Lake Cuyamaca Recreation and Park District

• We arrived as the sun was setting and had a glare in the windshield so it was a little tough getting through the tight loop but we made it.  Had we noticed that we were supposed to turn right before the bathrooms, we would not have had to do a u-turn!  That was my mistake.   We had a 22 foot trailer and were just barely able to squeeze through.   Many people had their vehicles parked right along the narrow road in.  I saw larger RVs there - I can only imagine how difficult that just have been to get through.  There's a section of road where if you go off it, you could potentially roll down a hill. 

• Check in for this campground is across the lake at the "bait and tackle shop" (15029 CA-79, Julian, CA 92036) and that's only open until 6PM.  If you arrive later than that, that's OK just check in in the morning.  I wouldn't recommend trying to pull a trailer over to the other side as you'll have a difficult time turning around.  The camp host will remind you as you're entering or leaving that you need that parking pass.

• The best site in this park would be number 23 as it has a clear view of the lake and a very large "front yard".  We were in 21 and had a partial view with the two other sites closer to the lake blocking our view.

• Cell service for Verizon was OK for phone calls, not so great for data.   I noticed driving around the lake that there was 5G in the area, just not at the campground.  Top data speed at the site was around 2 MBps down, 0.5 MBps up.  If you have a directional signal booster, that may help.

• We brought out Starlink dish for internet service.  The trees blocked the satellites every 7 minutes but that was OK for streaming movies.  We never experienced a full outage, just brief moments where the speed went way down.  Our best Starlink speed at the site was 174 MBps down, 11 MBps up, plenty of bandwidth.

• There are two free campground shower on site, bathrooms and a dishwashing area.  A small store near the entrance has a few food items.

• The camp host was courteous and drove around once in a while to check out on everyone.  

• I didn't notice any trash cans on site.  We packed our trash out.

• The nearest town is Julian - about 6 miles away.  It's a nice place for a quick day visit where you'll find gas (including diesel), food, restaurants, historical buildings, etc.  Of course, you should get a pie while you're there!  Julian is well known for that.

• The site was clean and neighbors were courteous.  We had a large group camping a couple spots away but they kept the noise down.

• If you have kids, there's a nice playground by the lake.

• We had a beautiful view of the Milky Way at night, visible to the naked eye.

Overall, I would say this is a great camp area to visit with several recreation opportunities nearby.  We came for mountain biking.  There are plenty of trails to ride.

Friendly staff kept everything clean and gave great advice. Some in our party tent camped and had the best space, view, shade trees. We had a trailer as well, nice and level with water and power. Both had aluminum picnic tables and iron grills. Propane fire pits we allowed but no wood fires.

What a great campground! We stayed at Chambers Park with our teardrop trailer. Site 22 was great, very spacious and gorgeous views. ( FYI site 6 seems very tiny) and a few sites stayed empty because RV spots were too tight and families could not get their RVs in. So, make sure you check ahead before reserving. But, fyi sites 23, 22, 21, 7 and 8 seem pretty spacious. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Just FYI there is a VERY TINY store attached to the pub with limited items in it. I do not recommend buying supplies at the Lake. But, perfect for emergencies! There’s a very sweet couple that helps maintain the grounds. Please note…. Not very many bugs and no dirt, all rocks.