Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Dark Canyon Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 33.80401, -116.73186
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Dark Canyon Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,809 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Dark Canyon CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Dark Canyon Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- LLaundry3 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- WWater4 mi
- HHardware4 mi
- +Urgent care4 mi
- MMechanic4 mi
- OOutfitter4 mi
- RxPharmacy4 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- PPropane11 mi
- ShShower11 mi
- DDump25 mi
- AAir-up29 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Dark Canyon Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,809 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
33.80401, -116.73186
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Dark Canyon Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNorth Fork San Jacinto River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townPine Wood · ~0.8 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~1.0 mi
- FuelFuel · ~4.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~24.8 mi
- GroceriesPine Cove Gas & Market · ~3.2 mi
- PharmacyIdyllwild Pharmacy · ~4.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicDesert Regional Medical Center · ~11.1 mi
- HardwareSandlin & Son Equipment Rental · ~3.9 mi
EV charging — from Dark Canyon Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.1 mi straight-line NW — Morongo Casino Resort and Spa, Cabazon, CA · eVgo Network · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach41 within 25 mi · 206 within 50 · 1096 within 100 · 1276 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)9.2 mi — Cabazon, CA - Morongo Trail - Tesla Supercharger, Cabazon
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.3 mi — Silver Pines Lodge, Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA · Blink Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 228113 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Dark Canyon Campground · San Bernardino National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaWhitewater Eastbound · ~9.1 mi NE
- Highway rest areaWhitewater Westbound · ~9.1 mi NE
- Highway rest areaBrookside · ~19.6 mi NW
- RestroomSanta Rosa Vc · ~20.7 mi SE · BLM
Open Dark Canyon Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Dark Canyon Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Seven Pines Yellow Post Sites~0.4 mi
- Marion Mountain Campground~0.8 mi · fee
- Fern Basin Campground~1.0 mi · fee
- Black Mountain Yellow Post #1~1.8 mi
The unit that manages Dark Canyon Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Dark Canyon Campground are set by San Bernardino National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Dark Canyon Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Dark Canyon Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Dark Canyon Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Camping with a dog →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →