Best Tent Camping near Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA

Tent Camping Reviews near Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA

1206 Reviews of 16 Cardiff-by-the-Sea Campgrounds

• 

  Jason L.

  Traveler

  Nov. 15, 2022

  San Elijo State Beach Campground

  Great beach camping!

  Fun beachside campground in Cardiff by the Sea, California. Not quiet or remote at all. Nice local market and lots of restaurants nearby. Great surf spot. I’ve dry camped here many times and have always enjoyed it. Dog friendly beach! *on leash

• 

  Elise F.

  Guide

  Aug. 10, 2025

  Kumeyaay Lake Campground

  Perfect weekend getaway

  This campground is located in the Mission Trails Regional Park, and we absolutely loved it. There are clean bathrooms with flushable toilets and showers, and sinks to wash off things. The rangers even supplied Dr. Bronners Castile soap in each bathroom. We stayed in site number 17 and it was lovely. Each camp site has a picnic table, fire ring, and tent pad. Online says you can buy firewood but they no longer provide that service, so make sure you bring your own firewood! You can’t swim in the lake, but you can fish and it’s very pleasant to walk around and bird watch. There is so much to do in this urban park, you could spend many days here. P.S. the Mission Trails visitor center is spectacular.

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• 

  Shari G.

  Legend

  Oct. 20, 2023

  Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park

  A World Away from the City Surrounding It

  Tucked on the outskirts of Mission Viejo is an oasis of green grass and groves of the twisting and searching limbs of Coastal Live Oak trees.  If you stuck me in the middle of this park, I’d never know that I was miles away from the sprawl of suburbia of a major metropolitan area…shhh don’t tell anyone.

  There are 3 campgrounds within this regional park -- one soley dedicated to RV's that require electrical hook-ups (Ortega Flats), a group campground (San Juan Meadow), and another which is a mix of tents and off-grid RVs (Live Oak).  This review is specifically for the off-grid Live Oak Campground which s aptly named because you’ll find yourself enjoying the ample shade of these amazing arbors, but plenty of sun to run our solar powered system.  

  The campsites can be reserved but there is plenty of room for first-come first-served travelers as well.  The sites offer enough space to tuck away a tent in the corner, or set up the longer trailer, as well as the typical picnic table and fire ring.  Plenty of port o potties are scattered throughout the campground and served the large groups gathered here on Easter weekend.  We indulged in making a fabulous brunch of Wood Fired Waffles to celebrate the holiday!  As of April 2023, they were still experiencing a well water issue, so no water was available from the faucet, but the river running through the park was useful for obtaining water to wash dishes.

  Hiking, biking and horseback riding trails meander throughout the park. The campground borders on a small creek for fishing, but is off-limits to wading and swimming because of the instability of the opposite bank. Keep an eye on the kids!  Be sure to check out the volunteer-run Nature Center on the property which is full of great information about flora, fauna, and native history.

  The closest store for firewood, and groceries is just a few miles back toward town.  And, the closest beach is just about 30 minutes away, so a great option for a day trip.

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• 

  Javier L.

  Guide

  Oct. 31, 2020

  Palomar Mountain State Park Campground

  Southern California- Quick Getaway

  This park is great for all Southern California natives to get away for the weekend. Has clean facilities and the campgrounds have ample space between them. This area has a ton of beautiful landscape, during the fall/winter wonderful foliage appears. Leave no trace & enjoy our lands!

• 

  Ryan W.

  Legend

  Jul. 16, 2016

  Culp Valley Primitive Campground — Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

  The Desert in Spring is beautiful and terrifying.

  We went to Culp Valley in April just in time to explore the Anza-Borrego State Park during an especially rainy desert season. There were wildflowers everywhere and despite high heat during the day it was so bad you felt like you were in the desert. It's a beautiful time to explore. There is a small city just outside the park where you can get any need supplies, lunch or do some antique/thrifting.

  The campground is just West of the state park and at a higher elevation. The sites are first come first serve, and best of all they are FREE! The ground is sand and rock, and outside of clean vault toilets there are no amenities. We had a decent spot with three tents set up and brought our own fire ring. No fires allowed outside a fire ring/pit you bring along. It's a smaller campground and is well known in SoCal but if you arrive before afternoon you'll usually find a spot.

  Because of it's location on hill it is subject to gusty winds. Keep that in mind. You will get dusty and check the weather so you set up camp facing away from the wind or you'll get a full tent of sand. The night we were there most recently they broke wind gust records which was unexpected. It was a long night of whooshing wind coming up and over the desert hills before slamming into our tent at speeds nearing tornado strength. That sucked but that was more our fault than the campgrounds.

  It's less of a leisure camping spot and there were no big RVs the times we visited. There is a reservable state park campsite nearby if you need more amenities.

  This area is know for it's stargazing and the night sky in the desert is incredible. The lights from the nearest town are blocked by the rock.

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• j

  janet H.

  Legend

  Jan. 12, 2023

  Dos Picos County Park

  Quiet, dark skies, scenic

  We came in January so we had the entire upper camping loop to ourselves. The rangers were very helpful. This Campground has partial hookups with electricity at sites but no water. Level well spaced sites. Firepit and picnic table. Nice clean grounds, restrooms and showers (pay).They also have tent sites and cabins. County Park with playground is adjacent . 

  Beautiful scenery, great star gazing, at least on our upper loop. There's only a small light on restrooms. We saw F16s practicing overhead. Very cool.

  Good Verizon reception.

• 

  Sita B.

  Traveler

  Aug. 8, 2018

  La Jolla Indian Campground

  3.5 Stars

  La Jolla Indian Reservation Campground is located 30 mins south of the Observatory on Palomar Mtn, and 60 mins north of San Diego. There are ~38 reservable RV sites with hook-ups. Half of them are along the river front. There are multiple group tent sites and even more first come first serve, get in where u fit in, no hookup RV and tent sites. There is a gas station/convenience store just before the entrance, where a 20lb bag of ice is $4. Load up, you’ll need it. There are very few campgrounds that are near the water AND you’re allowed to play in the water. There are only two in SoCal, that I know of, the other is Yucapai.

  We reserved RV space 10, for our tent trailer. The 30’ site was a tight fit for out 22’ trailer and two cars. But we’re able to put up out shade tent, tarp, and seating.

  The good… RV Park area had a lot of trees that provided shade in the 100 degree heat. The hookups were easy and we had no problems with neighbors. The river cooled things down once it got going, you can rent or bring your own tube/river rat to ride down the river, at your own risk! Bring water shoes. Kids loved swinging on the make shift swings along the water. Propane grills recommended, not every site has a charcoal grill and depending on weather and fire conditions will determine if fire pits will be allowed.

  The bad… the river only runs Friday to Sunday. However, Lake Henshaw turns the water on Friday at 7:30 am and it doesn’t make it down to the res until 4:30 pm. It was a long hot wait for water. Saving grace was the hose we brought to water down the dirt. Only one bathroom and multiple port-o-potties (sp?) and I don’t recommend those. Bring TP. The lines are long in the morning. There’s no grey water disposal. Keep track of your valuables. The first come first serve camp area tents to be more rowdy than the RV area, though both are loud (music & kids).

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• 

  Jen D.

  Guide

  Oct. 23, 2018

  Culp Valley Primitive Campground — Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

  Free Desert Camping!

  Free camping! Located off the S22, border of Anza Borrego,just 3.5 miles past the town of Ranchita. If you keep going down the hill you'll hit Borrego Springs. Keep an eye out for the Culp Valley Camp sign because otherwise there isn't much indication. Barely any service so make sure you prepare well for an extended stay. It does extremely windy here, especially in early fall with the Santa Ana winds. Hot during day, frigid at night. It's primitively camping so No water, picnics tables, fire rings, and charcoal grills, but vault toilets and ground to put a tent on are available. In Culp Valley there is TONS of boulders to climb; varying from beginner v0's to advanced bouldering. Check out mountain project to check out some routes or just go spot out some of your own! This is place is definetly worth a weekend trip, but Shhh try to keep it a secret. ;) 

  Campground coordinates: 33.220541, -116.458858 (33° 13′ 13.94″N 116° 27′ 31.88″W)

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• J

  Johnny G.

  Traveler

  Feb. 18, 2020

  O'Neill Regional Park

  Great for Camping with Kids

  If you're looking for primitive dispersed camping, this is probably not your spot.

  If you're camping with kids, it doesn't get much better than this!  We stayed at campsite #58 which we felt was very large are private. Will definitely come back.

  For our purposes:

  • Dog Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Kid Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  Pros:

  • Clean facilities, flushing toilets and hot showers, well maintained sites.
  • Very affordable
  • Friendly staff and atmosphere
  • Recently paved streets (perfect for scootering, skating, biking)
  • Great playground for children
  • Easy and fun "Story Trail" hike for children.   The hike features a new book every month, each page is mounted to a placard along the trail.
  • Nice creek for kids to explore
  • Close to town if you need a quick drink, lunch, or shopping.

  Cons:

  • Traffic noise from nearby roads (not terrible, but reminds you that you're not fully engulfed in nature.
  • No alcohol (not an issue for us, but may be an issue for some).
  • No hammocks or anything hanging from trees.
  • Dogs 100% must be on leash at all times.  If you're a dog owner, they do patrol the park frequently and your dog must be leashed.

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