Messenger Flats Campground

Access is very good -- the road is paved most of the way, thanks to the decommissioned cold war era missile installation on nearby peaks. If my low-clearance RV can make it, any vehicle can get here. Trail access is via Pacific Crest Trail, or the trail up Trail Canyon and Mendenhall Ridge. Good cell coverage. Enjoy the advantages of being isolated (very few people) without the disadvantages of being isolated (no connectivity). The vault toilets were remarkably clean and even smelled good. Kudos to the Forest Service maintenance crew for doing such a good job in a place so far off the beaten path. Overall layout favors hikers more than car camping, the parking area is surrounded by a low fence, and car campers may need to walk farther to their camp site. No piped water in the campground. Deer Spring is located between Messenger Flats and Lighting Point campground, but it was dry when I visited. There are mature trees around the campsite, and a half mile away at the Lightning Point group campground (closed), but everything else was devastated in the 2009 Station Fire. You can see the forest recovering, but it will be a few decades before it looks lush again.

Google has no idea how to get here in the off-season, it tries to take you through private land. The site's maintained and exceptionally quiet, we were able to get our car up here despite the road (which is not wellaintainted) but the hime isnt all that hard either, depending on your load and experience. You can get up here following part of the PCT. It's so quiet in February that I found myself woken up by an owl hooting and something licking my car windshield at midnight.

Was there in August, bikepacked on Mendenhall Ridge from Dillion Divide. Not accessible by vehicle from the Mendenhal side as the road is non existent. Did see a pickup truck between Messenger Flats and Lightning Point CG , must have come up Mt. Gleason Rd? we were wondering which way vehicles come up. As someone else mentioned the flies were terrible in the afternoon when we arrived. They dispersed after sunset but it was bad. Also the latrine was in good shape sans TP and there was a black widow in the corner but surprisingly good shape for such a sparsely visited site. Water was the biggest concern in the enviorment so majke sure you bring enough. The CG is next to the PCT

- Quiet - Too many flies (This is probably the reason people don't visit this beautiful place. I wonder if there is a time they are not here) - No reception - A little bit hot - 4x4 not necessary - A pretty good place to stay alone and listen to nature - Roads are right. You can scratch your vehicle if it is a wide one.

Plenty of space to set up camp. There is a restroom area, which is really convenient after a long day of hiking/backpacking. That being said, be a little careful because it can get quite windy up there in the evening.