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The beautiful park offers camping and hiking in an oak woodland forest, with a sprinkling of pines and lovely meadows with creeks. There are over 100 miles of trails which accommodate hikers, bikers, and equestrians. The two family camps, Paso Picacho and Green Valley, are open and on the reservation system spring through fall. Green Valley sits at an elevation of 4,000 feet and has a creek which runs through the middle of the campground. The day use area offers sets of cascades and shallow pools, great for water play on hot days. Green Valley has 81 campsites.
Paso Picacho, 5 miles north, sits at an elevation of 5,000 feet. The most popular hikes start from this camp, including the 2 mile hike up Stonewall Peak (elevation 5,700 feet), and the 3.5 mile hike up Cuyamaca Peak (elevation 6,512 feet), both which offer breathtaking views of the deserts to the east, the coast to the west, and Lake Cuyamaca at the bottom. Lake Cuyamaca, operated by the Helix Water District, is two miles north of Paso Picacho and offers boating and fishing. Paso Picacho campground has 85 campsites.
Each campsite has a picnic table and a fire ring. Restrooms with flush toilets and pay showers are in the campground. Water faucets a located every few campsites. There are no hookups. Each campground has a dump station. Firewood and ice may be purchased at the camps. Interpretive programs are offered during the summer season. Campsites are $30 per night. Reservations are necessary for weekends April through October. The camping fee includes one motorized vehicle. Extra vehicles are $10 per night. There is a limit of 8 persons per campsite. Dogs are allowed but are restricted to the campgrounds, picnic areas, and paved roads and Cuyamaca Peak Fire Road. They may not be left unattended.
Environmental backpack in or horseback ride in camps are also available. Granite Springs and Arroyo Seco Environmental camps are open on first come, first serve. Both have chemical toilets, non-potable water, corrals and tent sites.
East of San Diego, the park is on Highway 79, five miles north of I-8.
Reservations may be made through ReserveCaliforniaTM at 1-800-444-PARK.
We camped for two nights at Paso Picacho Campground before July 4 although the temperature during the day was very high (97 F) but with trees around and wind it wasn’t felt that hot. We could sit under the shade of the tree and played games. Lots of squirrels and red ants in the ground so need to be extra cautious. Squirrels tried to steal left overs from the trash bags and my dog always wanted to run after those squirrels. Lots of insects, flies so need to carry good high grade repellent otherwise you will have a hard time. Some flies were like blood sucking flies. One red ant bit at my leg and I felt both pain and burning sensation at the area affected. By the evening as we used to do barbecue and the smoke or fire helped us in getting rid of these insects for the duration bbq was active. Although Bathrooms and dumpsters were across the road but it was always a uphill walk hence you need to wear good walking shoes. Lots of trails near the campsite but no dogs allowed on trails. We had booked 4 tent campsites for 7 families of 4 each. Two cars allowed at each campsite but 2nd car needed to pay extra rent. Campground also offered cabins for camping but we didn’t explore that much. Overall good time spent with friends and family.
This is a gorgeous campground with clean bathrooms, wonderful access to hiking trails very close and large campsites that are generally flat. With that being said, things to consider
- They’ve got an ice building however do not take credit card/debit card bring cash.
- They also charge $10.00 for an extra car which isn’t disclosed upon reservation. It says, you’re allowed up to two cars but when you get there they’ll in a predatory way, charge you $10.00 for that second vehicle. That’s really not cool.
I love camping and this is a decent camp ground area but lacks decent additional parking(it has overflow parking but a small area and limited to how many in your group can use it) and lacks water within walking distance to the park. Green Valley Falls is a much better choice. Paso Picacho has hot showers that you can buy tokens for (1 token For 2 min shower, 2(or 4?) tokens for $1). The showers are not well maintained most with no lighting for night use or much water pressure. The showers for disability access have both lights and higher pressure but the stalls don't seem to get cleaned too often, so make sure you bring sandals. Ice and firewood are avail for purchase during daytime hours. Many sites are on uneven ground or a hillside so plan appropriately. Not much room for large camper vehicles. Has a nice hiking trail across the highway from the campsite (see pictures) that takes an average 45 to hike up to the top only about 600' Elevation gain.
I like the area but too many people camp sites are too close to each other some campers don’t have respect for others they like to blast there music who can enjoy the great outdoors like that . They do have water in restrooms but not enough of them for the amount of people staying here had a great view of stonewall peak
