This campground is very touristy and not very private. There is no shade, it's mostly for RV sites, you can put a tent up, but like everywhere else beach camping I would advise a trailer or something. It gets very windy and sand gets everywhere! It is also very near a train track! It is an absolutely gorgeous beach, I can see why it gets popular. Its also quite expensive. There are well maintained bathrooms, with coin operated showers. The stars are amazing at this beach.
Bring your bathing suits. Watch the tar.
Carpinteria State Beach Campground is a one of our frequently visited “staycation” spots. We live in nearby Santa Barbara, but will use Carp State Beach as a midway meeting point when friends from Southern California and Central California meet up.
The campground is pretty large, and caters mostly to RVs and trailers. There are loops within the campground that are essentially just asphalt lots with small dirt spaces for fire pits and picnic benches - these are intended for RV campers, but we have tent camped there in a pinch. Since we are tent campers we do prefer to camp in the grassy tent sites, but they are limited in number and tend fill up quickly. Because of the moderate year-round weather, Carpinteria State Beach Campground stays pretty full all year long!
The campground has full hook ups, clean plumed bathrooms, and coin-operated showers. There are grocery stores and conscience stores within short walking distance for anything you might need. Train tracks run directly behind the campground, so there is some noise pollution from the passing trains.
The campground is at the very end of downtown Carpinteria, right next to the ocean. There are no “ocean front” sites, but the beach is a quick 1-minute walk from essentially anywhere in the campground. Some small sandy dunes separate the campground from the beach, and there is an accessible paved boardwalk running along the length of the dunes. There are beautiful tide pools just south of Carpinteria State Beach Campground that are a must see. Check the tide charts on the internet to visit the tide pools at low to mid tide.
While we really enjoy camp cooking, we tend to opt to walk into town to eat when camping in Carpinteria. Linden Avenue is right next to the campground, and is the main street in downtown Carpinteria. There is a wide variety of restaurants, breweries and coffee shops downtown. Island Brewery CO is a local favorite just on the edge of the campground - while I don’t think they have food available (yet), their beer is GREAT! Their avocado beer is a must try - I know it sounds weird, but it’s delicious (and doesn’t taste like avocados)! Rincon Brewery is a few blocks up from the campground, and also has great beer, and TASTY FOOD!
CAMPSITE SPECS
Fees: $45/night (normal campsite)
Plumbed Toilets: Yes
Drinking Water: Yes
Showers: Yes (coin-operated)
Picnic Table: Yes
Firepit: Yes
Cooking Grate: Yes
Shade: No
Cell Service: Yes
Animal Bins/Food lockers: No
Trash: Yes
Carpinteria state beach has the best beach row sites with full hookups. The town is awesome and a short bike ride away featuring everything from 5 star restaurants to antique stores and more. L
I’ve grown up camping at Carpinteria as a SoCal native and it is definitely worth the visit. With sites that have close access to the beach and a super cute town within walking distance, this is a great place for couples, groups, and families. The only downside of Carpinteria is a train that runs through near the grounds, but if you’re looking for quintessential CA beach camping, this is pretty ideal. Hit up ‘The Spot,’ a tiny shack on the beach that serves up some delicious burgers and visit during the Avocado Festival during October 5-7. It’s one of the best times to camp there. https://www.avofest.com/
I stayed at Carpinteria State Beach this past weekend and had a great time. The staff were super friendly at the entry and the camp host was as well. We had a spot on the far side of the camp from the beach but were still only a couple minutes walk away. The facilities were nice with individual shower rooms and restrooms. Only reason I’d remove a star is due to the train tracks right next to the camp. However thats out If their control and I didn’t notice a train horn between the hours of 2200-0530.
I love camping at Carpinteria State Beach when I can get a weekend spot! This place is located right on the beach in the small, fun town of Carpinteria, CA. They have nice, clean bathrooms with coin operated showers to clean up when you want. Very closely located to Grocery Stores, Banks, Food, and Pharmacy for all your needs. They even have a walk/Bike path that circles the grounds if you want to walk or bike. Overall Great place to stay, but you must book several months ahead of time to get a weekend trip. The week days are easier to book.
Clean, spacious, family and non-family friendly.. near the ocean... fairly quiet
This is a nice little spot, close to town, but not as close to the train as some of the other Southern California state beaches. The campground hosts went above and beyond to keep the bathrooms clean and even provided nice soap. The tent camping spots were a pretty good size for beach camping.
Nestled between Ventura and Santa Barbara just north of Los Angeles is this picture perfect State Beach campground. This location has both full hook-ups as well as tent camping right up to the coast This campsite also has showers availa le and restrooms There are plenty of miles of bike trails as well as hiking tails to the Bluffs that overlook a sea lion protected sanctuary But the most glorious reason to come here are the breath taking sunsets viewable from your own campsite
visited this summer and was beautiful! Since then has been used to dump debris from the Montecito mud slide and water has high bacteria levels:(
The good: it's on the beach. The bad: it is an absolute parking lot. It feels like tailgating next to train tracks. Yes the train goes right by you as well. And you can't even walk your dog on the beach on the leash. We meant to spend the night there on our way down the coast and hit the road after we saw what it looked like:( Carpinteria is a super cute little beach town that's why I have it 2 points. Just don't camp there.
Okay, the sites aren't anything special at all, but the view! Fall asleep to the sound of the ocean. Often hard to get a spot, and kind of expensive compared to other camp sites, but totally worth it.
This is a great beach to spend time camping near. The campgrounds are pretty large and a lot of people take advantage of the near year round perfect weather. Facilities are clean and there's a trail nearby that leads to other areas along the cliffside part of the beach. There is offshore drilling that creates tar residue laden areas so it's best not to walk barefoot there. It's a weird thing but the lights from the offshore drilling are kinda cool looking. All sorts of people camp here so I would say there's a good mix of the populace and the vibe is entertaining and unpretentious. This is a heavy touristed area so the place is crowded year round and the day area busy, although we were still able to stay here and get great beachfront space around Christmas time when hords of folks come to enjoy 70 degree temps. It's a nice spot, and everyone knows about it...
Match made in heaven. Beach camping meets cute beach town. Great restaurants and breweries in Carpenteria all within walking distance from the beach camping sites here. This is truly an unique experience that is great for kids and families alike. If can reserve early go for the Santa Cruz loop on the water!
This is a truly unique campground that my family has been visiting for decades. You can walk into town and eat at the amazing restaurants quaint Carpenteria has to offer. Or you can listen to the waves roll in from your campground as you cook something up over the camp fire. A great home base to explore Santa Barbara or Sloveng too.
The rv campsites are to small. You have to squeeze to get in or out of your rv. They do have beautiful views and the beach is beautiful. Over all my family and I had a horible expirience with the neighbor next to us he was drunk and made it horible to be there.
