Best Glamping near Arroyo Grande, CA

Flying Flags RV Resort& Campground is one of my favorite RV resorts.  It is located in Buellton, CA very near the historic town of Solvang, as well as Lake Cachuma and Los Padres National Forest. The campsite is in a beautiful setting surrounded by green rolling hills. April, May is the perfect time to visit. 

The resort features a plethora of housing options, including vintage trailers and airstreams, cottages, luxury tents, and RV/tent camping spots. 

Free WiFi, a full laundry facility, pools, and a hot tub, every aspect of your stay is covered. For a relaxing time, they have poolside cabanas, a communal fire pit, picnic areas, and a communal TV lounge with pool and foosball tables. 

If you have children there is a playground as well as bocce and horseshoes. There is a full fitness center in case you want to get your workout in without the heat. All of the amenities are very well maintained, including the bathrooms and showers. When you get hungry the campground/resort has a few options. 

There is a full fitness center in case you want to get your workout in without the heat. I rode my bicycle to Solvang, which is 4 miles away. All of the amenities are very well maintained, including the bathrooms and showers. When you get hungry the campground/resort has a few options. There is a convenience store and snack bar on-site, as well as the Campfire Cafe, an eatery with a full menu that allows you to eat in or even deliver to your site.

In case you are feeling like an adult beverage, Flying Flags has a fairly extensive wine and beer bar. There are also restaurants, convenience, and grocery stores within walking distance. The location of Flying Flags is perfect if you are looking to venture out for an evening or you are here for the wineries. 

There are several museums in the area, including the Solvang vintage motorcycle museum. There are also golf courses, breweries, wineries, a casino/resort, and the Solvang farmers market. This resort and campground overall is a very nice spot to stop on a long journey, or just to get away for a while. 

Well worth the trip. It seems like the RVs in the RV park are newer, the park is pretty upscale. I would assume most of the people are full-timers, retired couples who are spending some time in the park. Although it was beautiful weather, you hardly see people outside, it seems like everyone is keeping to themselves. I am not sure why that is.

Lopez Lake Recreation Area is 15 minutes behind the “Village” of Arroyo Grande, CA.

Lopez is a frequently visited spot for us - We generally camp in a primitive site the back of the Squirrel Loop of the park. The Squirrel Loop is not a lakeside loop (you cannot see the lake at all from here), but we have found it to be one of the quieter, less trafficked campground in the park. The Squirrel Loop is nestled inside a canyon, surrounded by big, beautiful live oak trees.

Lopez Lake is a very large campground with many different loops, so many of which are nearby the lake. If you haven’t been to the campground before and are not worried about reserving a site ahead of time, take some time to drive around the park when you arrive to see what area you would most like to camp in - there are a lot of great spots here there and everywhere!

Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. There are clean plumbed bathrooms, and coin-operated showers. Lopez has full hook-ups for RVs, and a marina to launch boats. There is a small but well-stocked convenience store in the marina with food, ice, firewood, beer, fishing gear, etc. There is also a small cafe located in the marina store, with limited hours.

Lopez Lake is the home of the Mustang Waterpark, a small, but super fun water park. I believe the park is closed during the fall and winter months, but is open during the spring and summer. Swimming is allowed in the lake, and there are some “beach” areas that have been cleared of lake plants and rocks for safe swimming.

Hiking to Big Falls is a fun adventure if you want to leave the campground. There are certain times when the falls are not accessible without 4WD, however, we have been in severe drought conditions in Central California for the last few years, so you don’t have to worry about crossing any deep creeks, if any. A super low clearance vehicle may have a challenging time crossing the creek beds, even when dry. The drive to Big Falls trailhead from Lopez is short, but probably takes 15-20 minutes as you are driving through a curvy, narrow canyon road. The hike is through live oak trees most of the way, so most of the hike is nice and shaded. Keep and eye out for salamanders when crossing the creek beds! While it is unlikely, black bears mountain lions have been spotted on the Big Falls trail, so be aware of your surroundings. Here are directions to the Big Falls trailhead: http://www.hikeslo.com/big-falls/

WARNING : While the possibility of a black bear sighting is fairly uncommon, black bears are seen every year at Lopez Lake. You are in black bear county, and there are no bear boxes/ food lockers at Lopez Lake. I would suggest locking your food and coolers up in the car at night to avoid attracting wild animals to your campsite.

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $35/night (primitive site)

Plumbed Toilets: Yes

Drinking Water: Yes

Showers: Yes (coin-operated)

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grate: Yes

Shade: Yes

Cell Service: No

Animal Bins/Food lockers: No

Trash: Yes

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

I camped in Mustang during the last weekend of September. It was located right next to the water park but they had already closed for the season. The campsites were pretty close to each other and unfortunately we were stuck between two different groups that did not obey the quiet hours. Not a huge deal at night since they were quiet by midnight or so but one of the groups was also loud with kids early in the morning as well. This didn't make the best camping experience but we tried to make the best of it.

The lake was within walking distance but since the water level is so low, you had to walk quite a way out. There are some decent hiking trails you can go on right from the campground. We took the Escondido trail from camp that took us to the top of a ridge and had numerous switchbacks. Great views from the top.

This campground is right next to the beach and is well loved by the many return campers I spoke with. The best campsites are 63 and 64 (right on Abalone Point, with some scrubby trees you can hang a hammock in and access to the beach). There is a premium charge for these premium sites ($20 more than non-beach side). If you are hard-siding (RV), the best spots are 105, 112, and 115-117 (up top, great views of the migrating whales in early spring!!!). The showers and restrooms are older, but clean. The big claim to fame is the Jalama Burger that is served at the Store and Grill, but I can’t substantiate that as I did not try it. There is definitely a laid back California vibe here, no one was in any hurry but everyone was happy to chat, giving this campground a real homey, family, vacation feel. Even the campground rangers were relaxed and happy to be here. All the standard campsite amenities of picnic table, fire pit, and a place to park or pitch a tent. You can reserve a site, so be sure to do so!

I spent the weekend at the bandtail campground at the Lopez Lake Recreation Area.

The lake is about 10 miles East of Arroyo Grande. The campground is well maintained and patrolled by rangers often. 

The views that can been seen from the campsites are incredible. Take a look at the photos. 

THINGS TO KNOW

You can make reservations online and you can reserve a spcific site. They have sites ranging from primitive to full hookups. 

Check-in is at 2 pm, but they normally will let people in earlier, checkout is at 11 am. 

The cost is $20.00 a night. This includes one vehicle per site, you can pay an extra $10 a night for an additional vehicle.

Dogs are allowed in the campground, but they must be on a leash at all times. Dogs cost $3.50 a day.

There a launch ramp and marina store in the campground .

There are multiple trails throughout the park that range in their level of difficulty.