Chuchupate Campground
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 6 mi
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 9 of the next 15 nights; a database flag says not open read 16:54 UTC
- A night
- $30From, per site
- Sites
- 29All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 19 notices
In the agency’s own words
Nestled near the Tejon Pass, your escape from the city to this remote and beautiful high desert hide-away awaits. This perfectly primitive-style campground is a favorite "retreat from the heat." Conveniently located, Chuchupate Campground is just minutes from Los Angeles. Ditch the cell phone and the laptop, and leave the grind behind. Following a serpentine ascent to Chuchupate, you will take in views of the Lockwood Valley; through the pines you can glimpse Frazier Mountain and the Tehachapi Mountains. Keep reading
Recreation
Hikers who want a bit of a challenge can make a day trip from Chuchupate Campground up the Frazier Mountain Trail with some panoramic views of Lockwood Valley and the high desert. The lower portion of the hike is almost entirely exposed and can be hot during the summer, but the upper half is pleasantly shaded. The Dark Sky element at Chuchupate makes it a favorite for star gazing. This campground also offers access to miles of OHV recreation.
Facilities
This seasonal campground is open daily May through November. There are 29 single and spaciously situated campsites ideal for tent camping, and RVs under 24 ft. Campfires are allowed only in designated fire rings. Pets are allowed. You should plan to be completely self-sustained for the duration of your trip. There is no potable water or electricity onsite. There is no dump station. This is a "dry" campground with six vault toilets. The road through the campground is narrow in places and long trailers are not advised due to obstructions and difficult angles into the campsites.
Natural Features
Chuchupate is the Chumash name for California rock parsnip or celery weed, a yellow-flowered plant that grows amidst the scrub-oak and manzanita here. During the late spring, the hillside is accented by wildflowers including Matilija poppies, Indian paintbrush and lupines. The campground is sufficiently shaded by hearty pinyon pines.
Nearby Attractions
Trails, beautiful views, biking, hiking, off-road vehicle riding all within minutes. There is a small market, deli and pizza parlor at the intersection of Lockwood Valley Road and Cuddy Valley Road. Frazier Park located nearby offers several other dining options.
What the agency tells you
In order to contact our offices, please use the email: customerservice@pmcparks.com or view our website: CampOne.Com for answers to frequently asked questions.
Camping fee includes 1 vehicle and 1 tent, trailer or RV site. $10 fee for each extra vehicle.
No drinking water is available.
Everything else this campground posts · 16
Pets are allowed.
No public showers in the region.
Quiet hours are 10 p.m. - 8 a.m.
This facility is 'Pack it in. Pack it out.'
Fireworks are prohibited at all times.
At 6,300 ft. in elevation, the nights can be cold, even in summer.
The paved road up to the campground is narrow (one lane only) in places and it is not recommended for long trailers or vehicles over 24 ft. in length.
Be bear aware; keep all food out of sight in approved containers or locked inside your vehicle and remove all food from area after eating.
Be cautious of snakes in the area. Use a 'walking stick' when hiking in this area.
No cell service in or near this campground.
Avoid hiking alone. Tell someone where you plan to go and then stick to your plans.
Avoid unnecessary risk - help for emergencies is miles away.
Carry a first aid kit and other safety gear with you.
Bring gnat/mosquito repellent during spring/summer/fall.
2 night minimum stay on weekends.
3 night minimum stay on holidays. Click here for more information on Los Padres National Forest Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 29
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 26 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…is a "dry" campground with six vault toilets. The road through the campground is narrow in…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…for the duration of your trip. There is no potable water or electricity onsite. There is no dump station.…”
Around the campground
- Biking
- Night sky · 1010th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 4
Something open on 8 of the next 9 bookable nightsread 16:54 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBookedNot reservable
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“$10 fee for each extra vehicle.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $30 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking, plus the agency’s published $2 weekend rate on Friday and Saturday. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 16:54 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
29 sites
All 29 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 29 of the 29 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Loop 1 | 01 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 02 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 03 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 04 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 05 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 06 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 07 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 08 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 09 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 10 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 11 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | $30 |
| Loop 1 | 12 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 13 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 14 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 15 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 16 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 17 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 18 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 19 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 20 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 21 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 22 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 23 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 24 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 25 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 26 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 27 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 28 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $30 |
| Loop 2 | 29 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $30 |
25 of 29 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
McGill Campground and Group CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 5.9 mi
Mt. Pinos CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 6.0 miKings CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 6.4 miChula Vista Walk-in CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 7.1 miDutchman CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 7.8 miPine Springs CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 9.9 miFrom Los Angeles: Take I-5 north past the Gorman exit to Frazier Mountain Park Road exit. Go west on Frazier Mountain Park Road for 7 miles to the intersection of Lockwood Valley Road. Turn left and proceed 3 miles to Frazier Mountain Road (FS 8N04). Proceed 3 miles past the Chuchupate Ranger Station.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Frazier Park, CA
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Chuchupate Campground is in California’s 26th congressional district. Its representative, Julia Brownley (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →