Best Tent Camping near Bradley, CA

Back in February, before my foot injuries hobbled me, we spent two nights here.    We chose to camp in the tent camping area, away from RVs and their generators and lights.

The location was great.....right next to the beach, with our car conveniently parked next to our tent campsite.     

We hadn't been tent camping for a long time before that, so we were surprised that we were one of the very few people in the tent camping area that actually camped in tents.  The rest of the people in the area just camped in the campervans, small camper trucks, or disconnected towable campers.     

We could hear the wind all night in our tent, but during the day, the weather was perfect....cool and sunny.

Restrooms were nearby and clean.   There were no showers, but we were told that we could (if we wanted) use the ones in another nearby State Park.

Rangers were friendly.  

Overall, a very nice experience.

Great for tent camping and hiking. RV sites have 30 amp hookups. No water or sewer hookups. Dump station was available. RV sites are all gravel and fairly flat. Paying after the store closed at 6pm was an ordeal. Could never make it happen. We tried to log in for 3$ to pay online but it failed and we were never able to connect. Tent sites were secluded, many under shade trees, and well dispersed. Bathrooms were few and far between. Mostly vault toilets. There is a pool that families will enjoy. There is a small store. Walks and hikes are what is available. For a National Park it underwhelmed.

[ PROS ]

• The campground is super close to the beach! You can just walk over the tiny dunes and the waves are right there.
• Nothing like falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves. So soothing and will knock you right out!
• The beach itself is very calm and not very crowded/busy.
• Driving distance to stores, restaurants, markets, and The Embarcadero (for a day trip)
• Stunning view of Morro Rock 

[ CONS]

• This campground is basically like one giant parking lot which mostly caters to RVS and trailers.

• Not ideal for tent camping. There is very little space to pitch a tent, don't even think about 2 tents.

• Sites are very, very close together with very little privacy. I could hear my neighbor's whole conversations even with the sound of the surf.

• It was super windy here at night. We were camping in our tent trailer and our entire tent was rattling for hours. The tent next to us packed up in the middle of the night and left.

• No shade at this campground so it's pretty awful when it's sunny. I wouldn't suggest bringing a canopy because it gets super windy here.

Overall, this campground was very disappointing. Especially for the price! The only redeeming quality is the beach. It was super hard to get a reservation and is normally completely booked.

Nice bathrooms, ocean sounds, not that level for tent camping at c7 .

Close to the beach within walking distance. Showers and restrooms not chemis . No hookups last time I was there both RV & tent camping .

Beautiful park. We thoroughly enjoyed our drive-in tent site, the scenery, and the abundant bird life.

The location was pretty sweet right by the beach. I tent camped while my family members RVd. My site was large with a fire pit but they were slightly crammed in and had no fire pit. Did notice that some had the pits so be careful if choosing which site. Overall a nice visit.

We looked for a beach not overly populated but clean and easy to camp. Lovely hookups if you need them and tent sites beach side are mostly protected from the winds. Cooler time of year but we knew that coming in. Would love to visit again in warmer months!

Eenjoyed 2 days here with many other campers. Staff helpful..friendly..restrms clean..quiet at night..fun things for kids..lake nearby also. Only 1 pitfall...we tent camped in space #63..next to a dirt road which looped around the campground. We got nailed with dirt dust every time someone drove by. Other than that..all was well...saw wild turkey and dear right next to our site. Inwould return but not at that camp space.

Super clean and great location, but docked a star because of the price. After fees when booking, it comes out to about $42.00 a night. 

Showers and bathrooms are spread out nicely. We tent camped and the noise wasnt bad at all. Though there was some mystery animal howling/screeching through out the night haha. Super close to the water. Kayak rentals an restaurant down by the dock and a great place to load kayaks into the water! Will definitely be back. Just make sure you book in advance! Fills up fast.

This is in a beautiful area, and a gorgeous site but I’ll tell you why I gave it a 3 Pro: friendly staff, lots of shade & some grass at what seemed like all sites, close to small food and many things to do, availability, They let my small van stay at tent only camping, firewood $10 on site, flushable clean bathrooms

Cons: upkeep of foliage was good but walking through whole campsite saw trash and full fire pits at every site. I stayed at two sites and preferred the tent camping first come serve area as it has less vehicle traffic. C36 felt so busy.

This lake has a no body contact rule which makes it a great quiet fishing lake with no jet skiing, swimming etc... there is a seasonal swimming pool that is right across from the rv spots. It is a dry campground and the 7 rv spots are basically on a parking lot but are on the waters edge which is nice. The tent sites are nice and are close the the lake. There is a well stocked and surprisingly well priced store as well as a marina that rents boats and kayaks. The lake has 2 boat launches and miles of hiking trails all within a short walk to the camping area. We get a few tv channels on our antenna but there is no cell reception. We launch our kayaks 20’ from our camper and when we had a boat we would launch it when we got there and leave it in the water right next to the camper which was very convenient. This of course always depends on the water level which has been very low some years, but has been good this year. The pool, showers and restrooms are newer, clean and very close to the rv spots but a bit of a walk to most of the tent sites.

Great park with trails that vary from flat oak meadows with wildflowers to strenuous mountain hikes to canyon creeks & caves. Parking inside the park fills up early (by 8am) so get there early or you’ll have to start your hike from the big lot at the visitor center and add a few miles.

The campground is good. We tent camped. Bathrooms are kept clean & stocked with TP & soap. Water taps are frequent. Some sites are small & exposed; others are big, shady & private. Many on loop C are good. The camp store is very well stocked.

Tent site C74 didn’t have much of a level setup site and was right across from the bathroom. We heard slamming doors all night. This particular site was practically on-top of the adjacent site. Good things is the proximity to the bathroom if you don’t mind the slamming doors. It was also close to the trashcans. We came in late and left early so we didn’t experience much of the park but it appeared well maintained and well traveled. Campsite was full so reservations are probably needed.

Morro Strand is steps away from a beautiful stretch of beach filled with sand dollars and an amazing view of Morro rock looking south. It gets windy starting around 2pm into the evening - right when you are setting up camp. If you are tent camping on the beach side, bring some extra long tent pegs as you are staking into sand. We had to go to Ace hardware while we were there to get extra long tent pegs. We also had a few ropes that came in handy to tie the tent down further.

If you are tent camping, make sure to get a spot on the beach side. Beach side sites are: A-D (30-40ft long) and odd numbered sites 1-45 (24ft or less). The middle sites (even numbered sites 2-46) are in a narrow parking median and pretty tight on space. Our site D was far and away the largest site with the highest view (meaning we could see Morro rock from our tent) and had the most distance from other campers. Snag that one if you get a chance. Not all beachside sites have views of the oceans since some sit further down. Odd sites 35-45 have a better view of the beach.

All the RV hook up sites are on the east side of the campground/parking lot.

The bathrooms are centrally located, but there are no showers. Luckily your parking pass gets you into Morro Bay State Beach Park and you can buy tokens there and shower.

I would definitely return. This location is beautiful and peaceful with amazing long empty stretches of beach to walk on. It stayed pretty cool, even in June. Downtown Morro Bay is delightful to spend the day walking through with amazing seafood, cute shops and even a skateboard museum. We even saw sea otters playing in the bay!

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that it seems like an old beach parking lot that was converted into a campsite, so not all the sites are great. But the location can't be beat and if you get a beachside spot you are good to go!

Montana de Oro is a beautiful treasure located along a wild coastline, sand dunes, tall peaks and high cliffs above beautiful beaches. Tent camping is limited but the availability of group horse camping is a rare treat. With pipe corrals, pit toilets and trails to the ocean, these site are primitive but worth it. The park has plenty of sun and shade, with mostly eucalyptus trees, great hiking trails and a beach with car parking that is popular with tourists and a few secret beaches locals know. Wildflowers abound in the spring and a car friendly paved road takes to the end and back with plenty of bathrooms and a State Park office/store you can get maps and tips.

Amazing campground that has both primitive tent sites, as well as RV with full hookups. Running water, dishwashing station, hot showers, and flushing toilets. The facilities were clean, and the campgrounds are next to a golf course, and a quick drive away from the beach, Morro Rock, and downtown. Each site has a little outside “pantry” cabinet to stash your dry goods, and there is a fire ring for the must do campfire and s’mores. Wood is sold on site. This is definitely one of my favorite spots I have been to, and although far from where I live, it was well worth the trip. I would definitely go back!

Nice rv/tent campground. It was the most reasonably priced campground we could find in the Big Sur area. It’s right off Hwy 1 so there is some traffic noise but since the road is closed a few miles south, there’s not much traffic (this will change when the road reopens in Sep 2018). There is beach access across the road, about a ten minute walk. There are flush toilets which are clean. Several of the sites have a slight slope but not too bad. Sites have tables/benches and fire pits. Most had bbq. Ranger comes around every evening selling bundles of firewood.

You can’t get much closer to the beach than this campground in Morro Bay. Located just off Highway One between Morro Bay and Cayucos, the grounds look somewhat like a parking lot with trees and shrubs separating it from the sand dunes and the ocean. RV parking is basically a parking space whereas tent camping is along the dunes with protection from large shrub trees to keep the wind down. There are two large restrooms and a camp hosts. Bike trails head out at each end and breaks in the trees allow direct path access to the beach. This is not comfy cozy camping, but if you like the beach and crashing waves this is the place. Close to restaurants and stores, the fishing town of Morro Bay and the small coastal gem of Cayucos. Reservations made on the State website ..35$ tent/50$hook up..pics I have were taken when closed due to Covid in June 2020. Four stars for lack of showers but flush toilets are a plus.

This is one of my favorite campsites due to iats relatively small size and gorgeous views of Big Sur. There is a cute, rocky private beach with access from the campground and a long hiking trail across the street that is dog friendly (just be aware of poison oak). 

Just note that if planning to reserve a spot, you must come first thing Friday morning when they open. By lunchtime, all spots are usually gone. If you come mid-week, even better. Also important if you want a spot overlooking the ocean. 

Also, raccoons are intense here. They will go through your stuff if you leave anything out. My dog did have a good time patrolling the campground at night and scaring them all away though. 

The last time I was there there were massive motor homes parked in all the front facing spots which was kinda a bummer, so even more reason to get there early to strategically pick a spot if tent camping.

This was my first BLM camping experience and only second motorcycle camping experience overall.  I stayed at Condon Peak on July 4, 2020 after finding the sites further up on Coalinga Road full.  I also ended up back at Condon Peak on July 25, 2020.

IIRC, there are 6 sites.  Each site is large enough to park a decent sized RV, though getting up the rocky, gravel road may be a challenge.  Each site has an picnic shelter (no sides) with a table and a firepit, a few feet away.  There is one vaulted toilet (i.e. concrete outhouse) at the campground and no running water.

The sites are a good distance from each other (100+ft?) so you're not right on top of each other like some other campgrounds.  For tent camping, the ground where RVs normally park is pretty hard & packed which makes driving tent stakes difficult. I bent more than one.  The ground closer to the edge of the sites is softer but you lose your tent perimeter.  

Bring *lots* of bug spray.  The flies and other biting insects start swarming almost immediately when you enter the campsites.  Some of the campsites have sizeable holes in the ground and it wasn't immediately clear (for us novices) if they were snake holes or rodent holes hence large tent perimeter and bent stakes.

We stumbled upon this campground here on the Dryt. We were able to book 2 nights stay very late and got in for electric hook ups with our class B van. The spot was 86 D loop and it had a nice oak tree for shade. It was next to the road but the road wasn’t busy so it wasn’t disturbing us. They had good showers with good pressure for 50 cents 3 minutes or 75 cents for 4 1/2 minutes. Flushing toilets a pool and nice camp store. We rode our bikes around the grounds and they have awesome tent camping in very shaded and secluded areas of the campground. Site 70-60’s looked nice. We drove to the National Park entrance and hiked Bear Gulch one day. Amazing and moderate hike to beautiful rock formations caves and the reservoir. Next day hiked to the balconies and caves from Old Pinnicle road. More cool caves and beautiful 4 hour hike there and back. We took showers used the dump station for our grey water tank and emptied our Porta potty in the bathroom. This campground was great!!

This is the first campground we stayed in when we bought our new Cricket trailer. It gets COLD at night! We weren't expecting it. Be prepared!

There are a lot of sites at the campground but there really isn't much privacy (like the Yosemite campgrounds, this is not a place you go when you want seclusion). The sites are on gravel so they're nice and level (I don't know about the tent sites, though). I think this is a great place if you want to camp with friends (since you can book a bunch of sites all in a row and there won't be any division between you), or if you're really just using it as a good spot for a home base so you can go climbing.It's dog-friendly but ONLY inside the campground itself.

There are a lot of amenities, including a store (the sell food, plus all the nicknacks like natl park stickers) and a pool (which I didn't use). I think I'd like to go back now that we are more experienced campers and know to bring blankets. :)

If planning a trip longer than just a day hike to the beautiful Pinnacles National Park, and since backpacking in not allowed in Pinnacles, the Pinnacles campground on the east entrance is a nice quiet place to spend a night. This campground is also a nice option to get an early start to a long hike the following morning. The campground is situated only accessible from the east side (this is important if you are coming in off the 101 on the west side of the park - you will need to make sure you plan your route properly or will end up on the wrong side of the park with the closest option Bittersweet Rd. (G13) to cut across and get to the east entrance. The campground itself was very clean, and while we used a small tent site, also offers RV sites. Sites are primarily close together but also had many trees which offered a little shade and semi-privacy feeling. Standard campground with picnic tables and metal fire pits, water located in multiple areas throughout including showers. There was also a pool located on the grounds but we did not use it.