U.S. Forest Service · San Gabriel Mountains National Monument · CA

Buckhorn Campground

5Heads up5 fires, nearest 14 mi
Wildfire
Peak fire · 14 mi away · updated Oct 15, 2026
Wildfire
Lac-373293 fire · 16 mi away · updated Oct 16, 2026
Wildfire
Lac-373787 fire · 18 mi away · updated Oct 16, 2026
Wildfire
Lac-373651 fire · 20 mi away · updated Oct 16, 2026
Wildfire
Lac-372068 fire · 21 mi away · updated Oct 15, 2026
First come, first servedNo reservation, and none to be had: the sites go to whoever pulls in first.

This is how it should work.

Right now
Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
6,460 ftElevation
189 ftWater · an unnamed stream
10.6 miN of Duarte, CA
24%Tree cover
Bortle 5Night sky · 1167th darkest of 1,201 in CA

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

General Camping Info : Find helpful guidance and tips for an enjoyable trip to the forest! Know Fire & Other Restrictions Before You Go! : These conditions can affect your entire trip. For example, Extreme and Critical fire use restrictions mean no campfires and no portable cooking systems/stoves. Bring cold food and no S'mores. Be Bear Aware! : Bear safety is critical, for the safety of your group and/or you, as well as our bears. Help keep bears wild by following these tips. Overview of Site: Buckhorn Campground can be the quick escape you need from LA. Keep reading

The campground is drenched in the fresh air with the smell of incense cedars surrounding visitors. Overnight, campers may spot seasonal constellations, planets, and the occasional shooting star. During the day, visitors can venture to nearby waterfalls or trails including the Burkhart Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Silver Moccasin. Buckhorn Campground has much to offer. Buckhorn Campground has piped water at this time. However, it is still advised to bring water just in case this changes. Amenities: 38 total campsites with 3 accessible campsites. 3-single SST toilets, 2-double SST toilets, 2-double vault toilets. Picnic tables. Bear-proof boxes available for storage of food and scented items. Hiking: Access to Burkhart Trailhead; the Burkhart Trail, the Silver Moccasin National Recreation Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the High Desert National Recreation Trail Waterplay: Access to Buckhorn Creek, Buckhorn Falls, and Cooper Canyon Falls RV's: Maximum RV length is 18' - No hookups.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
“…toilets, 2-double SST toilets, 2-double vault toilets. Picnic tables. Bear-proof boxes available for…”
Drinking water
None, bring your own
“…time. However, it is still advised to bring water just in case this changes. Amenities: 38 total…”
Source: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Waterfall, Creek
Source: Stated in the agency description

Nothing to book, just show up

One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.

recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.

BookingNo reservationsNothing to book, and no release date to wait forthe record
Runs itU.S. Forest Servicethe agency’s record
Every line of the receipt · 4

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service publishes no per-night rate for this campground that we can read, so there’s no sign price to print. That’s a gap in the record, not a free campground.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Nothing. This campground takes no bookings, so there’s no reservation fee to pay.
What this campground addsits own record
Extra vehicleSee the note

“Camping - $12 per vehicle (8 people per site) per night, $5 for extra vehicle. 50% discounts given for Senior or Accessible America the Beautiful Pass holders. (Adventure Pass not accepted in-lieu of camping fee.)” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record

What a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s no total to show.
How we know this receipt · 5
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Tonight50°Mostly Clear
Saturday60°Mostly Sunny
Saturday Night48°Mostly Clear
Sunday60°Sunny

NWS forecast for Duarte, CA

Typical weather

Typical October night 51°F, day 72°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical February night 37°F. Bring the bag rated for it.

90°30°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: MT WILSON CBS, CA (USC00046006), 12 miles away and 750 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

What threatens this place

Roadless
San Gabriel Add2,527 acres · 7 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Westfork4,407 acres · 7 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
West Fork1,169 acres · 9 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Source: MTJP Threatened Lands map · Sep 30, 2026

Who answers for this land

Judy Chu, official portrait

Buckhorn Campground is in California’s 28th congressional district. Its representative, Judy Chu (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service’s own recreation database flags it not open and publishes no reason and no date. That’s a flag, not a notice.
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.