The Moro campground, which is located on a bluff top with unparalleled ocean views, features 27 hookup sites, 30 non-hookup tent sites, both of which include 3 ADA-accessible sites each. We also feature primitive hike-in camping in our backcountry, which has 32 sites spread out across 3 areas. Although it does require a strenuous hike, it provides a peaceful refuge from the urban surroundings.

Moro Campground — Crystal Cove State Park

[ PROS ]

*   Crystal Cove State Park and Laguna Coast Wilderness Park are adjacent to each other, and a small pedestrian gate separates them.
*   The best trail here stretches across the two parks -- No Name Ridge!! Amazing for EPIC SUNSETS!
*   Some sites have MILLION DOLLAR BEACH VIEWS of the ocean.
*   There are about 60 camp spots and a lot of them are RVs, but it’s nice because each row of 10 spots is elevated from the previous row (tiered campsites) so everyone gets a semi view
*   Part of CA State Parks so showers are token operated. Clean and well maintained
*   Walking distance to Crystal Cove Historic District, which has a couple places to eat right on the beach
*   Crystal Cove Historic District also has some "preserved" beach cottages from the 20s, 30s, and 40s on the beach that are largely in ruins. It’s fun to explore and check out.
*   Lots of fun things along the beach to look at like tide pools and rock formations beach
*   Great Visitor's Center that is worth checking out. The Rangers are amazing and provided us with a super helpful information about the park, its trails, and the cottages.
*   Each site comes with a picnic table, a water faucet/drain.
*   The beach has less crowds/tourists/homeless compared to other beaches. It’s really quite and peaceful.

[ CONS ]

*   No coal or wood fires :( Kind of a bummer since your evening ends early. You can bring propane pits yourself for fires though. Also, it can get extremely cold at night in the canyons, even if it’s in the high 80s during the day. Be prepared.
*   They do not allow any alcohol at the park. No exceptions. Rangers patrol constantly and will approach you for random things if they see you breaking any campground rules.
*   The hiking trails essentially have zero shade so it gets really hot. Bring a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen so you don’t roast. Also stay hydrated!
*   The campgrounds is a little further from the beach than I expected from looking at photos online. There is no direct beach access so you’ll have to go to the day use area and pay for parking ($15 parking)
*   You can get to the beach if you’re down to wade through 2-3 feet of still water that puddles under the highway underpass. It’s a little inconvenient if you’re with children or carrying a lot of beach equipment.
*   Campsites are VERY close together so be prepared to meet your neighbors. It’s also very quiet as soon as the sun sets (since there is no campfires keeping people up) so everyone ends up going to bed around 8pm as to not disturb your VERY close neighbors.
*   Be careful of rattlesnakes
*   Near Trump National Golf Course. YUCK.

Beautiful beach, no fires allowed

Great family campground to use as a base camp for a weekend at the beach and enjoying the Orange County coast.

family friendly

I love coming here with my family. We always have great fun. Great to come and camp then leave the site and explore. There are some trails to go on a hike. You can head to the beach to swim and snorkel. You can even head into town get a nice lunch or dinner. Walk around get a drink or ice cream. There are just so many things to do. 

The campsite is very clean and quite. Showers are super clean, and they do require tokens. In terms of setting up a tent, you are not allowed to stake it, so make sure you bring along something heavy to put in the corners. Also no campfires, however you can have gas fires. So a lot of people have these portable gas fir pits that are super nice. Worth the investment. 

Family Fun!

This is a great little campground if you want a quick getaway. We camped here when we were training for our first backpacking trip to test out all of our gear. Because it's not easy to get to, don't camp here if you expect to come and go.

Convenient

we stayed here during a 24 hour adventure challenge.  every campsite has a great ocean view and bathrooms were clean and easily accessible.   we will be staying here again.  the beach access isnt ideal but you can drive down to a lot to access the beach under an overpass.  

Beautiful views 

Camping 

My family camps here often, it’s one of the closest beach campgrounds to us and the views are amazing. The sites are terraced, so no matter which site you get you’ll have a view of the ocean. It is in a developed area of Laguna Beach, so there is not much solitude or quiet enjoyment of nature. However, it’s super convenient to have stores like Trader Joe’s and restaurants just a few minutes away. There is beach access from the campground and several hiking trails in the park. There are no shade structures or large trees, so definitely bring a canopy in the summer. The bathrooms are pretty clean, some of the showers run pretty hot but I didn’t mind it. This campground fills up fast so book early! I really like how clearly the sites are marked and how often the park rangers patrol. Highly recommend this campground!

Spectacular view

We went right after it had been raining, so all of the flowers were in bloom mode and gorgeous. There’s two campgrounds an upper and lower—we opted for Lower Moro campground. These campgrounds aren’t too pricey and it includes parking for one car each night you stay. The trails are well-maintained and wide, allowing a lot of room for mountain bikers and hikers of all types. It’s about a 3 mile trek to Lower Moro from the coastal parking lot and not too bad of a hike, but it does get steep at times especially if you trek the coastal ridge way. We picked Lower Moro and loved it because it has a view of the beautiful pacific ocean as opposed to Upper Moro. The sites include a picnic table and no fire pit, but it was warm over Memorial Day weekend (though it rained one day). The bathroom is nicer as well, but if you did decide to have a larger group to camp with, Upper Moro has bigger camp sites. No water available, so you gotta bring enough for everyone. I gave this 3 stars because the campground is right off the heavily trafficked trail and you can hear everything your neighbor is doing. 

The coastal view

Crystal cove campground is immaculate, clean, and amongst the best ocean views you can get in the OC without having millions to spend on a ritzy house on the water. BUT, the camp hosts and rangers are not friendly. Instead of saying things like "have a nice day" they say to you "drive slow" or "check out at 1pm not a minute later"  it's like, yes we are all aware of the rules and we are made to sign a little list of rules upon check in. But come on, just some sign of happiness or friendliness never killed anybody... No fire pits allowed unless they are propane and you bring it yourself. The walk down to the beach is steep but worth it. The lines in and out of the gate is long and annoying because even if you're already checked in and just wanting to get back to your site you gotta wait in a line of cars paying and checking in... So yea amazing camping but weird experiences otherwise.  

Most amazing views...But

Crystal Cove State Beach campground is located within a 10min walk to the beach.  Unfortunately you have to go under the busy/noisy Pacific Coast Highway to get there. There's a great historic area that's worth checking out. There are a variety of campsite throughout the park from RV to tent; all of them have great views. There's also an abundance of hiking trails.  

  

I only gave it 4 stars due to cost and the noise from PCH

  

Cell Coverage: Excellent

Cost: $55 - $75

Hiking and Surfing

Love this place!  Great views with beach access.  Clean restrooms with showers. One negative thing is you are right next to a highway.  Scenery is so nice you end up blocking out the noise. At night all you hear are waves breaking on the beach 

Great Views 

Great clean campground, beautiful views, short walk down to the beach! Lots of hiking trils around, or take the walk across the beach to the shake shack! Definitely recommend for a local glamping trip! 

Hiking & glamping! 

This is an easy, safe, and fun stop with the family. It’s right on top of Pacific Coast Highway and has a beautiful view of the ocean! 

Bummer is that no campfires are ever allowed, unless it’s a propane fire pit, and no dogs on the beach or trails (even if leashed).  

We went twice in October and got day of spots each time. Rangers were friendly and helpful. 

Met great people and walked the beach a mile down to the Shake Shack. Very fun. 

NICE SPOT!

surfer meets, backpacker meets, mountain biker meets, beach comber meets, just about anything you can think of other than activities that require snow! 

Best of many worlds 

This is a nice clean Campground with restrooms. The only slight downside is the longer walk to the beach.

Nice Campground

Campsites were a short distance from the beach. Campers had free access to private beach, water wasn't too cold and there were tons of tide pools some big enough for my 4 year old son to snorkel in. Campsite was clean. Showers &amp; bathrooms were clean. They have free Wi-Fi. Feels very safe. Campsites are nice with a picnic table. Will definitely camp there again.

Awesome experience

Quick hike into the hills with amazing views overlooking the ocean. I stayed at the lower campsite, I believe it's #31 on the map (I don't think there were actual site markers), and I think this was the best spot in the campground as it had an unobstructed view of the water and was far enough away from others, but still easy to get to the restroom if needed. The sunset was absolutely beautiful and in the morning we were high up above the marine layer which was really cool to see. At night you could hear PCH traffic in the distance (sirens, loud motorcycles), but this really was the perfect, quick getaway into the backcountry right in the middle of Orange County. Perfect trip for a gear shakedown or first time backpackers. 

  

Note: The ground is hard packed and rocky. Free/semi-free standing tents recommended.

Backcountry camping in the middle of OC

Luckily Booked last minute on reserve California (the worst web thing ever) on site 49. Looks like there is a oven view from every site. Close to beach and shopping. 

Laguna Beach getaway

Beautiful view and CLEAN! 
I love how you can choose to hike to your campsite in the back country (4mi hike) or do what we did, drive straight to your site! I have how they have three different level hiking trails. The site itself was smooth and perfect. We were in the first row which had amazing views of the ocean. I also like how at the bottom they have benches where you can watch the sunset or sunrise on! The bathrooms and showers were extremely CLEAN! They just had no seat covers. Luckily I always bring my own camping just in case. Will be coming back!

AMAZING!

Everything about this camp site was great! There’s enough privacy between campers and the bathrooms were clean. Only down side was the walk down to the beach was a step hill.

Great location!

Stayed in spot 6 very nice had full hookups. Then moved to 41..Loudddd neighbors..no fault of park just disappointing.

Prettiest views ever

Beautiful sunsets! We stayed February 5th and 6th at site #23 but it looked like most of the sites had great views of the Pacific. The campsites are roped off and have a decent amount of distance between them. There is some vegetation between them but not enough to be totally private. We were just a short walk to the bathrooms which were spotless. They were being cleaned frequently. The showers are coin operated but it didn't take many coins to get a decent warm shower.

There is a nice day area and trails within walking distance. The tide was high both times we tried to walk under the highway to get to the beach but there were parking lots just a short drive up the road.  

We will definitely go again.

Beautiful views and clean

I went here as a first stop, the people are lovely and nice, the views are stunning and there is right enough space between the slots so you don’t feel like you’re in each other’s privacy.

Bathrooms are cleaned the whole day through, the hiking trails were closed when I was there. But the birds are flying around you and the squirrels are free to welcome you when you get there.

Campgrounds are close to Laguna Beach and Laguna Niguel, it’s about a 30-45 minute drive.

It can be that you could hear cars driving through because its close to a frwy. You’ll get used to it, or bring earplugs.

I RECOMMEND THIS PLACE! Try it out for yourself!

Amazing

This is a gem of a campground. Almost every site has an ocean view of some kind. 

The roads that lead to the sites is a bit narrow, so if your towable is on the long side, you might have to work a bit to back it in. The maximum length is 38. We had 30/50 amp electrical and water. Dump station is on your way out, with 3 stations in that row. Wi-Fi works fair. Cell towers are in sight just to the north, so no reception issues. Lots of hiking and bike trails. We did a 12 mile loop to the north, and a ride along the coast on some bike paths. Shake shack and Beachcomber's restaurants are just down the street for an easy ride or walk. Bathroom and showers are very clean. The picnic tables are what you would expect, very seasoned. :-) Most are anchored to the sites. The length of the site is very good with lots of room to setup your outdoor goodies. Check in is at 3pm. They are hard on this. If you arrive early, you can register, but will be directed to Reef Point back down PCH or to the visitors center in front of the camp entrance.