Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

This is tragi-comedy: I was invited to a wedding in Santa Barbara. It was summer and the most fleabitten motel prices were astronomical. I began to look at campsites within driving distance, I was desperate. Booked Catchuma and thought, hoorah, I’ve defeated the tourism trap. 

Well… from the moment I arrived . . . I really could not care less about the wedding. My god. I think I’ll leave it at that. 

Bring binos. Boat, bring your canoe/kayak.

The lovely county run park in the hills above the Santa Barbara coastline, is a great campground offering a wide variety of camping experiences from full hook ups to grass covered spaces under the trees along the shores of this lovely reservoir. The sites offer the usual camp picnic table and fire ring, and the many group sites offer large grills and even a few picnic shelters. 

The sunshine is typically abundant in this California park, and even without full hook ups you can easily get all the power you need with an appropriately sized solar panel system. We’ve run on solar for over 10 years, and it saves us thousands of dollars each year for our full-time camping life. 

The flush bathrooms are clean and spacious. Water spigots were plentiful throughout the campground. The coin operated showers got the job done, but since we were there during a chilly March, things could have been warmer. But hey, everything important got clean… 

The lake is perfect for boating, but since it’s a drinking water reservoir, there is no body contact with this body of water. So plan on using the campground pool to cool off during the summer months. Hiking and mountain biking trails are abundant throughout the area, and kayaking, canoeing, fishing or sailing on the lake is the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

The campground offers some excellent yurts and cabins for nightly rent right on the shores of the lake. These are often booked out so plan ahead. 

The camp store offers enough grocery supplies in case you forgot something, including ice, snacks, fire wood, and gas.  There is also a cool pub down by the boat ramp which offers live music in the weekends.  The nearby tourist town of Solvang offers a great day trip to sample the amazing Dutch pastry treats, pick up some groceries, wine tasting, or a night out on the town.

General: Many different options from tent sites to premium tent sites, water/electric, and FHU sites in addition to yurts and cabins. 

Site Quality: Varies greatly depending on what type of site you choose. The only sites with gravel paved pads were the ones with water/electric hookups or FHU; all others were grass. Most seemed level. It was raining heavily when we were there and some of the sites were flooded. Very little to no separation/privacy between sites. We were in a w/e site, and it was long enough to easily accommodate two camper vans.

Activities/Amenities: Off-season, everything was closed but in-season, there is a marina, boat rentals, restaurant, store, gas station, pool, and laundry. 

Bath/Shower house: Clean but very basic. No hooks or shelves for toiletries. Cold water only. The shower looked nice but did not use so cannot comment on it. 

IMO, the best options are the premier tent sites, yurts, and cabins as they offer the best lake views. We had not planned on camping here but after evacuating from Jalama Beach, we were told this park would honor our reservation. It rained most of the time we were there, and it was off-season, so I imagine it would be an entirely different experience in the summer when all amenities were offered and the campground was full.

Sprawling campgrounds.

Stayed at camp site #143 no shade trees very dusty site. Rental boats pontoon type are brand new. Boat rental opens at 7am close at 7pm boat harbor is very nice with new boat docks. If going fishing the K boats are nice but anchor line to short to use I bring my own 50’ of anchor rope and use their anchor. Came hear to get away from all the illegal fire works where I live. Not one fireworks at the park yea the dog had a great nights sleep. Plus the swimming pool was great open from 12 noon to 5:30pm they have plenty of chairs and have life guards

Something for everyone, no matter your level of camping. Staff was great when my car battery died too.

We stayed during the recent storm of the century in Central California so weren’t able to take advantage of what the park has to offer. The sites are very long and not too jammed together. Immaculate bathrooms and showers. Close to Los Olivos (great wine tasting) and Solvang. Disc gold course.

Good experience overall. There are many kinds of sites including full hook up, partial, primitive, cabins & yurts. Many sites have views of the lake.

Huge campground! Variety of sites from dry to full hookups. Anything with hookups is cramped though. We originally booked FHU and opted out for much more spacious dry site. Dry sites really vary but all are largish. Fire pit at 409 put in a strange location so that we is located on the back side of our trailer. Really no other way we could have configured it. For such a large park with so many amenities I cannot believe the dog park is downright tiny. But park during week is largely vacant so a lot of space to let your dog run (which is against policy). Sure the place is a muddy mess is the rain. Ground squirrels got the place all torn up but hey they were there first. Generally this is a great destination resort! Go see the monarch butterflies in Goleta in winter months. They overwinter there!

Okay so spot 289 has an amazing view - but somehow that gives your fellow camper the green light to just confidently stroll through your campsite without saying a word? I’m a small woman - was sitting alone in my site. A man just strolled up to take in the view right next to my tent. My dudes - please be aware of how eerie it can feel for a woman to have a man just assert his dominance and presence without permission!! I would never in a millions years just go hang out at another person’s campsite.

It was pretty clean. Everything was nice. Even the market was good. The only disappointing things was not be able rent a boat . There not strict with policy of 2 hours and return the boat back. That just the disappointing part of our trip. Rather then that it was pretty good.

Nice camping. Plenty of spots and not very expensive $30 for a site.

What a beautiful lake campground. Facilities clean, campground well maintained. Choose site well some have no shade.

It’s a Quite campsite near Santa Barbara if you don’t want to spend the night in the city! We booked the day before and as we arrived a few other sites were free. Showers are a bit expensive with 4x25ct per 3 minutes and the water can’t be stoped!

First: the bad… it was so windy and cold. Make sure you bring warm clothes!

The good: nice level site, full hookup, picnic table, trees.. (hookup sites don’t have fire pits) Biking/hiking trail was nice:) And can bike and walk around campground! It’s a very big place to explore:) Great disc golf course!! Free to play! The store has camping items, some food (overpriced but that’s expected) , souvenirs, gas… We wanted to get propane when checking out, but nobody in the store knew how to do it, so we were told to come back in 1.5 hours, but we were leaving. It was too windy and cold to fish, which is why we went there:( check the forecast and any wind advisories!! Great restaurant, lots of space to explore. No human contact with the water. Don’t expect to swim.

This campground has everything! The site are large with fire pit and picnic tables. There is a general store, restaurant with live music, disc golf, water sports, and hiking trails. Love coming here annually to enjoy being tucked away in Santa Barbra.

Cachuma is an awesome campground with amazing lake views and fishing. Unfortunately no human contact with the water. The restrooms can be far away if you are tent camping. We went in August 2020 and the pools were closed. We had so many yellow jackets coming from the trees and underground. Our neighbors were a group of about 8 and it was one of their birthdays. They were gone most of the day leaving the campsite in a shambles to go wine drinking (they got picked up in a car) just to return in the evening drunk and be loud until 03:00 in the morning. No rangers in site to enforce quiet hours. The next day they were on repeat. I would definitely return but I feel that they can handle some unruly campers better and be more responsive to the yellow jackets.

This spot is great. Nice campground. The best spots have lake views but are hard to come by. Lots to do, hiking, go on a boat ride or jaunt off about 15-20 mins to wineries and or casino

We camped here the Thursday before Labor Day weekend. It was empty! Out of 400 sites there were about a dozen campers here.

When we first arrived to our lake site (453) there was a car in our spot and two guys were sitting at our picnic bench. They quickly left once they saw us pull in. It was very weird because they obviously weren’t campers. Once they left we started setting up camp but it was pretty difficult with the amount of wind so make sure to bring heavy duty stakes if tent camping here. The ground is extremely hard and rocky.

The views are amazing though and site 453 is right on the lake. Although we were one of the only campers around there was an rv setup close by so we felt better until some random guys decided to have tea or something directly next to our site. They pulled up in a car and parked in the site next to us but didn’t setup anything except a little stove and kept all of the lights off and cooked in complete darkness which was very weird and strange. After about an hour of this they got in their car and left.

We felt very unsafe at this point knowing that anyone could come into the campground even though they weren’t campers. It was getting really cold and the wind was still pretty strong so we decided to head in for the night. As soon as we laid down inside the tent the rv nearby decided to turn on their generator at 9pm! It ran until 1am when it finally ran out of gas. It kept us up all night and there wasn’t anything we could do. We tried calling the park number which no one answered. There was no patrolling at all of the campground had no camp host. We were completely on our own and just had to deal with the rude neighbors.

I would not recommend this campground if you are tent camping with a family due to these issues above.

Went camping here on a whim. We had finished our camping trip up north and we wanted to extend our trip another night.

We were surprised to find this campground was almost completely empty when we arrived. It was the day before the Labor Day weekend started, and it seemed like the calm before a storm.

While we were setting up the wind was blowing like crazy off the lake, and the ground was rock hard. Make sure you bring upgraded tent stakes or you’re going to have a bad day.

All of this was ok, where it turned for the worse was the odd cast of characters around us. When we arrived to our camp there was two random people chilling on our picnic table. When we were setting up for dinner a random car showed up at the empty campsite next to us and decided to make tea without any lights what so ever, bear in mind it’s pitch black and there’s no one around us. After making whatever they were making they drove off, felt very strange. Let’s just say I kept my machete tool a bit closer this night.

Now the wind had died down so we were expecting to get a nice rest, but our rv camper neighbor decided to run their generator until it ran out of gas. This of course was in violation of curfew. This wouldn’t have been a problem if the park was patrolled, but no one ever drove by to check on anything. It really did feel like we were on our own.

I think if the park was controlled a bit better we might have had a better time. But the parking being what it was, with two random sets of people who weren’t camping by us, and an rv running a generator in violation of camp standards without recourse I can’t recommend this place for camping.

Loved our first outing here. It was a busy weekend but our Sunday night stay was a lot better with the weekenders heading back home. Site 557 was a quick walk to the lake, bathrooms and close to water spickets for washing up.

The weather was in the 50s over night and 90s during the day. We were able to get a nice fire going. Would recommend a bug net to keep the yellow jackets away.

We love going to lake cachuma! It’s most fun early spring when it’s not too hot since you can’t swim in the lake but boat rentals are cheap and fun. Bathrooms and showers are always very clean! Weekdays are best as I hear weekends can be crazy

Visited this place several times and each time was a fun and relaxing experience. The place provided wonderful views of the lake, ample grounds for recreation and facilities were clean and well kept. Went there with family and friends several times and will actually visit again this September.

Nice spot, sites are well spaced, FHU spots have concrete pads.

Lots of tent/group sites available, tent sites are roomy many with great shade.

Large disc golf course, well stocked general store, gas station (no diesel) boat rentals.

No body contact is allowed with the lake.

Lake is beautiful. Some lots are big if you stay away from hookups. Only con is there is no body contact in the lake. Only fishing and boating

+ Great amenities— large restrooms with multiple stalls, hand soap, plenty of toilet paper, and clean showers. Each site has a fire pit with grill, picnic table, and parking for 2 cars

+ Beautiful California Oak trees surround the campgrounds and you get the most amazing variety of birds visiting.

+ Some sites have lake views! Our site#290 had a great view but the site itself was not the best. The grounds were every rocky and uneven. It was hard to find ground to set up a tent and most spots had rocks embedded into the floor so you would be sleeping on bumps.

+ FANTASTIC camp store. One of the best I’ve seen. They have everything you could need. It’s a gift store, mini mart, and a liquor store. You can buy eggs, milk, butter, and tons of shelf and can items. You can also buy a variety of beverages including wine and beer. The store carries plenty of snacks and candy, and you can get hot food items like hot dogs. They also carry camp gear in case you need— tents, chairs, sleeping bags, flash lights, cooking gear(stove, camp mugs/plates, fuel. Etc. Firewood is a little pricey at$8/bundle but when you need it, you need it! The store is SO CLUTCH because having to leave to purchase anything would be a longggg drive.

+ Lots if lake activities. You can bring your own boat and they have a small gas station for boat fuel. The camp shop also carry bait and other fishing gear. There are boat, kayak rentals, and you could also sign up for a lake boat tour. Only downside is no swimming or SUP boarding.

+ Lovely lake cafe with good hot food, beer/wine, and even cocktails. There is outdoor dining and even a fire pit for colder months. Careful during hot climate, there are yellow jackets everywhere. It makes sitting at the cafe unbearable. Service is friendly and the food is good. We tried their burger and fries and were not disappointed. Prices are a little high but it’s nice if you want to skip preparing and cleaning up a camp meal.

+ Quiet Time begins at 10pm which is great because I find this campground louder and more rowdy than others. It’s packed and people love running their music speakers super loud. They wait until the park rangers come around at 10pm to tell them to turn off their music. It’s definitely a fun crowd that comes here so heads up if you’re looking for a more serene camping experience.

+ There are yurts and cabins for rental that are a little more removed from the loud crowd. I definitely would love to try renting a yurt with a lake view next time I visit.

Overall, this is a really fun campground with tons of convenience. Run out of booze? No problem. Head to the cafe or the camp store. Too lazy to cook? No problem, Lake Cachuma has options for you. Bored? Head to the lake or play some air frisbee. It’s also a great place for first time campers. You get a good introduction to nature, run activities, and camping while still having comfort and convenience just a few steps from your tent.

We love this place. spaces are good sizes and easy to get into and out. Park is clean and well kept. Very nice and quiet. Plenty to do whether it is hiking, boating, fishing, or biking, or more. One recommendation,  don't take the 154 from just outside of Santa Barbara. It is full of crazy curves and up and downs for what seems like forever if you're in a TT or 5th Wheel. Go up the 101 to Buelton and cut across to on the 246 to the backside of the 154 to the lake. You will thank me.

We've camped here several times. This last trip was for a week. We had a site w hookups near a group area. The group areas are closed due to COVID so it was very quiet and peaceful. There were not many campers even though the weather was perfect and the whole park was green and lush. Lots of gorgeous oak trees full of woodpecker communes. Showers are clean but if you need a handicapped shower you have to go find a ranger or go to the gate and ask it be unlocked- which is a pain if you are disabled and is the reason I gave 4 and not 5 stars. Showers are clean...cost $1.00 for three minutes but it takes half that time for the water to get lukewarm. Those are my complaints. But this is a really spectacular campground next to beautiful Cachuma Lake. Big sites. 30 minutes of a beautiful drive to Santa Barbara. Campground is very COVID conscious. They take no walk-ins and space campers apart. The RV area is full and less space between sites. We started camping here in the pandemic and have returned twice. Rangers and hosts are very friendly. It's also a pretty campground to walk around and has some nice hiking trails nearby. Has a swimming pool (closed because of COVID) , a laundromat and multiple group areas. Has been a refuge during the pandemic.

This was our first time at this site. There are several areas to choose from and we were in the 500s. Though this is a non-hook up area and mostly Tenters, this is a nice out-of-the-way, spaciously spaced, quiet, right on the water, great spot for boondocking!

Not too far from restrooms and showers and closer Andy gumps over here, too.

Great place to ride your bike - paved and non paved routes. Hiking? I’d say more like walking and certainly beautiful sights to see! Egrets, heron, hawks, maybe turkey vultures, too?

Not sure about WiFi but tmobile cell signal was strong enough over in the 500s.

Come here and relax, enjoy, get away and feel peace.

We just spent one night at Cachuma Lake (a Sunday), camping near Chumash Meadows. The tent camping sites were probably only ~30% full, which made for a very peaceful (albeit short) stay! The sites are big with picnic tables and fire pits, and many are shaded by large trees. The nearby toilet block was clean, as were the showers (a little further away). Our tent site had a view out to the lake, and was a bargain! 

There is a store (with a not-so-great assortment of goods), a restaurant and a fishing/boat hire shop. The roads and paths make for great cycling, and there are trails to explore too.

We drove through the whole camp ground checking out the various areas (full RV sites, partial RV sites, tent sites, yurts & cabins). The full RV sites were (not surprisingly) still pretty full, even in mid-October, but the rest were not. We loved the campground, and plan to return for longer next time. Its proximity to cute little nearby towns is a bonus!