Spruce Grove Campground

Bathrooms reeked, but other than that, it was a beautiful camp. Went with a group of 12 people and stayed overnight. We set up camp and then did a day hike to the summit at Wilson. It rained on us that afternoon. They have fire rings and stoves and there is a running stream nearby.

You can legitimately go backpacking in Los Angeles. The place to do it is here, the Spruce Grove Campground.
You can access the campground from the Chantry Flats Parking lot and it’s approximately a 3.5 mile hike in.
There are picnic tables and old stoves for heating up food and to utilize as a fire place. There is a pit toilet. The only water source is a creek so a filter is necessary if you’re not packing in all of your water.
Lots of tree cover and even though the parking lot of chantry flats is often filled to the max, you can find solitude at Spruce Grove.

Just got back from another Scout outing. 6 Boys and 3 adults on a backpack. All experienced hikers training for our huge Philmont outing this July.
Parking was hard to come by at 7am. The place was just packed. One of us had to park about a half mile down the road. The base camp area is nice. Picnic tables, a snack shop, a few rangers to assist in the parking and some pit toilets. Pretty space… gets the job done.
Several trails heading up towards Mt. Wilson. Thin, but well maintained trails, and easy water crossings. Spruce Grove campsite is fairly well maintained. The pit toilets are in need of remodeling but those funds won’t come easily. The sites are decent sized with a picnic table, fire ring and very old rickety stoves that look mostly unused in years. Get here early as the campsites will be gone by noon. The scenery is beautiful. Lots of spruce trees, squirrels and birds. A nice bubbling stream with delicious water (used a uv light filter) provided a delightful soundtrack. Few bugs or mosquitos. Make sure to hang your food as there have been recent bear sightings.
The Boys took an additional 5 hour round trip to Mt. Wilson before our dinner and campfire. The loop trail gave us a different route home. Another perfect weekend with the Boy Scouts.

Spruce Grove campground is a surprisingly nice trail camp for most. Forget the crowds… more than likely you’ll be the only group there for the evening. Our only visitors were the Sunday morning cross country runners on there way to Mt. Wilson (whewwww!). We (a small group of Boy Scouts) have stayed there at least 4 times and every visit was enjoyable. The running stream was very convenient for water re-​supply. Evenings were cold during the winter months but stove fires kept us warm for the most part. The campsite was clean and well maintained considering the location. The trail there was just fine for our youngest Scouts (age 11). Great hike/​great place to visit!

I went backpacking to Spruce Grove Campground last weekend, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. The bf and I took the main route away from the pack station towards Sturdevant Falls, and at first I was apprehensive because of the large number of people going up and down the trail (not to mention the fact that the road starts off paved, which isn’t a very good sign when you’re looking for a rustic weekend in the mountains). Apparently an extremely popular spot amongst the locals for day trips and quick hikes, the trail stayed fairly crowded all the way to the Falls, but once we went past the waterfall and on toward the campground the number of hikers dropped off to almost nothing. How refreshing!
Six miles in you arrive at Spruce Grove Campground, which is the first campground in on this leg of the trail. The location is fairly nice: well-​shaded and just off the creek, it’s a comfy place to stop after an afternoon of hiking. There are maybe 6 or 7 camping spots total, and each is fairly large and equipped with an iron stove (don’t forget your fire permit. Also, open campfires pose too much of a hazard, so be sure to keep your flaming fun inside the stove). The park ranger stopped by in the late evening to check on us, and he was super-​friendly and really made us feel quite welcome and comfortable.
On our way back out the next morning we stopped by Sturdevant’s Camp, which is a sort of historical landmark and has a lot of cool, old buildings to look at, as well as a giant swing to amuse your inner 5 year-​old. Another 6 miles along the trail, which runs by the mountain’s peak overlooking Pasadena and then descends back down to the creek at the bottom of the canyon, and you’re back where you started by the pack station.
All-​in-​all, I tend to like my hiking/​camping spots to be a little less developed and crowded than this particular trail, but considering its extremely close proximity to the city this is a surprisingly rustic place. Aside from the occasional hiker or trail-​runner who made their way through every once in a while, the campground itself was fairly quiet and tucked away from everything. Apparently there’s another campground about 10 miles inland that’s completely undeveloped, and I think I would like to hike all the way in someday, maybe on a three-​day weekend. But when you don’t have the time to drive all the way up to Big Sur or some other spectacular spot, this is definitely a great place to go for a weekend escape from the city.