Gordon Hirabayashi Campground
Open: November 1 – April 30
Driving Directions to Campground
From Palisades Visitor Center, turn right out of the parking lot, heading down Catalina Highway. Continue approximately 12.5 miles to the campground, which will be on your right.
Overview
This site is also known as Prison Camp. The site was a Federal Honor Camp beginning in 1937 to house federal prisoners supplying labor to build a road for access into the Santa Catalina Mountains.
During World War II, many of the prisoners of this camp were conscientious objectors whose religions prohibited them from serving in the military. Some were Japanese Americans protesting the Japanese American Relocation, the largest forced removal and incarceration in U.S. History that started after the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Gordon Hirabayashi was a senior at the University of Washington in 1942. He challenged the constitutionality of internment based on race or ancestry. He turned himself in to the FBI rather than report for relocation. He was convicted and sentenced to serve at the Federal Honor Camp in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
In 1987, Hirabayashi’s case was overturned and in 1999, the Coronado National Forest renamed the site in honor of Dr. Hirabayashi and the other resisters of conscience who were imprisoned there.
To your right as you enter the campground are two foot-bridges that lead to a few trails, information kiosks and ruins for the site. We invite you to explore and learn about the grounds during your visit.
