Lake Hemet — Attraction in Palm Springs

We had a different experience than most, it seems. Weeknight was fine. Rules stressed everywhere we looked, so we were careful to observe quiet hours. The few other camps in our campground did the same. It was excellent. Friday night, all bets were off. Crowed sites that appeared to have multiple people and vehicles, not at group sites but regular campsites, seemed to be people who were there to party together. I know that is common and normal. In this case though, the campers weren't concerned about quiet time or families in the campground with kids, or people who maybe wanted to be asleep before 1 a.m. I know of a couple of campers at other sites who called security, which brought a brief quiet time. I woke up at 6:15 a.m. with people yelling at kids or dogs and each other like it was normal conversation, ignoring the fact that most of the other camps around them were quiet. They arbitrarily curtailed the swim hours on the weekend due to "staffing problems" that magically occurred overnight, I suppose. They let people stand in line in the heat until they got to the gate before telling them they had less than half of the scheduled swim time. Really unprofessional and inconsiderate. The showers had either little hot water or all hot water. The best I could do was a mere "uncomfortably hot". I was told there was a frog or a dead frog in one of the showers, so no one was using it. I did not confirm that...It is a beautiful lake, but I would not spend that money again to stay there, at least not on a weekend. With all of the good reviews, I really wonder what happened. The staff that we dealt directly with, and the campground host were great. The enforcement of quiet time, however, was talk only. I can understand a problem with a single security person confronting a loud and inebriated, medicated group, but there is a Sheriff's Department office right at the gate. That would be good backup to call on. The campground was too crowded on the weekend, camps too close together to allow loud music and loud rowdy conversation-if it is a family destination/campground. That was our experience.

Update: Lake Hemet customer service/admin was very professional and helpful in responding to our report about our experience. They offered a good resolution. We may give it another try in the future, once they've had time to work out solutions to the issues that came up in our section of...

Beautiful place! We witnessed a Primo Sunrise at Lake Hemet on 1/31/22. Rugged mountains encircle this medium-sized lake. It was a frigid 17 degrees when we arrived that morning, just before dawn. Calm glassy conditions prevailed until just before 11am, then a fairly strong north wind kicked up more cold, & some unpleasant chop on the lake.

4,000 lbs. of Rainbow Trout were dumped in on January 25th, 2022. We saw quite a few trout caught, including a 6 lb. beast of a Rainbow! Unfortunately, none of them came in on our lines. The technique that was working here, was twitching tiny shad-type plastics, particularly in a pink & chartreuse pattern, with a 7' 5, to 8ft. ultralight spinning rod & reel, using 2lb. monofilament line.

I still enjoyed the scenery, the quiet solitude of this place, & relaxing with my son & grandkids out in the San Bernardino Mountains. $5 Adventure Pass required in general parking areas on Lake Hemet Road., $25 Day Use in Camping Area, near Marina &...

Oh man this was a magical experience, we stayed in the Catfish camp at the far end, and our camp host Mar was amazing at accommodating us with tips and recommendations. A lot of sites closest to the water do not have trees so if you do not have a canopy and need shade I'd suggest booking one row back at least. Restrooms are always nearby and there are showers near the entrance of the camp if needed. Plenty ice, wood, and whatever else you may need at the camp store. There is a picnic table and fire ring at every site, but a grate is not guaranteed. We wanted an easy hike one morning so we went to Hurkey Creek across the street from the camp, it was moderately easy getting to the waterfall. One morning we drove 15 minutes up the mountain to check out Idylwild which was so cool to have it so close. Overall our stay was amazing and will definitely...