San Clemente State Beach Campground

Great place for beach camping, but the hike down to the beach is steep. Beach used to be sandy, but over the years the tide has taken the sand away and left smaller stones so wear Tevas.

If they would simply notify campers upon check in of the SIGNIFICANT SEASONAL ANT INFESTATION, it could have alleviated us waking up with ants crawling on our faces in the morning. They sell diatomaceous earth for $10. And we carry it already, but all we could do was go to WAR with the ants to contain the outbreak in our camper. BTW, we carry NO food inside the camper. Had to go to 2 hardware stores to get supplies and spend significant time eradicating only 95%. SO Disappointed. Our site was near a “coyote corridor”, so maybe why we didn’t have so many squirrels! Ha Ha!

I stayed for 2 nights recently. Nice location. The rangers are very attentive here. Couple hosts you can buy firewood from. The shower was out of tokens but a ranger on a golf cart gave me some. Everyone comes here with their dogs and the coyotes are insane. They are everywhere. I wish they could/would do something about it. They are not afraid of humans at all. You’ll wake up to them chasing rabbits literally in your campsite. Bit scary since I have a small dog. Pretty much the reason I haven’t returned.

Great place! The camp ground is great, and you can feel the beach breeze! The walk to the beach was amazing too! And it family friendly!!!!

Be mindful of their shower token system. Otherwise, a nice spot. Not too close to the highway. We saw a coyote, so watch your dogs.

It was overall a nice campsite. Our site seemed to be pretty large it came with a picnic table & fire pit. The walk to the beach was close seemed maybe about 10 minute till we reached the beach from our site. It is on a hill you need to walk down & back up. The only down side was the bathrooms on the same road as our site were pretty dirty did not seem to have any maintenance during our stay.

Believe it or not, this was the first camp spot we stayed at with my family and it was my wife's first time ever camping since! We stayed in the premium tent campsites on the bluff that overlooked the beach. These are the best sites hands down in the whole campground. We camped here no problem in our sprinter van.

There are bathrooms and showers are good and nice hot water. There is a coin dispenser there.

The downer is that I thought our camp spot would be closer to the overlook, but it's actually just a parking spot with a grass spot and then walk over to an overlook. We only stayed one night as we were passing through, but would stay here again if we were in the area.

Also, we got there relatively late so the office was closed, got a ticket in the morning and had to walk all the way to the office to get us checked in properly. These premium sites are furthest away from the office just FYI.

This is a big lawn atop the bluffs where campsites are set up next to each other with no separation. It's like camping in your neighbors lawn...the neighbor with the most kids and probably a few dogs that are off-leash.

BUT...the views from the bluff are beautiful. The beach is perfect, and even the visitor center has a cute little museum display.

BUT...it isn't really camping. It is loud, even if it isn't because your neighbors are on top of you, and it is right off the highway. This is not the place to go to "get away."

Sites mostly have nice little pergolas/shades over a picnic table and fire pit. If you are looking to hang at the beach and not drive home, this is the campground for you. The campground is huge and there aren't many staffers to maintain it. Our site had grass/clover/weeds that was pretty thick, and the ground pretty lumpy, making it difficult to find a spot for the tent. Recommend a car camp situation or rv.

Dogs are not allowed on the beach.

Music way to loud..camp host ehh.im.just not going there.

Nice place close to many convenient places ie grocery liquor bix box sporting goods bars restaurants etc nice little spot surrounded by city so kinda like camping but not lol

Campground is separated by large parking spots (class A/C or travel trailers) and the other is geared towards smaller setups (smaller trailers and tents). Some spots have great shade over the picnic table (we hung our hammock on ours), and all of the tent sites have fire pits. Some units are on a slope so keep an eye out for that if you are tent camping. Bathrooms were clean and showers have token dispensers right by the showers. Got pretty cold at night.

It was ok for one night - would probably try to find another spot for a more relaxing time. They allowed pets, but couldn’t take my dog on the trail down to the beach which was a bummer. Also had to pay for showers - bring cash to get tokens!! The water was hot but when I pay for a campsite like this I don’t want to pay more for a shower. I had a picnic table and fire ring. Wasn’t very quiet - lots of families, but seemed to be a good spot if you did camp with kiddos!

We've been staying at San Clemente State Beach for more than 30 years now, and it's always an enjoyable time. The beach is great for surfing and boogie boarding, with the famous Trestles surfing spot located about 2 miles away. 

San Clemente State Beach is a pretty large campground with lots of commotion/activity, so if you're looking for peace and quiet, this isn't the place to go. Another thing to consider is that the beach is a bit of a trek, especially if you're carrying a bunch of coolers, chairs, umbrellas and boogie boards. Still, once you get down there, it's a great beach and very beautiful. 

If you want to go shopping, there's a Rip Curl outlet nearby that has a lot of good deals on surf clothes, supplies, etc. The Pier is about a 10 minute drive away, where you'll find several decent seafood restaurants.

Great place

California beach camping can be very hard to come by. Unlike some other campgrounds in Southern California this one gives you ample room to move around and set up camp. You can see the ocean from most sites too which is a huge perk since that is the reason most people camp along the coast. The walk to the beach is obviously steep but definitely worth it because the surfing here was incredible! This one came with a shade set up, fire ring, and a picnic table. It’s close to town If you forget anything or run out of ice or just want to grab a beer at a local spot. It is definitely one we will be going back to.

We stayed here in September 2020. The camp site is well maintained and the people were friendly. Showers and bathrooms were clean. The walk to the beach is steep. And the beach has pebbles. We had an awesome time. No regrets!

This was so beautiful and so clean! Everything was neatly placed and accessible. Beautiful hike to the beach, bathrooms were clean and our location was terrific!

Nice campground that’s near the ocean.

Amazing ! one of the best i've ever met . Loved . I was with my family and my dog ​​and it was incredible.

Great, clean, campground for the family. My daughter, dog, wife and I enjoyed two nights here in November 2020 for my birthday. We didn’t have a reservation but they do a lottery at 11am each day and we got spots for two nights.

Really easy to get to. We’ll go back a few times a year.

I live across the street, but have been coming here to camp for years. The vibe is groups of young friends stoked on their new-found independence and families with RVs or trailers with the latest toys. The hardcore surfing nomads stealth camp in their bubble-top vans outside of the park on the streets. Walking distance to Cottons point for surfing and to hangout among the beach huts.

This is a good alternative to the Bluffs. It's a little quieter since you're farther from the freeway, but it's still essentially parking lot camping. There is some shade, but it's flat so good for kids to play around. It sits right above Cottons and a short walk from the other breaks of Trestles so that's tough to beat! Shops & groceries are just across the highway.

I love this campground. I came in as a hike and bike camper this year but I’ve also been on the campsites. It’s very close to the beach!

Each campsite has a fire container, barbeque , and a picnic table under trellis type structure. Clean flush toilets. Beautiful location next to the ocean. Great place.

Walk to the beach is kind of long. Camp is on the bluff! We tent camped and had a good time

San Clemente State Park is a great place to go camping and enjoy the beach. The campground is located on a bluff that offers great views up and down the coast. It's also a great place to catch the sunset. 

The facilities are very clean but bring quarters for the showers.  It's close to the freeway but I didn't hear anything. There were a few helicopters and Ospreys that flew over from Camp Pendleton Marine Base that made for a good airshow.

We go every summer and the group keeps getting bigger. I love the trees, views and even the skunks (the are tame and love pizza). The walk up from the beach is a little tough, but the lifeguards are super nice and helpful if you need assistance. I always come home with a nice tan and great calfs. The upside of the walk is that there aren't as many people as down the beach by the public parking.