Black Mountain Backpack Camp

Two of us with loaded packs took about an hour to hike up from the parking lot to the campsite. I have been by the campground many times over the years but never camped. The area has 4 campsites and including us only three were in use. Never felt like we were crowded. The views were excellent. Drifted off to sleep with an owl hooting. Saw a few coyotes at sunset. Great camping!!!

2 miles uphill from the permitted parking area. Beautiful, quiet, no road noises. Deer everywhere. I heard coyotes and saw a bobcat. There are animal boxes, and each space has logs to sit on and level concentrate circles to put your cook stove on. DONT BRING WOOD BURNING STOVES. AND NO DOGS. There is a pit toilet. Bring a car air freshener or open the door for about a minute before using it. Amazing views. The preserve is in Oak Woodlands, so you get views. You can also follow a creek trail. Taking multiple routes to get here. I recommend staying 2 nights. You can also connect to Castle Rock State Park and backpack there and Palo AltoFoothills Park. But I have not done that yet.

Hike-in dry camping. Bring your own water. There is a pit toilet. Generally easy to get reservations and a quiet campground

Pros: great scenery, sunsets, non-potable water available, a nice hike in, easy to get reservations. Cons: the 4 campsites are very very close together, so no solitude. When people went to sleep very early we were whispering the rest of the night. All 4 campsites are visible in this video.

Well maintained campsites with non-potable water available via a spigot. There are 4 small sites and one large. The small sites are pretty close to each other. Each site has a small concrete block for a table surrounded by logs for seating. No fires but camp stoves are ok. It was hot the night we stayed (July) and we were annoyed by mosquitoes and flies; it would have been better if we could have hunkered down in sleeping bags but it never cooled down. If you hike up from Rancho San Antonio on a hot day you will likely run out of water so bring a filter for the abundant non-potable water at the camp (and an extra container since you need one to hold the non-potable water to pump from). There are no views directly at the campsites but just a short walk will get you expansive views of the Bay and a sunset at the right time of year.