Horse Flats Campground

Within an hour of LA you can’t beat Angeles National Forest. We were set up by noon on a Sunday and had the entire place to ourselves by nightfall. Sites are far enough away from each other and fairly obscured by trees and brush.

Hard to believe that you can have so much space for so little so near to LA. Horse Flat is about 2-3 miles down Sulphur Springs Road off the Angeles Crest Highway and it can only be for this reason that the campground is so little used! The road is a winding, 1+ lane road which may be difficult for larger vehicles, but this is a primitive campground which is best suited for tent campers. About 1/2 mile west is a boulder field and most of the company we had were temporary visitors who were coming and going to test their rock-climbing skills. As a result campsites around numbers 8-10 should best be avoided as these are nearest the trailhead to the boulders and were about the only other sites used (albeit only for parking) when we were at Horse Flats.

The campsite lacks the forest cover of nearby Buckhorn and the landscape is notable drier despite the wash that runs through the center of the campground, but there are still plenty of mature fir trees and pine that provide intermittent shade. Vault toilets cleaner than most. No running water. Sites are spacious and well-separated, but many on a slope which may be an issue for some.

It was a nice getaway up the mountain. It got a bit cold but we made it ok. There’s porta potties and toilet paper.

Quiet getaway with spacious sites. May struggle with an RV because most sites aren’t level, much better for tents. Would stay again except for the small flies. Literately all over you and in your face, even when mountain biking!