosts drove by on their golf cart multiple times a day to check on the bathrooms. Very nice and helpful people.
We stayed at site #27. First we were worried about being close to the entrance to the site but there were not many cars driving in and out so it was ok. The site itself had plenty of shade and a few flat areas for the tent. So over all its not bad. There are worse sites there.
We walked around and made a few notes on some of the sites. Mostly was looking for flat areas with shade and not to close to another site.
35 is the best. Double site so 2x the cost.
36 and 37 are joining and really good
1 is secluded and cool.
2 is ok but not flat. Very large area
4 is nice. No neighbors.
9 isn’t bad. At the corner.
13 and 14 are good ones. 14 is better of the two
17 is cool. Lots of RVs in this back area.
19 and 20 are good partner sites. 19 is better by far.
23 and 22 are ok. Must be neighbors though. 23 is better of the two.
Bad spots, 6, 3,.7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18,5, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29; 30

I’m giving this place 5 stars because I really don’t believe the current 2 – 3 star mark is accurate and we had a great time. I think if we would have selected a different site, we probably wouldn’t have loved it as much but that’s why you do your research people! What do you expect?
First of all, not all sites are private. In fact, some of the sites are clearly right in the view of other people, but it’s pretty obvious from the map layout which sites these will be. If you want privacy, select sites that are around the outsides, not close to other sites and are on the loops, not in the middle of the campground. We stayed in 33 and it was extremely private. The site was huge, could have easily fit three tents and still had plenty of room to hang out, eat, have a fire etc. There were trees all around so we didn’t feel a lack of privacy. I would say this vibe went for about half of the sites there, the people at ³⁴⁄₃₅ were so tucked away, we never saw them. Same goes for shade or lack thereof. It appeared that the spots that were in the less private areas and near other sites had less trees and shade. Our site had tons and it seemed like on every site you could find at least a little shade.
I’m surprised that people are complaining about the bathrooms because not only were they always super clean, the attendant came around at least twice a day, maybe even three times to check them and bring toilet paper. This is camping after all, I wasn’t really expecting that. Plus we stayed during LDW, it was completely sold out, yet no issue with bathrooms.
And speaking of the attendant, she rocked! Terry was super nice and helpful throughout the stay. She would drive around with firewood if people needed it and was very pleasant. She was on site ²⁴⁄₇ and would come to you for check-​in so you just had to pull up to your spot and get settled and she would come to you.
Another complaint I’ve read is in regards to the firepit. I completely agree that you should not depend on these for cooking. The little grill top is not directly over the firepit but off to the side and each grill piece (for lack of better word) was very far apart so unless you were cooking something large like ribs or a huge steak, it wouldn’t work. Don’t even try to do hamburgers because they will fall through. We were able to do hot dogs by putting them on sticks and setting those on there, and it was actually perfect to toast buns, but I just would make sure to bring some other sort of cooking device with you. I find it funny that this is a complaint because the firepit was probably the most fun/​interesting part of the stay. If it was a true grill, that would have been a major bummer. You can bring a grill, you can’t bring a firepit.
Also, don’t rely on Green Valley Lake area for supplies. The Malt Shoppe is closed (boo), there is one small restaurant and a general store. The general store is small. They had the ice and extra firewood we needed but I wouldn’t expect any kind of food products from them. The actual lake in general wasn’t very nice at all and the road to get there is just that, literally a road. We thought we might walk to the lake but it wasn’t worth it. Before we got to Green Valley however, we took a detour over to Lake Gregory. That lake was beautiful! We had a dog so we did a loop around the lake which was very pleasant, and we packed a lunch. I would say that’s a definite if you want the lake vibe. It’s only about 30 mins away and if you’re come from LA, it’s on the way.
A close trail I would recommend is 2N19. The entrance is through the campground, past site #11. You go through a «road closed» sign before you see the trailhead marker. I’m pretty sure it’s at least 5 miles to the top of the hike (although the instructions we got made it sound like it was 5 miles round trip) and we definitely didn’t go the whole way. It was cool though because there was tons of wildlife and we got up high enough for an awesome view of Lake Arrowhead! Definitely a highlight. It was nice to have a trail that we didn’t have to drive to.
Overall, I think other reviewers have been too picky about this place. Maybe it’s because I don’t really camp often (or ever) so I can’t compare it to other campgrounds but considering my coworkers laughed at me when I said I was going camping («what? you? camping? hahahaha! You must mean ‘glamping’!») and I loved it, that must mean something right? Green Valley is a very cute campground if you’re looking for a little peace and quiet with friends, family and pups! I will go back (if I go camping again).

Never book site #30.
describe this site «full shade». Actually, it is full sun. There is not a single tree in this site except a very small tree in between site #30 drive way and #28 drive way. You don’t get any shade all day long. Besides, this is a very tiny site sandwiched in between #28 and #31. No privacy at all. Your every move is under the eyes of your neighbor. Your hear their muffed conversation loud and clear.

I hate to give the wilderness 3-​stars, but I have to.
Look, if I have to pee behind a bush when the bathrooms are trashed and have been occupied for hours, I may as well pee behind a bush in an actual secluded area with no facilities at all.
I’m not typically a «campground with hookups/​facilities» kind of girl, but the location of this trip was not up to me and my John Wayne TP mentality. I may be prejudiced against camping with many people around me that I don’t know, especially people with generators that run all night so they can play loud music and party and puke all over the bathrooms.
If you’re a loud, party camper whose goal is to just hang out at camp and maybe dirtbike or go swimming, Green Valley is all yours. There’s some hiking in burned orange areas, but they’re not very interesting. The cost of using the lake was a bit high and so was the site fee for what we got.
It’s just not my scene.

We were only able to stay one night and it got extremely cold! But the campground was clean, quiet, and we will definitely be going back. Our site (#6) was out in the open so we’ll be choosing another spot next time. Sorry to the fellow campers that heard us bust down camp at 3 am!