Pinezanita Review

[K9 Willem]

Location:  Pinezanita (Julian) Ca.
Dates:  July 06, 07, 08 - 2007
Weather:  HOT!!  Days= Mid 90's; Nights= High 70's Low 80's
Trailer:  16' HTT

** According to a few residents in Julian they have not had any rain since the last Snow in Jan...**

Campsite:  231c, located on the eastern side of the park.. The west side is mostly full-time residents.  My sight was large with a small fire ring..  They did allow fires (small) which had to be out by 11pm... They do have an employee who drives around and will put any unattended fires out...The site did have a bench and was very clean.. All sites are gravel and semi-level.. I tried by still had a tip in my HTT, but it all worked out...

The camp was very very quiet by 10pm and most were up around 8am.. Plenty of kids, but no real activities.. They do have a stocked fishing pond which looked liked may have been over an acre at one time but was very very dried up and was only about 100yds across at the longest. Kids did fish but didn't catch anything.

The public showers and bathroom facilities were extremely clean and well maintained...

Campstore was well stocked and had a little of everything at typical campstore prices.. Example:  1pound Coleman propane tank was $6.

I would go again but probably won't.. Not because of the place, its just because I've been there...

K9 Willem

[griffsmom]

Location: Pinezanita (Julian) Ca.
Dates: July 06, 07, 08 - 2007
Weather: HOT!! Days= Mid 90's; Nights= High 70's Low 80's
Trailer: 16' HTT
 
** According to a few residents in Julian they have not had any rain since the last Snow in Jan...**
 
Campsite: 231c, located on the eastern side of the park.. The west side is mostly full-time residents. My sight was large with a small fire ring.. They did allow fires (small) which had to be out by 11pm... They do have an employee who drives around and will put any unattended fires out...The site did have a bench and was very clean.. All sites are gravel and semi-level.. I tried by still had a tip in my HTT, but it all worked out...
 
The camp was very very quiet by 10pm and most were up around 8am.. Plenty of kids, but no real activities.. They do have a stocked fishing pond which looked liked may have been over an acre at one time but was very very dried up and was only about 100yds across at the longest. Kids did fish but didn't catch anything.
 
The public showers and bathroom facilities were extremely clean and well maintained...
 
Campstore was well stocked and had a little of everything at typical campstore prices.. Example: 1pound Coleman propane tank was $6.
 
I would go again but probably won't.. Not because of the place, its just because I've been there...
 
K9 Willem

Hey neighbors!  :W
 
Thanks for the review. I have seen this cg's Web site, but we have never been. The pictures on the Web site look nice, but IIRC, they don' t take reservations.
 
Campfires out by 11 pm? I guess SCCampers will never be able to have a rally here.
 
So when are you guys going to come camping with us?  There are lots of opportunities. The boys would have a blast with all the kids in our group and you would actually get to sit down and relax for 5 minutes. Come check us out...http://arveeclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48
 
see you at Walmart....

[Dee4j]

I had the same thought..no fire past 11 pm..that's when I can finally sit back and beat people at poker :p

[waterdoctor]

I had the same thought..no fire past 11 pm..that's when I can finally sit back and beat people at poker :p

I'd like to add my comments about Pinezanita CG:  My wife and I have been camping at this CG for the last 6 years or so, and love it.  Until our last outing a couple weeks ago, we have been tenters.  We've always taken advantage of the CG's RV sites for their size (my tent is HUGE!!) and always thoroughly enjoyed our time at Pinezanita.  This last trip was our first with our PU and it was undoubtedly our most enjoyable.  Site set-up took only a fraction of the time and effort for the tent.  We have come know the CG owners pretty well over the years and they are great folks, but have fairly strick rules in place to make the CG more enjoyable for everyone (it also limits the reff-raff) you can encounter at the "public" CGs.  As to the issue of campfires out by 11 pm.  There's a good reason for this - the local fire marshall requires it!  The CG has to apply for a fire permit every year, and the local fire marshall (USFS guy) is real picky about having fires of any type.  The CG's running history for over 40 yrs has seen NO accidents in all that time.  The same can't be said for other CGs in the area.  I, too, would like to keep my fire going until I'm ready to hit the sack, and 11 seems a bit early sometimes, but hey, at least you can have a fire at Pinezanita!!  And in a drought year, yr 6 of the last 7, that's pretty exceptional.

[naganthunter]

...sounds like a great place.  Has anyone been there since the '07 wildfires?  How's the campground and surrounding areas?

Thanks
NH

[naganthunter]

...sounds like a great place.  Has anyone been there since the '07 wildfires?  How's the campground and surrounding areas?

Thanks
NH

Does anyone know the status of this area relative to the last wildfires?

[waterdoctor]

Although DW and I have not been there since last August, I have talked with the owners, as well as checked out their website ( //www.pinezanita.com ). The most recent fires in the Julian area did not even get close to the CG, so all is well there.  The on site pond/lake is now full of water and the owners are planning on stocking it with fish soon.  This will make a nice distraction for day time activities, since the lake is about 1 1/2 acres in size.  DW and I are planning to get some time in there this summer and get out of the heat of the desert where we live.

I heartily recommend this CG.  Check out the web site for rates, CG maps, local activities, and weather.

Enjoy!!!!

[naganthunter]

Although DW and I have not been there since last August, I have talked with the owners, as well as checked out their website ( //www.pinezanita.com ). The most recent fires in the Julian area did not even get close to the CG, so all is well there.  The on site pond/lake is now full of water and the owners are planning on stocking it with fish soon.  This will make a nice distraction for day time activities, since the lake is about 1 1/2 acres in size.  DW and I are planning to get some time in there this summer and get out of the heat of the desert where we live.

I heartily recommend this CG.  Check out the web site for rates, CG maps, local activities, and weather.

Enjoy!!!!

Thanks for the update.  Glad to hear they escaped the fires.

[JohnandLeann]

I am not familiar with Pinezanita CG, but when we were kids we used to go camping at William Heise CP CG.  How far is Pinezanita from there?

I am going to check out Pinezanita.