Mountain Oak Campground — Hotel in Piñon Hills

I stayed at camp #5 on Sept 16-18 and it was near restrooms. Looking at the map, I thought it would be a longer walk, but it wasn’t. The camp is small and everyone is pretty close to you. However, everyone was respectful, friendly and kept to themselves during my stay. The host was nice and answered all my questions. I like the lake being directly across from the camp. I also liked there was a market in Wrightwood about 15mins drive. On our last day we had brunch at Wrightwood and it was a lovely little town.

It was super windy at night the days we were there and we weren’t ready for it. Luckily we took a heater, but we didn’t take sweater or extra blankets. Only packed a sweater for my son and boy did us adults needed one too. During the day, the weather was great. Because of high winds we couldn’t have a camp fire. We did use our burner for hot dogs and my tea pot. Camp 5 is close to the host and bathroom so that was convenient. I also liked that it was away from the road so I couldn’t hear anything. The wind at times sounded like waves, which I loved. The bear box is super convenient to store things away and the flushing toilets were always clean and fully stocked during my stay.

The water at camp is not safe to drink so don’t drink it or cook with it. I cooked hot dogs with it before knowing this information. None of us got sick, but the host said it’s only good to shower with and try not to get any in your mouth. Host also told me people get in the lake but shower right after. The lake is more like a swamp, but my son and I got in it up to our knees. It was too cold. Parts of the lake looks cleaner than others so we went in the clean section. There are plenty of hiking trails around the lake and the visitor center is a 10min drive away with more info on hiking trails. The host gave my son a sticker and trail map/info. Overall, my little family loved our stay and will come back...

The water from the spigots is NOT POTABLE!! You need to boil for 5 minutes prior to drinking. This was not posted and someone in our group who drank it got diarrhea. The campground host did NOT tell us this. We only found out after we went across the street to Jackson Lake (the day after we got there) where we saw a warning sign on the spigot. After we asked, the Mountain High campground host confirmed that the spigots come from the same source and water should be boiled. He claimed that people take down the warning signs. He could have verbally told us when he greeted us when we got there. This really needs to be addressed. It is a human health hazard. The campground was quiet and empty. There were only 3 other occupied sites while we were there for 4 days. The bathrooms were clean and stocked with flush toilets but no showers. Overall, a beautiful hidden gem with lots of close hiking and geocaching. Campfires were allowed while we were there July 31- Aug. 4. Need to fix the water problem or at least post on the reservation website that water is...

Hidden gem of a campground. Across from Jackson Lake and near Big Pines/Wrightwood. Stayed for one night but wished it was longer. There are flush toilets that are clean and well maintained. Camp host is very kind, personable and helpful. We have sites 2-3 for a big group and enough space for 4 tents. Sites are well-spaces. I thought we were a little loud but walking around the camp loop, the noise stayed pretty contained. You will need a campfire permit, takes 10 minutes on the forest service website. There are spigots for running water that are technically potable, but bring a filter...