Doane Valley Campground — Palomar Mountain State Park
Matty F.
Reviewed Apr. 7, 2022

Easy, safe, and clean!

This was my first time camping ever. My partner is more experienced, and we chose this campground because it has modest amenities, small wildlife, and temperate weather for this time of year.

Most of the sites are on slopes, or require walking up/down a series of steps to access. Some are very close together and with little even ground, so consult other reviews or site photos if that's a concern. We stayed at site 14, which had a small flat for our tent and light slope near the table and firepit. Each site has a spigot which was nice for cleaning. We kept mosuitos, flies, and ants at bay by burning natural repellants and packing away food diligently. Walked away with only one bite!

Neighbors were pleasant, sound travels like crazy, bathrooms are close by and extremely well maintained. No reception unless you drive closer to the general store at the base of campground (~10 min away).

The birds are loud, but if you don't care about that they're very fun to watch! The largest critter we saw was a wild turkey. We didn't hike much because we brought our pet, but the rains this year produced out a lot of beautiful native flowers.

In all, a very chill and easy site to learn how to camp.

Site14
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Doane Valley Campground — Palomar Mountain State Park by Matty F., April 7, 2022
  • Review photo of Doane Valley Campground — Palomar Mountain State Park by Matty F., April 7, 2022
  • Review photo of Doane Valley Campground — Palomar Mountain State Park by Matty F., April 7, 2022
  • Review photo of Doane Valley Campground — Palomar Mountain State Park by Matty F., April 7, 2022
  • Review photo of Doane Valley Campground — Palomar Mountain State Park by Matty F., April 7, 2022