Best Glamping near Calabasas Hills, CA

This campground is between the beach and Amtrak train, but if noise doesn't bother you, there are some really amazing things, especially if you love camping or glamping with your dog! Directly behind the campground you must keep the dog off the beach, but two blocks away is the entrance to the Salt Marshes and the beach entrance there where you can rent sea kayaks and boards in the summer is a secret many don't know...a 1/2 a mile where fido can run free off leash and play in the surf. One of the safest beaches in CA due to the proximity of the channel islands, you won't have to worry about sharks here. And the end of the this beach is the Salt Marsh water inlet and when the time is low you can walk the deserted beach for miles and miles. Just get back before high tide or you will find yourself crossing an extremely powerful river sea. In the summer there is movies in the park which a an ample lush green field for playing frisbee or ball that separates the campground from the main palm lined street Linden. Famous for it's avo cado festival which draws nearly 80,000 people from around the world. Linden Street has a grocery, brewery, pharmacy, and diverse cuisine, everything from a burger stand, Thai, sushi, and a famous grill your steak sit and dine. There is also a lovely little Mexican bakery and candy shop for the kids. You can buy t-shirts, get a haircut, tattoo, or latte to go. There is even the local health food store with a smoothie to go bar in the back for a pick me up or detox with a straw! Carpinteria is a dog friendly town. You will dogs and bikes everywhere which incidentally, you can rent not far from the 2 campgrounds. There is a driving through lot for day travelers or RVs. You must book early online to get a camping spot because of the site's popularity. Othewise, it is a first come basis. It has showers so bring lots of quarters, especially if you want to do your laundry at Linden Street laundry mat. Fire pits and a table are at each site. Expect to also hear generators running as the sites tend to be close, but you can count on having lots to do. Cool nights, warm days, cold water. Sea glass, shells, and cool rocks. Not far from this beach is Rincon Point or what the locals call Bates Beach where surfers are there everyday. The large tide pools and stone is otherworldly, and again, bring the pooch, they are going to love it! We do! Returning! And a good time was had by all...

We live in the South Bay and went camping here for just one night. It was a quick drive up the coast and onto this hidden gem. You get access to a private beach with gorgeous California hill views of PCH behind you. Perfect place for families or even RVs.

Nice big spots, close to the beach. Very quite. Needs to reserve at California State parks website. Dump station and water fill up on your way out not on the campsite, but thats no issue for us. Wifi not working but good 4G reception. Need tokens for the shower, so showered in the RV.

This is a nice little spot, close to town, but not as close to the train as some of the other Southern California state beaches. The campground hosts went above and beyond to keep the bathrooms clean and even provided nice soap. The tent camping spots were a pretty good size for beach camping.

Carpinteria State Beach Campground is a one of our frequently visited “staycation” spots. We live in nearby Santa Barbara, but will use Carp State Beach as a midway meeting point when friends from Southern California and Central California meet up.

The campground is pretty large, and caters mostly to RVs and trailers. There are loops within the campground that are essentially just asphalt lots with small dirt spaces for fire pits and picnic benches - these are intended for RV campers, but we have tent camped there in a pinch. Since we are tent campers we do prefer to camp in the grassy tent sites, but they are limited in number and tend fill up quickly. Because of the moderate year-round weather, Carpinteria State Beach Campground stays pretty full all year long!

The campground has full hook ups, clean plumed bathrooms, and coin-operated showers. There are grocery stores and conscience stores within short walking distance for anything you might need. Train tracks run directly behind the campground, so there is some noise pollution from the passing trains.

The campground is at the very end of downtown Carpinteria, right next to the ocean. There are no “ocean front” sites, but the beach is a quick 1-minute walk from essentially anywhere in the campground. Some small sandy dunes separate the campground from the beach, and there is an accessible paved boardwalk running along the length of the dunes. There are beautiful tide pools just south of Carpinteria State Beach Campground that are a must see. Check the tide charts on the internet to visit the tide pools at low to mid tide.

While we really enjoy camp cooking, we tend to opt to walk into town to eat when camping in Carpinteria. Linden Avenue is right next to the campground, and is the main street in downtown Carpinteria. There is a wide variety of restaurants, breweries and coffee shops downtown. Island Brewery CO is a local favorite just on the edge of the campground - while I don’t think they have food available (yet), their beer is GREAT! Their avocado beer is a must try - I know it sounds weird, but it’s delicious (and doesn’t taste like avocados)! Rincon Brewery is a few blocks up from the campground, and also has great beer, and TASTY FOOD!

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $45/night (normal campsite)

Plumbed Toilets: Yes

Drinking Water: Yes

Showers: Yes (coin-operated)

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grate: Yes

Shade: No

Cell Service: Yes

Animal Bins/Food lockers: No

Trash: Yes

Great beach camping experience with some minor drawbacks 

We just spent 4 days at Leo Carrillo in site 128 last week. The campground is tucked away in a beautiful canyon setting with lots of shade trees, which was really nice for keeping cool. Our site was spacious enough for our two tents and had a good fire pit and picnic table setup. 

The best part about this campground is definitely the beach access- it's about a 10-minute walk from most sites, and you can explore some amazing tide pools and caves once you get there. The kids loved searching for hermit crabs and sea anemones. Bring a wagon if you're hauling beach gear though, as the walk can feel long with all your stuff. 

Facilities were decent- bathrooms were kept fairly clean and showers worked well, though the token system($2 for 2 minutes) takes some getting used to. The camp store was handy for forgotten supplies and firewood. Cell service is virtually non-existent in the canyon, but you can get signal up at the beach if needed. 

Only downsides were some noisy neighbors on the weekend nights(seems pretty common here given the proximity to LA) and the sites can feel a bit close together when it's fully booked. centimeters to inches Also spotted a few rats at night, so definitely store your food properly. 

Despite the minor issues, we'd definitely come back. It's a great escape from the city with that classic California beach camping vibe. Just book well in advance for summer weekends and maybe bring earplugs if you're a light sleeper. 

Month of Visit: October

With all the Covid-19 guidelines in place for campgrounds to reopen, I was excited to see what that would look like. I naively thought the campgrounds wouldn’t be open to capacity and I was hoping for camping not so close to other campers. I don’t love how tightly packed everyone is on a normal summer camping day/night. So imagine my annoyance when it was just as tightly packed during this social distancing summer as it usually is!

With that said, people were kind and our small campground worked for our family. The only problem we had was a neighboring campground deciding past quiet hours that it was a good time to start singing and playing the ukulele. Not sure why the camp host didn’t come tell them to be quiet. It lasted until 11:30pm at least.

There is construction on one of the bathroom buildings so there were additional porta-pottys with portable hand washing stations next to them. These bathrooms were very clean! I was pleasantly surprised.

We love the beach access right next to our campsite and the beautiful scenery of the mountains above. It really is a gorgeous place.

Our boys loved guessing what trains (metro link or surf liner) were passing through- because yes- the train is a stones throw behind the sites and the trains runs frequently.

My 4 star rating is for what it is. A great camping spot that will always be booked to capacity because it’s beach camping in Southern California. I wanted to write an updated review for those wondering what covid-19 looks like here. Well? It’s the same. Just some extra hand washing stations and some people wearing masks.

Campground review (3 of 5 stars)

The Canyon Campground is located on a spectacular stretch of the PCH just north of Malibu. Like most other California State Parks, it is quite expensive. The sites are located in a dusty coastal sage scrub valley, often right on top of each other.  This place is packed with RVs and families on vacation during the summer, so don't expect to find peace and solitude here. There are full facilities (e.g., showers, camp store), but the $45 per night fee is the highest we've paid for any camping.

One perk is that you can walk to the beach within minutes. Also, one of the few dog beaches in LA is only a couple minutes drive away. Luckily, dogs are allowed in the campground too. If you can look past your nearby neighbors, the views of the nearby Santa Monica Mountains are charming. It's also only a short drive to some spectacular hiking and bouldering. If you bring your crashpad and shoes, the sandbox and temporal boulders are about a 15-30 minute hike upstream, and you certainly won't have any crowds there! Finally, don't forget to reserve your site far in advance (you can do this online), especially for weekends. Otherwise the rangers recommend showing up at 8AM on a Friday or Saturday to try to snag one of the few walk-in sites or a site from cancelled or no-show reservation.

Product review (4.5 of 5 stars)

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test products for review for some of my camping trips. On this trip, we tested the Matador camera base layer case and the lens base layer. See our demo video, presented by my husband, the photography pro. These are two phenomenal products that offer some sleek protection for your camera and lenses. 

Pros:

• easily removable from bag
• modular designs fit most cameras and lenses
• sleek and unobtrusive
• high-quality and durable material
• super lightweight, adds no weight to carry

Cons:

• no mechanism to clip the camera base layer to the camera or strap, which can be somewhat cumbersome while attempting to take a quick shot
• some larger DSLR cameras may have a small gap on the sides of the base layer that lacks complete protection if the lens is left attached

Overall, these two products provide ample protection while you're trying to snap some great photos in the outdoors. I don't think they provide quite the same level of protection as larger bags with more padding, but that's not what they're aiming for. I felt a tremendous peace of mind having my camera dangling from my neck in the base layer while scurrying down the steep sand dunes, which I certainly wouldn't have felt had I not had the base layer on.

Beautiful sunset! Comfortable, well-spaced sites. (Some have little/no shade.) Very dry in summer and a lot of small trash around (paper, wrappers). I can understand others taking issue with the $45 price, but parks are under such intense budget constraints, it’s hard to complain. We were in an airstream — challenge getting in/out for some sites if you are towing. Neighbors all friendly. Everyone quieted down right at 10. Covid camping so rock pool and MASH set were closed. It’s a great getaway if you’re a city dweller. Also: bunnies!!

This is a very beautiful area, tons of hiking and even some swimming areas that can be hiked to. Lost of filming has been done here, and there’s some cool landmarks to see. Always check before hand if the grounds are open, on occasion I have gone and they’ve had it closed. Also something to be aware of, they do not allow dogs, big bummer. Years ago, I saw dogs in the park, but the last time I went, they were not even allowed in. Otherwise it’s a very pretty place.

I know the area has been ravaged by fire in recent years but it is truly hot dry and just not very pleasant. Showers are clean, campground is noisy and no campfires even propane which is understandable but people were breaking that rule and cooking and it was very crowded. Sites are super close to each other and the rock pool and creek are closed! It’s close to LA but that’s about it

At $45/night this campground is the most I have paid thus far. I also believe it is worth it as well. It is prime location for some great hiking and at night it is super quiet. There are restrooms and showers as well. For hot showers you will need to purchase tokens at .50 cents each for 2 minutes of hot water. 8 minute hot shower will set you back $2 or take a cold shower for free. The gate to the park closes at 10pm. The campground is tucked away behind all the day use parking area so you won’t be bothered by that if you’re staying multiple days. Not much all spots have shade but the majority of spots do.

My husband, teenage son, grown son and his girlfriend, and I stayed here over Halloween. The grounds were beautiful and well maintained, the camp host super friendly and helpful, the bathrooms well positioned and clean, and the sites had shade and everything we needed. Between hiking and biking, we were busy for the time we were there. As a bonus, there is a Ralph’s just up the street, so you’ll never be far from anything you’d need. We hope to have a family reunion in the group camping spot when things open up. Perfect experience!

Beautifully landscaped, very well maintained campground with sites on a grassy lawn surrounded by gorgeous mountains.

Perfect for those who want to get a taste of camping with children without going too far from the city.

You get the comfort of on-site bathrooms with regular toilets and a shower, which in my experience is vital when traveling with young children as they often refuse to go to the pit toilet and solely for that reason do not want to stay overnight.

We had a camping birthday celebration for my 6 year old twins with other families with young kids who have never camped before and it was perfect. The middle lawn on both loops is so big that we had a volleyball net set up, and were also able to play many other group games. Children had a ton of room to run around wild without ever getting out of sight.

One of the fathers even drove out to surprise everyone and with fresh Starbucks in the morning 😄. It is very close to civilization yet feels like you are in the wild, so if your kiddo or you change your mind in the middle of the night about the entire “camping thing” - you can just pack up and be home in fifteen.

Perfect place to get introduced to camping!

Love it!!

The drive up to the campsite and view from any location in the park is gorgeous. There’s lot of families and big groups around - so great for big groups but not if you’re looking for peace and quiet. The gate to enter does close at 10 though you can always leave and all the amenities were well maintained!

Showers cost $1 for 4 minutes, but dollar must be converted to tokens first. Clean bathrooms and showers with multiple trash receptacles available! Very close to Malibu Canyon Road and houses

Clean and well maintained. There are many trails to explore.

This campground is clean and quiet and the gate is open late (until 10:00pm) so you can check in late if need be. This place is a little expensive ($45/night plus online booking fee), but it’s very clean and well maintained. Showers are coin operated and cold. Flush toilets and sinks are available as well.

Nice, small campground with hiking trails easily accessible. It was green and lush in the campground and the hillsides after a lot of rain. The sites are nicely spaced out. The sites with the best views are 59, 61 and 63.

Good campground, convenient location, nice WiFi. Sites are pretty close together, some sites had limited sun in December.

Great campground, Great spots but unfortunately bit expensive .Very disappointed about the rules regarding fire, but I understood. I left from the campground after the sunset...fire allowed only with courchal...