EISPIRATEN

I am planning a weekend getaway sometime in May. Friday - Sunday to Chilao with my 6 year old daughter. Anyone know how easy should be to get a campsite late afternoon? Early evening? Never done it before up there. Any good activities/easy hikes out with a little one straight from the campground? Thx

I believe you should be okay if you arrive Friday afternoon. It often fills up by Saturday. Chilao has some easy trails. The Silver Moccasin Trail runs through the area. There is also a visitor center a little ways up the highway.

You can hike Mt Hillyer out of Horse Flats campground at Chilao, it's like 3 miles one way but less than 1000 gain, you can do it as a loop and meet up with Santa Clarita Divide Road on the way back.

If that's too far and if the road is open you can drive up it and hike from that trailhead to Mount Hillyer in less than a mile.

Oh as for campgrounds, they do fill up there, but also there's several -- like 3 or maybe even 4 campgrounds inside Chilao? (I can only see two on this map I'm looking at but I could swear there were more? I haven't been there in a while though....) But the one(s) further in usually have less people.