OUTDOORS & ADVENTURE | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST
Setting up camp at Chilao Recreation Area
BASICS
Camping at Chilao Recreation Area is restricted to Little Pines and Manzanita campgrounds. Both are first come, first served. Campers self-register at a cost of $12 per site. Amenities include tap water, vault toilets, but no showers or sinks. RVs up to 40 feet OK; no hookups. (A third, Coulter Campground, is a group site; reserve at www.recreation.gov, $100 per night.) Charlton Flat, a day-use area with picnic tables and fire rings, includes the trail head to Vetter Mountain. Open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Adventure Pass required for each vehicle ($5).
FOR THE RECORD: A map accompanying this article incorrectly shows California 39 connecting with the Angeles Crest Highway (2). Highway 39 stops a few miles south of the 2.
For overnight camping, Manzanita Campground offers shade at Sites 2, 3, 4, 5, 34 and 35 but little privacy, and there's road noise; sites 9, 10 and 11 have privacy, views and shade; 23 offers a nice view in a boulder setting. At Little Pines Campground, 6, 7 and 8 are shaded; 9, 12 and 15 offer some privacy; 16 has privacy, a view, nice breezes; 19 through 22 have shade and some privacy; 38 is pretty private, with shade and a view.
DRIVE TIME
From the 210 Freeway in La Cañada Flintridge, the turnoff for Charlton Flat is 23 miles north on the Angeles Crest Highway; the turnoff for Chilao Recreation Area is 10 miles farther.
INFO
Angeles National Forest, (818) 899-1900, www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles.
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