Skunk Cabbage Meadow is in the San Jacinto Wilderness (US National Forest administered).  The trek has a healthy amount of uphill (~1,600' from trailhead to the meadow), but the trail itself is wide and well used.  Access is primarily from Idyllwild at the large Humber Park Trailhead Parking lot (look for Devil's Slide Trail).  Once at the top of the ridge, the surrounding area is essentially a very large, flat(ish) playground.  Skunk Cabbage Meadow can be accessed ~0.25 miles up the trail further, and there are plenty of large areas where scouting groups can pitch tents.  Lots of shade.  Lots of big trees.  Lots of good areas for a troop to camp.  And even some water.  What more could you ask for?

Water is flowing seasonally in the meadow, but depending on the prior winter's snowfall can last through all of summer.  Check online or at the Idyllwild ranger station for the latest information.  In general, however, this is a relatively reliable location to be able to filter.

While the Humber Park Trailhead has a lot of parking, plan to get their early in the morning as the location is a big one for day hikers and rock climbers.  It fills up fast.

The permit situation is one of the easier one's in SoCal.  Drive up to the Idyllwild ranger station the morning of your hike - which is very close to the trailhead.  The ranger station keeps "Skunk Cabbage Meadow" permit forms in their kiosk outside the main door.  Fill the form in, drop it in the box, keep your carbon copy, and off you go.  It's always safest to call the ranger station ahead of time, but as of this writing, the location is large enough to generally not require a reservation.

This location can be combined with lots of different trek/weekend options.  Mt. San Jacinto is withink day hike distance, making this a good location to pitch camp while making a weekend peak bagging expedition for one of SoCal 10k footers.  Likewise, the Pacific Crest Trail passess through here, with ample trekking options to head north to Fuller Ridge or south to a ton of great PCT hiking.  You could easily turn this into a PCT award segment builder for some older, more ambitious scouts.

This is a common location for where the OCCHAT program takes its adult beginner backpacking course participants!