Monte Cristo Campground
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 10 mi
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $12From, per site
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
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 3600' elevation 19 campsites with picnic tables, vault toilets, and piped water. Campsites are first-come-first-served. Keep reading
$12 per site per night. No reserving or holding of campsites allowed. Check-in/Check-out is at 11 a.m. RV's allowed up to 30' - No Hookups Vault toilets What to Expect Monte Cristo Campground is located towards the backside of the San Gabriel Mountains in a high-desert climate making the epic views seem endless. It is one of Angeles National Forest's lesser-used spots to pitch a tent. With 19 large, spacious and accessible sites, grab a friend (or two or three) and spend the weekend telling stories around the campfire, taking a short drive to hike Granite Mountain, or dip in the cool waters of postcard-worthy Switzer Falls.
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…19 campsites with picnic tables, vault toilets, and piped water. Campsites are…”
Phone before you drive
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.
Every line of the receipt · 10
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the lowest per-night amount the agency’s fee record states ($12), and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
How we know this receipt · 5
record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this
Getting there
the map and the coordinate
Where it is
Lightning Point Group CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 4.7 miMt. Pacifico CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 5.2 mi
Messenger Flats CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 5.3 mi
Meadow Group CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 5.4 mi
Coulter Group CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 5.4 miHorse Flat CampgroundSan Gabriel Mountains National Monument · 5.7 miThe weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Pasadena, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 53°F, day 80°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 36°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 Julys are colder than the July 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
Monte Cristo 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 →