Mountain Oak Campground

Mountain Oak Campground, adjacent to the Big Pines Highway and nearby Jackson Lake Day Use Area, is the second-largest campground in the Wrightwood Area and the most accommodating of the campsites between Jackson Lake and Big Pines. It hosts 18 campsites, each with enough room for eight people and a vehicle, and it is large enough to allow RVs up to 18 feet. Each site is well-shaded by the abundant oak, ponderosa, and sugar pine. Whereas campsites in nearby Lake Campground, Peavine Campground and Apple Tree Campground are small or intimate or both, the grounds at Mountain Oak sprawl. Campsites may be paired together, but there is ample space to spread out. Each has its own picnic table, fire pit, and bear container that is big enough to contain a cooler with ample room to spare. However, Mountain Oak is still part of the sparsely vegetated alpine forest that characterizes the San Gabriels, and without undergrowth to enclose campsites, privacy is limited. Also, located directly off of the Big Pines Highway, the noise of passing vehicles can disturb the peace and quiet, and those sensitive to noise pollution are urged to seek out campsites farthest from the road. Mountain Oak is oriented in a single loop, and many of the sites are set deeper into the forest.

Like Lake Campground, Mountain Oak is available by reservation and maintained by a private contractor, American Land & Leisure, which employs a camp host during the season to collect fees and maintain the grounds. As such, Mountain Oak is in terrific condition. It is less than a quarter mile to Jackson Lake, offering the opportunity to fish the well-stocked lake in spring and summer or paddle in its waters. Include less common amenities like flushing toilets, and Mountain Oak is one of the finer campgrounds in the area. 

Note: Mountain Oak Campground is typically open from mid-May through late October.