Laguna Campground — Hotel in Alpine

Great campsites for people of all ages! This is a perfect campground to stay at while exploring Mount Laguna and the surrounding cities including Julian and Mount Palomar. It’s only a couple minutes’ drive to town and countless hiking trails. There are bathrooms (holes in the ground & flush toilets), water spickets and showers in one area (near the Sunny & Roadside loops & only open mid May-October). There is also an amphitheater next to the Sunny Loop. Each campsite has a designated parking area and a camping area. The amount of parking space depends on the capacity for each site (e.g. 2-person site has 1 space, group sites have multiple spaces. The camping area is equipped with a large picnic table and a fire pit). There are several roads or loops in this campground, some loops are more private than others. See details on each loop below. Each site costs $24 per night and has a self-pay station; grab an envelope at the entrance, write your site, license plate and name on the stub attached to the envelope, clip the stub on the campsite marker to reserve your spot and place the envelope (with $ fee) in the drop-off spot at the entrance. This campground is pet friendly so feel free to bring your fur babies! There are many first-come first-served spots and it usually isn’t too much trouble finding a site, even on the weekends (except maybe during holidays).

Meadow Loop: convenient location for big groups and people wanting to be close to the open meadow and hiking trails to the lake loop. However, it is not very private and can get very windy due to the small amount of trees in this area. There are also no flush toilets here, only hole-in-the-ground toilets. *Sites #3, 5, 6 & 8 are unique, they are small and limited to two people because they house endangered butterflies.

Shady Loop: Has many trees, great for more private and intimate camping and for people wanting to hang their hammocks on trees.

Hillside Loop: One of the higher (in elevation/ up on a small hill) campsites with privacy and many smaller trees but not as close to the hiking trails as other loops.

Roadside Loop: Close to the hiking trails, showers, flush toilets and amphitheater.

Sunny Loop: Sites here are close together and close to the main mountain road (Sunrise Hwy) but also close to the showers, flush toilets and amphitheater.

*ALWAYS CHECK WEATHER the day of your trip to make sure it’s tolerable for camping before you make the drive up the mountain! Sometimes, in the winter & spring, it snows or becomes extremely windy so make sure you pack...

Ive been here on several occasions and several different seasons and it's always lovely.

Hiking: there are trails for novice and more expert hikers offering sweeping views of the Borrego desert, San Diego's east county rolling hills, and the calm meadows of Laguna. Be sure to pack some sunscreen and water as you'll be quite far from civilization. My recommendation is the Garnet peak tail, it is a little on the intense side of leads to beautiful views of the california deserts and even intersects with parts of the PCT at times.

Camping: if you are looking for a little more rugged camping without the fear of getting lost in the wilderness this place id tops. This campground for a small fee can afford you the amenities of running water and showers, but for those looking for a more authentic experience there is non electric sites with vaulted toilets. The grounds themselves are gorgeous and the weather is pleasant most times of year. Be careful when trying to go in the late summer and autumn months as spots fill up fast and are generally reserved in advance. The winters is when you'll truly see something wonderful as snow is capable of blanketing the meadow just remember to bring snow chains as the highway patrol and forestry service will shutdown the roads without. At the end of the day, if you're busy trying to escape the rigors of society and just plain old getaway, this is an serene place just 45 minutes outside...

Nicely Wooded area. The entire park is dry camping. My biggest complaint is the 8x8 posts planted along every bit of roadway and site to keep anyone from going an inch off the pavement. They represent a serious hazard to your RV if you accidentally veer off even a small bit. They do have a Roadside loop dedicated to full size RVs only. Shady loop and Meadow loop have good spots for average RVs. Hillside loop is hit and miss for level spots - some are drastically not level. I had expected that being in the mountains it would be cooler, but that's not the case...it was hot and we didn't want to run the generator more than necessary so we had no AC. One Campground host was friendly, the other not so much. Sites near the bathrooms and dumpsters had an odor depending on wind direction and whether or not the sunshine was powering the exhaust fans. Sites were large and spacious. Vault toilets were clean enough. There are two bathrooms that have showers, one centrally located. There are lots of long hikes available in the area. We had two sites that shared a grassy area between them so it was great for our grandkids to play and run between us and their parents. NO Verizon service...