As of August 15, 2025, the Forest Service has put a prohibition in place banning personal portable privacy toilets at developed recreation sites within the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The order runs through August 1, 2027.
If you’ve spent any time at the more popular campgrounds in the ANF, you’ve probably seen why this became necessary. Portable privacy toilets – the kind people haul in and set up at their campsite – were showing up regularly at developed sites that already have restroom facilities. The result was sanitation headaches, waste disposal issues, and a general impact on the experience for everyone around them.
The rule is pretty straightforward: if you’re camping at a developed Forest Service campground, leave the portable toilet at home. The exemptions are narrow – government officials on duty, and anyone holding a valid special use authorization specifically allowing portable toilets, or using a government-provided unit.
Dispersed campers out in the backcountry aren’t affected by this order, though the usual Leave No Trace rules still apply out there. Pack it in, pack it out – and that goes for waste too.
Bottom line: Developed campgrounds have facilities for a reason. Use them, keep the sites clean, and everybody has a better time.
More info: Angeles National Forest