Marion Mountain Campground

This was our first time camping in the area and Marion Mountain was a great fit. We camped this past weekend (Oct.) so it wasn’t too packed. The camp sites are pretty far apart, we were at #24 and had tons of room. The place where we put our tent up was down a little ways from the parking spot and made it seem more private. There is a hiking trail there also that you can hike, we just walked up maybe 10 minutes or so and saw a beautiful sunset. The bathrooms were clean and its pet friendly.

We did our last training here at san Jacinto peak, did not stay at the marion camp ground but passed by there during our hiked. This review is mainly for san Jacinto peak, we started at the marion trailhead at 6am and made it to the summit in 4.5hrs. For me this is easier then Gorgonio & Baldy… only bad part about this trail is finding where marion camp ground trailhead location. If you’re planning on hiking this trail w/​a group of friends then i highly recommend meeting up at the ranger station, then drive down to marion trail… over all love love love this place.

This review is for parking only for the hike to San Jacinto Peak.
This is a secluded campground located in a nice, wooded setting. There are restrooms and running water available.
The parking areas are small. Especially disturbing are the large ruts and holes in the ground that make it quite difficult to traverse without harming the undersurface of the car. Even going extremely slow over them, either the front or the bottom of the car had a tendency to scrape.
The hike itself was great, but be very careful driving over all of the irregularities in the road.
tip — adventure pass required

My girlfriend and I camped at Marion Mountain for a weekend 11÷7−11÷9÷2014. We had never camped in the area before and were a little unsure if it would be too dry or cold because of the altitude (6,000ft). Fortunately this campground turned out to be awesome! We made a reservation online for site 17 but when we arrived there was a big group next to us so we took site 16, which is a walk in only site. Site 16 was terrific since it is up on a hill and away from all of the other campsites. Highly recommend trying to get this spot when you arrive.
Definitely recommend doing the Marion Mountain trail (or part of it). We hiked about 2 miles of it, which was extremely strenuous, but got to a gorgeous lookout point to have lunch at.
Marion Mountain Campground will certainly be our go-​to spot within a few hours drive of L.A.

I did not stay at the campground. This review is mainly on the hike Marion Mountain Trail to San Jacinto Peak. We did go into the campgrounds though. The camp sites looked nice and they have 2 restrooms, no showers though.
Marion Mountain Trail to San Jacinto Peak hiked Sunday November 2, 2014
Parking: there is a dirt parking lot right across from the trail head. I drive a Mazda 6, so I was having some difficulty getting in and out of the lot. The ground is really uneven, I couldn’t drive out the same way I drove in. My back tires were spinning out, so I had to go through another spot to get back to the pavement. The campground is only a quarter of a mile away and we used the restrooms before we hit the trail.
Trail Head: There is a good sign stating the start of Marion Mountain Trail. You can also access this trail at the campgrounds because you have to swing that way to stay on the trail. We went up the trail head next to the dirt lot and came back down through the campground and took the paved road back to the car.
The Trail:
As stated before the trail first veers left towards the campground, you can spot a water tank thing to the left, you keep going up from there. As you keep going up, you pass a few things, a meadow of low plants, I’m not too sure what kind of plants they were but because it’s fall they were a pretty yellow. Then you come across giant boulders on the left in which you get a clearing to see all the trees and the valley. Gorgeous views. The 1^st trail Marion crisscrosses with is Seven Pines, just keep going straight. Next sign you will pass is the PCT aka Fuller Ridge Trail, go pass that as well. Next thing you will come upon is the Little Round Valley Campsite. They actually have a port-​a-​potty here. Definitely no toilet paper, but a cool area to look around.
At Little Round Valley, a man told us it took him about an hour to get to the peak from there. We estimated it took us 1 hour and 40 min, we were slow hikers, especially with the snow and trail conditions. It says it’s 1.3 miles to the peak from there.
Next trail sign you cross is the 0.3 mile sign to the Peak. You know you’re pretty much to the peak once you see the little house. If you have time take a look inside the house, it’s pretty cool with 4 bunk beds, and extra food and water available for anyone to take left my previous hikers who brought too much supplies.
From the house, you scale boulders and rocks to the peak, there’s not a real direct trail or marked trail for that matter from the house.
It took us 8 hours to reach the summit. Because we did this hike daylight savings weekend, and with the shorter days, we hiked the last 3 hours in the dark with head lamps. I would recommend doing this hike during the summer when days are longer. The views were definitely amazing though day after a storm with snow covered trails.
Do your research before hitting the trails and be prepared! Everywhere online it says this trail is 12 miles round trip, we were at the peak the trail was 18 miles. I’m not too sure which is correct, it took us 13 hours to complete with lots of breaks in between. Loved this hike! It was absolutely beautiful!

The campsites are big and beautiful. A fire pit and picnic table are provided per campsite. We stayed on sites 6 & 7. I noticed the first 8 campsites are slopy, but provide a beautiful view of the valley and sunset. During rainy season, these campsites can get dangerous because they are on the edge of the hill side. However, these campgrounds are great during the Summer because the sites are shaded by many surrounding trees, along with a beautiful view. If u camp during the Summer, I recommend u bring a hose along with swim suits to rinse yourself off sweats after a good long hike, hence, there is no shower. The toilets could have been a bit more clean.

Great camp site. I was a little nervous when we get there that we wouldnt be able to find a place to put our tent but my hubby did and it was wonderful. Beautiful sunsets and views, quiet and very peaceful! The toilets could have been a little cleaner and they ran out of toilet paper but we brought our own so it was fine. Great place to camp.

This is an awesome place to stay. Its way up the mountain and there is nothing but nature around you. There are also trails that start here, so you can wake up early and do a small hike. If you want a great hike, do the Deer Valley Trail (7 miles). It has a great view and is only a few miles away from this camp site. If you want to have your own area not close to other people, get a camp area on the outside.

I was not sure what to expect, I live in Orange County and my wife went to Vegas for our «weekend» which is Thurs and Fri, so I had the car and two days to do whatever I wanted. At the last moment I grabbed some gear and hit the rd.
I had been through the area this past winter after a heavy snow, I did not camp I just wanted to see how far I could shoe in, so the campground was closed.
This time I arrived late at night on Wed and there was only one other camper there. It felt more like a pack in site, the air and the silence felt more remote and rugged than most car camping I have done.
The trail is right at the edge of the campgrounds. In the morning, I woke up, grabbed my gear, filled my solar shower and put it on the hood of my car.
I started up my GPS and I cut off almost a quarter mile of my GPX mapped trip to the peak.
I know this is a review about the Campgrounds, but after hiking the tram trail all my life, this was the first time I got to the top via the west side and its such an amazing trail.
When I came back to the campground, the other camper left. I had the whole place to myself, took a shower out in nature, got a fire and some «campers stew» going. Cup of noodles, creamy cambells bacon and corn chowder and a can of spam.
It felt like I was camping on a trail miles from civilization but could take my luxurious car camping gear.
Oh and the bathrooms are freakin tile! Tons of dead flys, but thats just cool!

We prefer backpacking but we are on a road trip this time. We stayed here for one night on a Wednesday. The entire campground was populated by 3 other groups. We didn’t even bother making reservations since it is still only mid June and mid week.
It was so quiet here. We stayed in campsite 6 which overlooks the valley and saw the sunset. Beautiful views from the first 8 or so campgrounds.
The drive up was much better than what the previous reviewer said. I was expecting something much worse. The road up is completely paved.
There is running water here but only vault toilets. My only complaint is that our neighbours from campground 7 arrived after dark. instead of sleeping they decided to tell boogie man stories past 1030pm at night. Loud enough so we couldn’t sleep. I asked them to quiet down a bit which they did immediately. Nice people.

Marion Mountain is a beautiful campground, nestled in the San Bernardino National Forest, between 6,000 and 7,000 ft elevation. The campground is in the forest, which surrounds itself around pine, cedar, oak and douglas fir. The smell alone makes you want to stay longer.
The campgrounds are large, clean, and are primarily shady. Each campground has a fire pit and a large picnic table.
The road to Marion is a bit rough; it is very small and part of the road has broken off.