Oceano County Campground — Pismo State Beach is a fantastic spot for those who love the beach and the great outdoors. With easy access to the dunes and the ocean, it’s perfect for a weekend of sun, sand, and relaxation.

This campground offers a range of sites for tents, RVs, and even glamping, making it a versatile choice for different camping styles. Visitors often rave about the clean facilities, including spacious showers and well-maintained restrooms. One camper noted, “The bathrooms have hot water and flush toilets,” which is always a plus after a day of adventure.

You’ll find plenty to do nearby, from hiking the scenic trails to driving right onto the beach. Campers have enjoyed biking along the wet-packed sand during low tide and exploring the beautiful lagoon trails. As one reviewer put it, “There’s lots to do, from renting dune buggies to playing at the main pier.” 

Just a short drive away, you can explore downtown Pismo Beach for dining and shopping. While some campers have mentioned the occasional squirrel raid on food supplies, the overall vibe is friendly and welcoming. Whether you’re here for a quick getaway or a longer stay, Oceano County Campground offers a great mix of relaxation and adventure.

Oceano Campground — Pismo State Beach

Grover Beach is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. Grover Beach is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Grover Beach, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.

Grover Beach

The Best Camping Near Grover Beach, California

Awesome campsite. We went in January and had no idea about the Monarch Butterflies. About 300 feet from the campsite is a grove of trees where thousands of Monarchs fly and mate. Apparently it's the end of their Northern Migration trail. 

Bathrooms were fine. There was running water. Beach is a 2 minute walk (past a tiny creek!) My only complaint was that there were a ton of RVs so you knew when it was morning when you could hear generators starting. People turned them off at night like they were supposed to...great place. Definitely wanna do it again.

You'd have no idea that there was a city nearby

I come here almost yearly for a girlfriends camping trip or with family. What I really enjoy about this place besides being on the beautiful central coast, is that if we forget to bring something, the grocery store is only a short 5 minutes drive away. You can literally go get a cup of coffee and be back to your campsite before anyone else wakes up!  We also go to the Mexican restaurant down the street and have Margaritas and a meal. So for those of us who enjoy the outdoors but also enjoy the comforts of being near town, this is ideal. The campsite areas are generous in size and accommodate our tents and vehicles. The best time of year to camp here for the weather is in the fall through early winter. This is definitely one my favorite places to camp. 

Awesome location for camping 

Pismo Beach is known for its white sand dunes that go on for miles. Located right on the Pacific Ocean, this campground is a perfect spot if you plan on riding the nearby dunes but not if you plan for a quiet weekend getaway. During the summer, lots of people (young, old, families) seem to stay at this campground which cause a lot of noise. Sites are close together which doesn't offer much privacy. Dust is everywhere! The campground has showers which are necessary but just when you think you are clean, you aren't. Very close to stores for ice, food, etc. If you want to experience Pismo Beach for the dunes, this is the place to stay. If you are there jus to camp, I'd recommend finding something elsewhere. 

A very sandy campground

State beach campground that is within the sounds of the Pacific ocean waves. Just a short walk from each site to the water. Many sites are pull through. Each has paved parking, fire ring and picnic table.

Lush green campground near beach

This is a beautiful campground that looks and feels new. In fact, the back loop was brand new this summer with a super nice bath house. Everything is nice and clean and well maintained. You may have more privacy on the back loop (sites 70-73, 79, and 82 have lots of space). There is a nice trail that goes all the way around the lagoon as well as a couple trails to the beach. The big draw here is that you can drive your car on the beach. Not something I was interested in doing, but different strokes for different folks. Big no-no is to gather downed wood in the park- they want the wood to decompose and replenish the ecosystem. You can buy firewood from the campground host. There is a nice nature/education center close to the entrance to the campground. Apparently this area is where the largest colony of monarch butterflies winters in the states. Would be cool to see them in the winter. Finally, you are close enough to walk to several different restaurants in town if you don’t feel like cooking at your campsite on the grills.

Beach side camping, Beach driving

Jeep Beach West event. Inexpensive to camp on the sand. Have a 4WD vehicle or you will get stuck. Easy on and off the beach. Gorgeous sunsets.

Beach Camping Done Easy

If beach access while camping is your thing, this campground may be the ticket. Tucked behind the dunes (and you definitely want a site next to the dunes!), sites are not entirely on top of each other (but avoid the two middle rows if you want a little breathing room), and all have decent access to the clean bathhouses. There is a nice trail that goes around the outer edge of the campground through the dunes out to Hwy 1 and on to Pismo Beach. It also connects to the Monarch Butterfly Grove on the other side of the creek. Each campsite has the usual picnic table and fire ring. Go buy your firewood from the camp hosts, it’s a big no-no yo gather firewood in the park. I was also warned about locking up my car with valuables hidden; apparently there have been some thefts from cars in the campground in past years (the hosts said it hadn’t happened in a while, but rangers are of the belief of using an ounce of prevention). The best sites are 20,22, 24, 25, 27, 29, and 31 if you want to be next to the dunes and have good beach access.

Beach access and dunes

You are truly minutes away from the beach at this campground! Facilities are nice. Sites are decently spaced. Only drawback was the abundance of RVs, noisy mornings as a tent camper. Would love to camp here again!

ON the beach! 

Great location and nice and quiet, for the most part. Down side is most of the campsites are on the smaller side.

Great beach campground 

What you see is what you get. Great quiet little spot near highway 1. Just a couple blocks from the beach make this conveniently located. A couple liquor stores and restaurants down the street as well. 

simple yet efficient

One of the few beaches that will let you drive your car on to the beach, find a vacant spot and camp overnight. Totally worth trying if you have never done beach camping.

Literally camping on the beach

This is a convenient campground being so close to the city, but being so close also means many homeless people in the area. The campground is nicely located within walkng of the beach and offers the services you typically find. I was dismayed at the number of homeless people wandering through the campground and was not comfortable leaving my gear alone very long. It was loud at night with the campo host off-duty. Law enforcement came late at night to remove homeless. Paid $25 for hike and bike.

Close to City... Many Homeless

This campground is right next to the beach you can walk on the beach at any moment. It’s absolutely breath taking! 

Among the prettiest camps I’ve been to 

We hoped to camp near Oso Flaco Lake and Creek, but this was as close as it gets.

When we arrived at Pismo State Beach, we were pleasantly surprised by how neat and tidy the campground was and how friendly and organized the rangers were. While not very private, the campground was really quiet. I think the imposed Quiet Hours facilitated this. We will definitely stay again.

Prepare for windy, chilly nights even in July.

Beautiful, Clean, Beach Access

Nothing wrong with driving your truck on the beach and camp. Beautiful weather, can get windy! Busy holidays can have people being loud all night!, but worth it for the view. If going deep into the dunes make sure to air down tires and having a 4x4 helps. I helped plenty of trucks and Suburbans out stuck in the sand. Will be back for some more camping! They also have quad rentals on the beach and wood for sale...you will have a blast! 

What’s not to love?

This place is rad. You can stay here until 11pm if you don't have a camp reservation. You can also rent ATV to ride at the dunes which is super fun


Love that you can park right at the beach

We didn’t like it here, no shade, the absolutely won’t let you check in until 2:00 pm, no exceptions.  

**\[ PROS\]**  

  

*   Super close to the beach! There are a couple beach trails that lead you right to the ocean.  
    
*   Love that you can walk to the dunes and spend the entire day there.People bring the craziest beach set ups and have bonfires and cookouts here. Souped up trucks with ATVs roll through and drive right along the beach. It’s quite the sight to see.
*   Very convenient location to ATV rentals, beach/convenient stores, and a few eateries.  
    
*   Fantastic park rangers serveiling the campgrounds every hour. The ranger presence definitely keeps the rowdy crowd here in check.  
    
*   There looked to be a very nice Visitor Center. For some unknown reason, they were closed both days that we were there.  
    
*   Really big and clean showers and restroom facilities. They were very well maintained considering how packed and heavily used they were. Toilets ran out of toilet paper so make sure you come prepared.  
    
*   We saw tons of cool birds around the campsite. My favorite of the weekend were the swallows that flew around dusk. They fly like bats! We also enjoyed seeing a couple ospreys by the beach. We even saw one catch a fish!  
    
*   Campfire is sold here for$8/bundle at the camp host.  
    
*   Each site comes with a picnic table, fire ring, and 2 parking spot. Our neighbors had 3 cars so we let them use one of our parking spots since it was a madhouse here.

  

**\[ CONS\]  
**

  

*   Hard to find availability. This place is usually pretty booked up.  
    
*   Very, very crowded campsite. Sites are extremely close together so there is very little privacy. It feels like a giant parking lot  
    
*   Sites are small so setting up two tents feels very cramped already. Luckily we just stayed in our tent trailer on a parking spot so we felt like we had a little more space.  
    
*   Loud campground! This place attracts a party crowd so be prepared to listen to people roll in with their loud souped up trucks and blast music on speakers throughout the day. Hope you like listening to hip hop from 10am-9pm!  
    
*   It doesn’t seem like the 8 person max/site rule was regulated. People had upwards of 12 people at a single campsite so you can imagine how crowded the place was.
*   There was constantly a long line for the showers throughout the day.  
    

Overall, this is not my favorite place to camp by far. It feels more like a giant tailgate party than it does camping. We were looking for a nice relaxing weekend by the beach so had an unexpected weekend. This is one of the few places left in California that allow cars, trucks, RVs, and ATVs to drive right on the beach. It’s pretty weird to see. They also allow people to have bonfires right on the sand so be careful where you walk. There’s ash and coal everywhere. And sadly, also lots of trash left behind from people.

Ranger Review: Morsel Sporks XL at Pismo State Beach Oceano Campground

North Pismo State Beach is a good campground right on the beach and next to a Monarch park. The bathrooms are clean and have showers. The showers take tokens which you can get from the machine next to the bathrooms. The sites are all drive thru. 

  

The campground is about a mile from downtown Pismo and is a great place to have lunch or dinner.  To the south is Pismo state beach where you can actually drive your car on the beach for $5. Can't beat that deal.

Sand Dunes for Miles

This place is beautiful!! We had a wonderful experience, we’ll definitely be going back!!

Amazing!!

This was our first run with our new RV and we couldn’t have been more happy with this location. It’s basically 5-10 min from anything you need to explore from downtown pismo, Avila beach etc. 

-Walking distance to beach with trails from the campsite
-crazy clean bathrooms with huge ADA size showers
-lagoon with a trail (photo) that is right within the campground

There is a train close by but it wasn’t too loud and honestly with a 2 year old that’s kind of a plus. 😂 

Very clean campground!

We stayed there one night while traveling. It was ok. Campsites are very close together. The beach is just a short walk over the dunes but we were not allowed to take pups off leash on the sand. There was an abundance of Rangers patrolling the beach, we were stopped to give a warning even with pups on leash. Glad it was just one night. The best electric hook up with the most privacy was site #20. The best tent sites were 71 and 81. This campground is close to the beach and got very damp overnight. There is a level trail around the lagoon but warning the east side of this lagoon trail is slathered in poison oak. On the positive, great campground for bird watching on the lagoon.

Nice stopover on the 101 with Electricity

Rangers drive big trucks and tractors several times a day. Make the place little noise. Dry camping, some spots with water and electricity. Hot showers pay with tokens careful the showers are really hot. Clean free restroom and nice trail to the beach. Overall is good. 

Good but lot noise....

We camped her in Feb 2021 &amp; had a great time. Small quiet state park campground with pull-through RV sites. Water &amp; electric hookups, clean restrooms w/ private showers (showers requires tokens). Firewood available from camp host. Easy access for most rvs. Market, deli, drive-on beach (open in 2021).

RV campground w/ hookups near the beach

Great place to camp. You pick a spot in the sand next to the beach and set up. All wheel drive is recommended . You get to make your own fire pit. Just dig a hole in the sand. Very fun place to spend a weekend at

Great place for camping. Absolutely recommend it

This campground is in a very cool location. You can walk straight out to the beach. There’s a monarch Grove right next to you. And it’s about a 15-20 minute walk to Pismo beach Downtown and the Pier where you’ll find all of the main attractions in the area.

Most of the campsites have little to no shade unfortunately. Each campsite has a fire ring though and each campsite has plenty of space between each site. While it’s not private, it’s spacious! 

Good cell phone service too.


Great Location, lots of space

It is a beautiful place despite being in a city. Love how close it is to the beach. Easy parking for any size rig. 

Host is not friendly

We got lucky and landed a site far in the back. Large space away from everyone but near the restrooms. Our back side butted up to the lagoon and past the restroom you go over the small dune with the roped off succulents and you’re on a really wide sand trail to the beach. Beautiful spot with no concentration of vehicles with flags on them. 

Walk to the Beach. Stroll Around the Lagoon

The campground was very nice, clean, campsite was easy to find. We checked in late evening, it was nice that the gate/entrance was open for late arrivals. Campground was walking distance to the beach. Other campers were courteous of quiet hours. ￼ The only thing I did not like about the campground is that the lights were so bright at the bathrooms that it looks like a spotlight was shining on our campsite. That is a very minor dislike but it is hard to go to sleep in your tent or in the back of your truck if you have like a light on you. If the campground could somehow dim the light I would say that would be better for the 2 to 3 campsites that were next to the restrooms/showers, at site #73

Over night camping

Apple Maps will likely try to take you through a ranger station parking lot to a road that goes north of the lagoon. This is not correct and the road is for authorized vehicles only. 

Campground and facilities were very clean and well maintained. Not really any bugs. There’s a liquor/general store right outside the campground. The camp host has firewood for sale in the center of the front campground. 

The hookups sites only have space for 2 vehicles (or one and a trailer). Any additional vehicles have to be parked on the street outside the campground. There is not overnight parking allowed in the ground’s lot. 

There was a good bit of fog and the tent had a lot of dew on it in the morning. 

Easy trails all around. There’s a direct walk to the beach through the dunes. Naturally, there’s a lot of sand. 

Clean and energetic

I have camped here since I was a teenager, over 40 years of coming here. It’s been 20 since my last visit and it has nice new bathrooms &amp; showers. It’s dry camping, but there’s a dump station right as you come in. Campsites are spacious, not much privacy without any bushes or trees but still a wonderful spot. Close to town and the pier. Beautiful beach to play on, walk the dog or just sit and watch the water. It’s always clean, and best of all next to the Butterflies. I would give it 5 stars if there were more trees. I’ll always have this place in my heart. 

An old Favorite 

People walking &amp; talking. Up and over the Dunes to the ocean. Parents spending time with their children. Family volley ball from 4-7 ish down the way with lots of laughter. Geese heading out in formation over the central camp-plane. Butterflies butterflies butterflies 😯

Chill even when chilly

Large camp sites, beach access is directly from the site, cheap rates, clean bathrooms. Great experience all around!!

Love it

I think there is a HUGE difference between the RV section and the tent section of this campground. We are tent campers and were in the back area. It was a reasonable walk from our campsite to the beach. The beach was nice. Showers take tokens but machines that take dollar bills are outside restroom/shower building. Showers were hot. The campground was clean (surprisingly, considering my following comments). 

  

Now for the negatives. It's a bit noisy (you can hear road traffic). Sites have a bit of space between them but virtually no privacy. My biggest issue with the campground are the homeless people. I highly doubt that many of them squat in the RV section and I think they hang out in the back in the tent section. Sadly, many of them had obvious mental health illnesses. Several of them go into the bathrooms and lock the doors to sleep overnight with a roof over their head. They mostly kept to themselves but it made me a little uneasy. We left our stuff to go into town for dinner and our tent, sleeping bags, etc. were not messed with (stolen) while we were gone.

Iffy tent camping

This is next to the only place you can drive your truck on the beach. 

Oceano  state park

Close to beach, clean bathrooms (no hand soap or hand dryers), park rangers routinely available. I stayed in an RV slot with E/W. Next time I’d stay without - better sites, spaces farther apart with grass (no electric but water available).

Good location and quiet

Stopped here for two night, clean, well maintained.  Very close to the beach, hike through the dune or get down with your car and drive in the beach.  The campground entrance included the fee to access the beach with your car.  


Nice place

This is a great campground. Sites far apart, easy access to garbage disposal, flush toilets, showers and nice grassy sites. It is a short walk to the beach. You can walk along the beach to Pismo Pier or you can take with paved walking path into town. The Monarch Butterfly Grove is right next to the campground. You can walk along a boardwalk to Pismo Dunes. The only two negative things were the luke warm shower and someone stole my collapsible water container (why would someone do that?).

Great Location

Well kept campground, surrounded by eucalyptus grove and adjacent to the beach and also a monarch buttefly conservation area, less
Than a mile to downtown. No hookups but tap drinking water on site

Eucalyptus & salt

This campground came to my rescue on a Sunday night when most everything else in the area was full. Coastal Dunes RV Park down the road handles the check-ins for Oceano. This is a small campground with just a single loop, but all the amenities: full hookups at every site and a central bathroom. My site was neat and clean, and there were bushes that provided some privacy.

The bathrooms at Oceano have high-flow faucets, but that's about all they have going for them. The men's room was in dire need of a cleaning and general tune up when I visited. The bathrooms at the nearby Oceano Memorial Park were marginally cleaner, but a superior alternative is the clean, modern, single occupancy bathrooms at Pismo State Beach campground, a minute's walk down the road. I would have preferred a porta potty to the bathrooms at Oceano.

Great campsites, awful bathrooms

Shower are 1$/4minutes, there are sinks for washing dishes which is awesome! 
Right behind pour campsite was a small beach access so we could eat right on the Beach! 

Enjoyed staying so close to the beach 

Overall campground was safe and chill. Easy walk to the dunes that lead to the beach. Site 72 had no shade and was not pleasant during the day with the sun making it feel much hotter than it was. Retreated to the butterfly grove for awhile to get cool. Found out the butterfly action ends in February. 

No Shade at site 72

Excellent visit we stayed 2 days and two nights. We loved it.

Pismo oceano campground 

Decent, very quiet.. lots of dirt. Wood fire pits

Océano State Beach Campground

Pros:
Close to the beach. Affordable, especially considering each spot has power and water. 

Cons: 
Lots of homeless day camps near by, watch for needles. Bathroom was in disrepair. Dumpster was overflowing all 4 days.  Coin operated showers, but no change machine. Also, kinda noisy.  

Check in is between 3-4pm at a different campground.  If you miss it, they expect you to check in the following day. So don’t set up camp. 

Ok in a pinch

It was past midnight. Spent an hour trying to look for the campground and even asked a gas station attendant for directions and still couldn’t find it. Apple Maps and can’t seem to properly locate it for some reason.

If there were properly visible signs to direct tired travelers on where to go, that would be so much better. 

Could not find campground

A very well laid out campground that was hosted by a wonderful couple. Was kept very clean and was a joy to stay there.

Beauty of a state park campground 

My experience was a wee bit different than anticipated... I arrived just prior to the forcasted “Pineapple Express”. Check in was painless, campground was not packed. Once parked the doggos and I enjoyed a few hours on the beach before sundown. It started raining cats and dogs during the night, 7am the rangers advised that evacuations could be in store....3pm we had to leave the campground and we were directed further down the coast to Oceana. The new campground was also flooded, but I was able to find a spot with a small patch for the dogs to do their thing without having to wade through water.
The next day broke to a beautiful sunrise. 
The rangers and the park police were awesome, I felt completely at ease knowing that they were vigilant for our safety. 
Both campgrounds are beautiful in each their own way.

Tourist destinations

Camped here late February, many sites were available and we drove around looking for a good site then registered online.

Easy check in, lots of things nearby &amp; close to the beach. 

Lots of space between neighbors as well 

Easy check in, plentiful amenities & close to the beach.

I would have given this review five stars if the sites had more privacy. The sites are a reasonable distance apart, though. That said, there is so much to do and see nearby, even within walking distance. ￼ The campground is right next to several paths, a ￼boardwalk, a marsh with lots of ducks, and a monarch butterfly habitat. I don’t know if we were just ￼ a lucky, but the campers all seemed very friendly as well. The bathrooms and showers were very clean and private. There were plenty of hosts/rangers so we felt safe. We would love to go back again.

Lots to do 

We rolled through on a Friday night in May with no reservations and got absolutely lucky to snag the very last site.  Would not recommend chancing it on weekends in the high season.  We only were able to get a site because the ADA sites are released at 5pm and we happened to be there right at the right time to get one.

  

Very nice campground - one side is hookups at $40 (electric and water only), and this side is kind of boring with RVs all lined up in a row. FYI there are no sewer hookups here and no dump station. You can drive two miles up the road to North Beach and use their dump station and water fill for $10.  We stayed on the tent side for $25, no hookups and much more pleasant and green and beautiful.

  

There's a lagoon and a boardwalk to walk around it, but the boardwalk ends and the trail turns to mud and it was pretty much impassible when we were there - thick black muck that will suck your shoes off and get your dog's belly all dirty. Watch for mosquitoes, especially the sites along the lagoon.

  

Beautiful walking trails to the beach - we saw a coyote here!  We heard them yipping all night as well.  Interesting experience for us to see and hear them right on the beach. 

  

As with all state parks now, there are recycling and food waste bins available, thank you California!

  

The visitor center is right at the entrance of the campground and there's a good Mexican restaurant within easy walking distance as well.

  

Overall a great place, amazingly cheap, and we're happy we got lucky and snagged a spot!

Affordable on the beach!

Beautiful campground in a great location, but sadly it's filled with thieves. We had over$500 worth of stuff stolen, and the things stolen were too big and heavy to be taken by foot. So the ranger station at the front isn't bothering to stop random cars from entering the campground and taking your things. We told the rangers and they didn't care. The camp host said she's never seen so much stealing at a campground and would never be coming back. If you stay here, don't leave anything of value out in the open or it won't be there when you come back.

Beautiful campground filled with thieves

I wish I could say this is the worst campgrounds I’ve been to, just to keep people away. Very nice, clean and spacious park. Maybe 100 feet to the beach. The town of Pismo is very nice to walk around.  I must say one of the best parks I’ve been to. 

Very nice on the beach 

I have a truck canopy / rooftop tent, and everything is nicely accessible. I think it was around $35 so it's a great stopping point to shower and freahen up before continuing on. I arrived after new years weekend and walked in to check the available sites that I wanted. Lots of short hike trails and walking distance to the ocean.

Nice winter camp with private showeres

Ocean front, off road sand dune recreation if you have a capable vehicle. It’s great. Best with an off-road capable vehicle. Bathrooms are a bit rough without running water. 

Fish, drive off-road, camp, bonfire or hunt for seashells. 

Bring a good jacket in April.

Ocean front recreation 

Green, grassy campground with well separated spaces. Most pull thru and level. All surrounded by grass for nice tent camping. Surf sound is continuous. Masks other sounds except noisy generator in next site. Nice restrooms

Green grass near beach

Very nice SP campground. Don't try to check in early, you will get suggestions to park until check in time of 2pm. Once in, the sites with hook ups sans sewer, will actually be pull through sites, which was nice. From there, you can walk. ride or drive on to the beach. There are paths around the camp that go around the estuary type lagoon. Dune trails are nice for hiking although some thick sand in places. We rode our bikes on the beach. Low tide makes it very easy with wet packed sand. The sites are spaced pretty well. We will be back for sure.

Great location for beach and dunes access.

I’ve been coming to this campground for years with friends. It’s an awesome spot. Bathrooms are generally clean however you do need tokens for the showers and the machine only accepts cash so make sure you have some dollars. You get two tokens for a dollar and each token gets you 2 min of shower time. They have garbage and recycling too. The camp hosts are a bit militant about the rules so don’t break them. They have zero tolerance and don’t put up with anything. Also keep your dog on a leash. Someone’s dog attacked another dog this morning and the State Park LEO were on site. 


Great campground, camp hosts not so much

This campground is awesome.  It’s very beautiful, with lots of wildflowers, trees, trails, beach dunes…and squirrels. Lots of them. But we also saw and heard hawks, turkey vultures, owls, and many other birds.  We also saw a cute little weasel.   There’s also lots of rangers, which makes for very well-mannered campers.  Loved it!! You can walk to the beach or drive on the beach.  Driving in the beach was fun, but it was so windy and so cold! This was the end of May. Not sure what the weather is over months.  The actual campground was not as cold or windy, since it’s behind the dunes. The bathrooms have hot water and Flush toilets. Showers are huge and are self-contained and not in the bathrooms.  Tokens needed. Starting in May there’s a market night at the main pier, small but fun to visit.  Lots to do, from renting dune buggies to playing at the main pier.  Loved it and can’t wait to go back.  Oh, and about the squirrels.  They’re not afraid. They ate through my little pantry that’s canvas that’s connected under my table.  Also, mosquitoes! How could I forget. Bring bug spray and citronella or thermacills.  They’re out and about and it’s not fun if you’re not prepared.  There’s a Walmart not too far away. After the citronella incense weren’t working, we went to Walmart and it was war! Another note, campsite 68 does not look like the photo.  Tree is gone and the ice plant has invaded the site and made it smaller.  One tent will fit, not another.  

Beautiful, but a little squirrely  

We stayed here a few years ago, but on the primitive / non-hookup side. We stayed on the E/W hookup side this time and liked it as well, though it does have the more typical RV/parking lot feel as compared to the other side.  There's a nice walking trail that connects the two sides. It's $50 for an E/W site, plus an $8.25 reservation fee.

  

There's a cool lagoon that you can walk all the way around on, with lots of birds, and much of it accessible as well which is nice. There's a cool visitor center, open 12-4. The beach is a short walk away. There's a great Mexican restaurant down the road also, Old Juan's, it's so good and has great vegan options.

  

The showers here are nice and clean, and $1 gets you 4 minutes.  The showers are individual, private, and non-gendered. There was no host on site when we were there, but the rangers were very present.  This campground, like all California State campgrounds we've been to recently, has trash, recycling, and a food compost bin which I love.

  

There's a fun game for kids where you download an app and go on a scavenger hunt and complete other challenges.

  

No dump station here, but there's one just 2 miles north at North Beach Campground, and it's $10 for dump and water fill there.

Great Campground

Probably just due to the time of year but this campground was way too rowdy for my taste, all the sites are close together and it seemed almost every site was a very large group, generators running after 10pm, amplified music and tv! If that’s your jam you’ll love it. I took off after 1 night. 

You can do better

Oceano CA. Wooded nice spaces with 20 amp electric and water. We tried to reserve online but site said they were full and sign at entrance said they were full. We waited at check in gate at 2pm (check in time) for about 10 minutes. Staff came by in a car and registered us from their car! Strange but we were grateful. Many available spaces! Go figure. 

Nice

Clean, close to beach &amp; eateries, yet private

Photos of Oceano Campground — Pismo State Beach

Real photos from real campers