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Leave the city vibe behind as you meander down a winding, partially paved, narrow road that leads you into wooded Middle Lion Campground and day use area. Relax next to the running creek, take a refreshing dip, or hike the nearby trails. Tucked away in a canyon encased by chaparral and wildflower covered mountains, Middle Lion Campground is particularly beautiful in the spring and fall, but camping is great year-round.
The Lion Canyon Trail (22W06) starts at the back of the campground. After 1.3 miles you will reach the Rose Lion Connector Trail (22W16) on the right. After 0.6 miles you can take side trails to East Fork Lion Camp, which is within the Sespe Wilderness, or West Fork Lion Camp. The main trail continues 3.6 miles to Nordhoff Ridge for spectacular views. No mountain bikes are allowed in the wilderness.
Middle Lion has eight campsites. They are located along a single loop, close to a creek. While tent camping is best enjoyed in this cozy campground, there is room for RVs under 20 feet. Tables and fire rings are provided in each site. There is a vault toilet in the campground. There is no drinking water at this site, so bring your own water.
Middle Lion Campground is surrounded by chaparral covered mountains, shaded by cottonwood trees and is next to a peaceful stream near the Sespe Wilderness area. As the trees seasonally change color, you will find yourself surrounded by vibrant yellow hues!
Hiking trails, biking, fishing are all within 30 minutes from the campground. Day trips to the higher elevation mountains for snow play are an opportunity in the winter. One mile away on the Rose Valley Road (6N31) is the Piedra Blanca trailhead where there are three trails to explore. All trails are located across Sespe Creek. The Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail (22W03) in the Sespe Wilderness will lead you to nearby massive white rocks, called Piedra Blanca! It is an easy walk for the first three miles.
A principal attraction to this section of the Sespe is Rose Valley Falls. This trail to the falls begins just before you enter Rose Valley Campground. Follow it for a short half-mile and you will be at the base of the falls. The cliffs at the falls are arkosic sandstone and crumble easily, so tread lightly. Rose Valley Falls is the tallest waterfall in the range and while it is an easy hike to the base of the 100-foot tall lower tier of the waterfall (0.8 miles round trip with 150 feet of elevation gain), it is adventure to reach the more impressive upper tier. Please do not climb around on steep sections or get close to the edge. You will need to park outside Rose Valley Campground to hike the trails.
Another trail, the Sespe River Trail (20W13) will lead you downstream into the Sespe Wilderness. You will find some swimming holes along this walk. Remember, no mountain bicycles allowed on wilderness trails. If you would like to go on a mountain bicycle ride, take the Middle Sespe Trail (22W04) that leads up river eight miles to the west to Middle Sespe Trailhead.
Follow Highway 33 north of Ojai for 14.7 miles to the Rose Valley Road turnoff (6N31) which is at mile marker 25.84. Turn right and follow the paved road 4.8 miles. Turn right and go 0.8 miles to Middle Lion Campground. The elevation is 3250 feet. Watch out for the rough sections of road.
Love it best location to camp with kids and pets secured and safe.
I love this campground. It sits on the bottom of an unpaved dirt and rocky road. Drive with caution down here. I stayed in November drove up the day after Thanksgiving and scored a walk up spot. It was during a fire ban and the temperature dipped below 20 degrees at night. The perks is the creek, its quite lovely and if you follow the river up it eventually opens up to bigger pools. I had to bushwhack my way back to camp because the trail has been covered up by brush and down trees. I hiked to the very top of the hill and walked around. There's some broken glass and bullet casings so keep an eye out on your little ones. The views were spectacular. I saw many hunters with bows and guns so beware. All in all I had a great stay here and will return in warmer months.
Loved the camp site river hiking trails small camp ground shaped in a circle some are close to each other some are bigger depends on which one you get a lot of young couples an families .
It was a fun time, me and my nephew went and did a day hike and camped 1 night. It was 20 dollars to stay. The road was very bad though getting there. You need a high clearance car or SUV if you want to go there. When we were leaving we saw someone in a car had hit their oil pan and we're losing oil because of it. The whole road back to the top had a stream of oil that had come out of their car. So be very careful and go slow down the road. Very holy road and not in a good way. Other then that and pretty much each camp site was in the dead heat of the sun from about 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. wasn't so comfortable after a few hours of not finding shade. So bring a tarp or expect a good sun burn. One last thing there is no cell service, except by Ojai, and 1 tiny part at the top part of one of the mountains driving there. So make all your calls and download your movies ahead of time. Or just be like us and get out of the heat of the day and drive back to town to download a movie and cool off at the same time. Lol. I hope this helped others to plan a good camping trip. Enjoy camping.
Small, beautiful campground. I would have given five stars, but a couple of the spots are so small and slightly at an angle, not sure where you'd even pitch a tent. However, overall we had a great time. There's one bathroom, but no running water. Make sure you pack in all your water needs, and pack out your trash.
