Crab Flats sits in the pine-covered mountains of San Bernardino National Forest, designed for groups who want to combine camping with serious off-road adventures. The primitive setup and dirt road access keep the crowds away, but you'll need high clearance to get here.
Campground Details
- ⛺Type
- Group
- 💵Fee per Night
- $10
- 📍GPS
- 34.26345, -117.08663
- 🐾Pets Allowed
- No
- 📞Phone
- 909-867-2165
- 🗺️Address
- CA
The Camp
This is camping stripped to essentials: picnic tables, fire rings with grills, bear boxes, and vault toilets. Sites accommodate tents and RVs up to 26 feet, though the rough dirt road access makes this better suited for smaller rigs or tent campers who don't mind a bumpy ride. The campground sits among tall pines, oaks, and cedars, with the usual San Bernardino mountain wildlife moving through.
The dirt access road crosses Deep Creek, and there's no overflow parking — what you see is what you get for $10 a night.
The Draw
Off-road vehicle trails fan out in every direction from camp. The Crab Creek Trail connects to Fisherman's Campground, while the 9.7-mile Redonda Ridge Trail and the 26-mile Holcomb Valley Road both start west of the campground. Mountain bikers and hikers share these routes when ATVs aren't dominating.
Green Valley Lake sits 6 miles away for fishing, boating, and swimming. The 9-acre lake gets regular fish stocking, and when snow flies, the area converts to snowshoeing and cross-country skiing terrain.
What to Know
The campground sits 8 miles from Green Valley Lake, near the communities of Arrowhead and Running Springs. High clearance vehicles are essential — RVs aren't recommended for good reason. This is group camping territory, so expect to share the space with other parties who've made the effort to get here.
Winter access depends on snow conditions, but when the forest is open, this makes a solid base camp for exploring the network of trails that most car campers never see.