Meadow Group Campground
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 13 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 2All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Meadow Group Campground is located off State Highway 2 between the Manzanita Loop of the Chilao Campground and the Chilao Ranger Station, 26 miles north of the 210 Freeway in La Canada, California. The campground offers access to a wide variety of recreational activities within the beautiful Angeles National Forest. Keep reading
Recreation
This campground is 1.5 miles from the San Gabriel Wilderness- where hiking and equestrian use is permitted. In addition, there are also hiking, biking and equestrian trails nearby. The Chilao Visitor Center is located 1.5 miles east of the campground. It offers exhibits and information about the area, campfire programs and excellent bird watching opportunities, including ten species of woodpeckers.
Facilities
The campground will accommodate two groups. Area 1 accommodates up to 24 people and has three picnic tables, three fire rings, one water spigot, and an animal resistant dumpster. Area 2 can accommodate up to 80 people and has ten picnic tables, ten fire rings, and an animal resistant dumpster. Flush toilets are currently not available. But vault toilets are available and are shared by both groups.
Natural Features
The Meadow Group Campground is located within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, which is bordered by the Los Angeles Basin on the south, the San Gabriel Wilderness Area on the east, the San Gabriel Mountains on the north, and the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 14 on the west. The campground is at an elevation of 5,300 feet amid Coulter pines, scrub oaks and grasslands. Visitors might see birds and squirrels along the nature trails, and the area is particularly known for its variety of woodpeckers.
Nearby Attractions
State Route 2, the Angeles Crest Scenic Byway, is a National Forest Scenic Highway. The highway, as it winds along the San Gabriel Mountains, offers spectacular views of nearby peaks and valleys. Several vista points along the road offer the traveler expansive views of the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.
Charges & Cancellations
Booking Window For most locations, you can reserve 12 months in advance for group sites. There are some exceptions, so it is best to check with each facility. Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Camping: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation. The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount. You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Late Cancellations Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. No-Shows Camping: A camping no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees. Refunds Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure. Reservation Fee: The reservation fee is not refundable if reservation is canceled within 14 days of arrival. Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy. Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure. Recreation.gov Billing Information Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777." Changes to Policies and Procedures Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July
What the agency tells you
You must obtain the combination to access the locked entrance gate within 15 days of your arrival date. The combination is changed on the first of the month and can be obtained by calling 661-269-2808 and providing the name the reservation is made in, the dates of the reservation, and the reservation number.
Due to limited water availability, piped water may not always be available. It is highly recommended to bring your own water for cooking, cleaning, drinking, and extinguishing campfires.
No generators, amplifiers, live bands, or loud music. Quiet hours are from 10 pm to 6 am.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Check out time is 11 am. Check in time is 2 pm.
Areas adjacent to the campground are posted with 'Closed to Public Use' signs. Campers are expected to avoid these closure areas.
Maximum RV length is 30 feet.
Call (661) 269-2808 for current conditions and additional information.
There is a public phone at the Newcomb's Ranch Cafe.
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
- 2 · 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Not allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…toilets are currently not available. But vault toilets are available and are shared by both groups.…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…picnic tables, three fire rings, one water spigot, and an animal resistant dumpster. Area 2 can…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Meadow
- Biking
- Birding
- Hiking
- Ranger programs
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 1182nd darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 5
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
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 · 12
What you actually pay
“Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Camping: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation. The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount.” · this campground’s own no-show terms
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
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
2 sites · the site map
All 2 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 2 of the 2 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 2 of the 2 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Coulter Group CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 0.1 mi
Chilao Campground - Little Pines LoopSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 0.4 miHorse Flat CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 1.4 mi
Bandido Group CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 1.7 miMt. Pacifico CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 4.2 miMonte Cristo CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 5.4 miFrom the Los Angeles basin side of the San Gabriel Mountains: drive to La Canada via the I-210 (Foothill Freeway) to the State Highway 2 (Angeles Crest Highway) exit. Turn north towards the mountains. Stay on State Highway 2 for 25.6 miles to the lower Chilao Road (Forest Service Road 3N21); turn left onto lower Chilao Road. Proceed west 1.5 miles to the entrance gate on your left. Use the combination you obtained when confirming your reservation to open the gate.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Monrovia, 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.
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.
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
Meadow Group 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 →