Top Glamping near Carlsbad, CA
Carlsbad is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Carlsbad. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Carlsbad camping trip.
Carlsbad is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Carlsbad. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Carlsbad camping trip.
For many, once the sun comes out and summer rolls around, it can be hard to resist the urge to get outside and soak up some fun. If you relate, and you just need to unplug for a minute, Carlsbad camping offers some of the state’s best camping sites around. When your work has stacked up and you’re overloaded, it’s time to gather your camping gear, and head to Carlsbad State Beach camping for solitude and relaxation.
This San Diego beach and campground feature camping, swimming, surfing, skin diving, fishing and picnicking. The campground is especially popular in the summer, thanks to its scenic location which overlooks the picturesque Carlsbad Beach below. Even better, the campground offers direct access to the beach via a set of well-kept stairs. As a result of the popularity, the campground is reservation only, so don’t show up without one or you’ll likely be unable to stay.
When you’re done with the beach, check out the nearby California geography and some of the trails within the park. If the ocean isn’t your thing, a number of Campfire Programs, Junior Ranger Programs, and Nature Walks may be offered. That said, program availability changes with the season, so be sure to check signs posted on the restrooms and at the entrance station regarding park information during your visit.
At night, campers are gently caressed to sleep by the nearby ocean tide, lapping upon its secluded shoreline. There is plenty of privacy throughout, thanks to the large selection of flora and fauna throughout the campground. The campsites themselves are also spacious, with roughly half of them featuring electric hookups. Additionally, All restrooms and shower buildings have accessible facilities. Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities who need assistance should contact the unit Supervising Ranger.
South Carlsbad State Beach Campground is perfect for campers and individuals who love the ocean and the outdoors. Whether you’re looking surf the rolling waves, or paddle board out and take part in all that the north county coastline has to offer, you’re sure to have fun here.
$50 - $650 / night
Located on the San Diego Coast, San Elijo Campground offers camping, swimming, surfing, showers and picnicking. The narrow, bluff-backed stretch of sand has a nearby reef popular with snorkelers and divers.
A camp store and snack bar located near the campground entrance operates March through December and provides all the amenities a camper may need including some RV supplies, boogie boards, and firewood.
This San Elijo camping destination requires reservations for its 171 campsites.
$50 - $520 / night
$24 - $100 / night
$39 - $50 / night
Lake Jennings is known for being one of the most scenic parks in all of San Diego County. It is a welcoming recreation destination located in Lakeside, California offering fishing, camping, hiking, and picnicking activities. The lake is a drinking water reservoir owned and operated by Helix Water District. The scenic views of the lake and the wooded surroundings make it feel as if you are in the middle of the wilderness, right outside of town.
Lake Jennings hosts a 97-space campground that is open seven days a week year-round. It’s located on the north side of Lake Jennings, with a variety of spaces available for RVs, Trailers, Campers and Tents. Come on out, take a paddleboat, rowboat or motorboat for the day, and enjoy the beautiful weather! Cozy coves make great picnic spots, so don’t forget your picnic basket.
Lake Jennings offers a great escape for novice or avid fishermen, and is open for shore fishing from the shoreline below the campground. Boat rentals, private boat launching, and fishing from our floating fishing dock is available Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For your convenience, we have an on-site Bait and Tackle Shop open Friday through Sunday, offering a wide selection of bait, tackle, camping supplies, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Lake Jennings is a great destination for the serious and casual wildlife viewer and photographer. The rolling hills, the endless lake, the coastal sage, and the riparian areas provide a diverse habitat in a small area. Common sightings include deer, fox, and osprey. Bird watchers are equally drawn to Lake Jennings for its rich variety of bird species.
$35 - $140 / night
Eager to camp near the beach? Oceanside RV Resort will overwhelm your senses with its perfect year-round climate and proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
Oceanside RV Resort offers beautiful accommodations with idyllic hillside sunrises and dramatic sunsets over the ocean. Enjoy a variety of full-hookup sites, free Wi-Fi and cable, game room, pool with spa, general store, bike rentals, and on-site laundry to make your stay ever so convenient.
The Resort is improving landscaping and site partitions to create a more tranquil stay. The Welcome Center was recently remodeled, which included the game room, laundry, and restrooms. We also converted to solar-powered as our contribution to the environment!
San Diego’s North County, Oceanside, is a classic California beach community. It boasts warm sandy beaches, a historic wooden pier, and a harbor village filled with surfing, fishing, and other activities. Oceanside is also central to Southern California’s famous attractions, including Legoland, SeaWorld, Disneyland, and the world-famous San Diego Zoo. With its year-round sunny climate and average temperatures of 70 degrees, Oceanside’s weather has been rated by USA Today as the second-most ideal climate in the United States and the fifth-most ideal weather in the world.
Located at the north end of Camp Pendleton, the San Onofre Beach Campgrounds are one of three areas aboard the base that patrons can utilize year round.
$45 / night
San Onofre Campground and day-use parking along Old Highway 101 adjacent to the beautiful sandstone bluffs. This beach below is popular with swimmers and surfers with six rugged dirt access trails cut into the bluff above. All campsites include a fire pit and picnic table. The campground offers cold outdoor showers and chemical toilets. No RV hookups are available, however, there is a RV dump-station.
$45 - $250 / night
Wake up to the smell of the ocean air and go to bed beneath a clear sky full of bright stars at one of the best campgrounds in San Diego, California. San Diego Metro KOA Resort is the ideal destination if you're looking for a relaxing vacation with ample opportunities for excitement. We operate year-round and want to help you have the time of your life, whether you're visiting us for a couple of days in the summer or staying with us for a month in the winter.
We are San Diego County's ONLY campsite with river and tubing access!
$40 - $120 / night
My fiancé and I were last minute camping and this campground was beautiful, quiet, and very aesthetic! There is a lot to do near by, a very convenient store about 5-10 minutes away called valley center foods! Employees were sooo sweet and friendly! DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! Ps isn’t that expensive when tent camping ⛺️ 🙌🏻
Nice little site that is right in the middle of everything.
It's crowded and you don't have much space, but if your using this instead of a hotel room it works great.
It had a game room and pool so kids had something to do. There were families all over with kids riding bikes. We had a quick stay over while we were seeing family in the area and it worked great .
Only issue we had is both entrances have a hell of a dip, we scraped the ass end real good going in and out with our 24ft class c.
Great campground for families. Lots of activities for the kids to do, like smores by the fire, art, splash pad, and play ground. Facility was clean
Nice campground. Mostly no hookups, but has toilets and fresh water throughout. Great little restaurant serving pizza and snacks over looking the ocean. Beach access. Lots of sites.
There is always a spot or 2 open. Staff are always polite.
I grew up right down the road in the early 60's. Great Campground with a lot of trails, awesome views, and some opportunities for fishing. Taught my very young nephew how to trout fish at Dohnes Pond, right below the Observatory.
PROS:
This site offers amazing sunsets and ocean breezes. There are plenty of facilities, and the camp store is great. The live music is always good, too.
A grocery store is nearby, just over the freeway.
CONS:
It can get very crowded and packed.
Hard to get a site
Many generators are always on.
If you get a site at the far ends, it's a hike to go in and out. Try to get a site closer to the entrance and the store. But you will get a lot of traffic through your site.
Don't try to get there earlier; they usually won't let you in before check-in.
Biking and Running:
Great if you want to ride along PCH. This stretch has good bike lanes that take you into Oceanside or Encinitas.
Good running. You can lap the campsite, which is almost 1 mile, end to end. I usually run down towards Encinitas along PCH.
My friend and I went together for one night and we loved it! It was her very first time camping and she enjoyed it very much. Here is our review:
-NO T-Mobile: There was no signal at the campground at all. We drove about 7 minutes to the Palomar State Park Parking Area (based off Apple Maps) to find spotty signal. Just good enough to make a phone call if needed.
-Privacy: Many of these sites such great privacy, even though we were neighboring #19, there are a quite a bit of trees. Also, you walk down a few stone steps to pitch your tent, so your car parked a level about you on the street provides nice privacy.
-Convenience: The bathrooms were pretty close to us and were kept fairly clean. Also the firepit and grill were a plus.
- CRITTERS: I mean who doesn't know this but the squirrels and crows were greedy! They had no issues flying/ skittering to your food if you were 6 feet away lol.
-BEAUTIFUL!!!: You can hear the Doane Creek flowing and the stars are just an absolute sight, we took the rain-fly off our tent so we could see the stars
I'd imagine spots 21 and 26 would be great because of the privacy and creek location.
I'd avoid spots 28-30 just because of the steeper hill to walk UP to your campsite. It's already a pain to lug all your gear.
We didn't particularly care for the area, it was not far enough out to feel like in serene nature but still far to drive to anything. Well kept campground, enjoyed the mini golf (probably our favorite TT mini golf so far) but weren't too majorly impressed overall. It didn't help that it rained a lot and the streets turned into lakes - so not only did you have geese on your roof but also right outside your door. ;)
Couldn’t have better views. We watched dolphins and seals playing in the waves. No hookups, but there was water and clean bathrooms.
This was our first camping trip in our travel trailer. The amenities available are great. Very clean and friendly staff
Spectacular night lights
Spot #24 is amazing
Shouldn't have a problem finding a site here.
This was our first visit to the Oceanside area. The RV park did a great job with communication in all phases of the planned stop. They did text to look for the check in with the orange flags. Once there, these flags are very narrow and I hard a hard time spotting them, as they are on a busy sign flooded street.. After circling back and now coming from the east, the narrow drive with the street light and curb wasn't enough for us to turn...so backed it up and went to the wider entrance down the street. Hopefully your arrival will be easier. :-). Once through self check in, the sites are all concrete but pretty tight. All the hook ups worked well. The Wi-Fi is one of the best I have used. The showers and bathrooms are very clean. No real views there. Beach is an easy walk or bike ride. We enjoyed the restaurants, town and the outdoors of Oceanside.
This is a gem of a campground. Almost every site has an ocean view of some kind.
The roads that lead to the sites is a bit narrow, so if your towable is on the long side, you might have to work a bit to back it in. The maximum length is 38. We had 30/50 amp electrical and water. Dump station is on your way out, with 3 stations in that row. Wi-Fi works fair. Cell towers are in sight just to the north, so no reception issues. Lots of hiking and bike trails. We did a 12 mile loop to the north, and a ride along the coast on some bike paths. Shake shack and Beachcomber's restaurants are just down the street for an easy ride or walk. Bathroom and showers are very clean. The picnic tables are what you would expect, very seasoned. :-) Most are anchored to the sites. The length of the site is very good with lots of room to setup your outdoor goodies. Check in is at 3pm. They are hard on this. If you arrive early, you can register, but will be directed to Reef Point back down PCH or to the visitors center in front of the camp entrance.
Can’t say enough about this park. 56 full hook up spaces and two tent camping spots. Very clean and very friendly staff. Definitely recommend and will go back again soon. Has on site shower and laundry facilities.
Second time here, booked to be close to the San Diego zoo safari park. This is a very well run county park.
My boyfriend and I love this campground! It’s gorgeous and filled with trees, the rangers are awesome and there’s several hiking trails nearby. We will definitely be back
Clean, pet friendly and good for kids.
General: 223 sites; most have no hookups but there are a handful of sites that are FHU. Prices range from $50 for a no-hookup site that backs up to the road to $140 for a double hook-up oceanfront site.
Site Quality: All sites are gravel (except the ADA-accessible ones) and generous in size so that you can park your rig in different configurations. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Some have better privacy separation with foliage, but some don’t. You will hear some road noise if your site is backed up to the highway.
Bath/shower house: Nine bathhouses are sprinkled throughout the campground; each has a mixture of toilets and showers. Showers require tokens (four minutes per $ 1) Some have toilets/sinks while others just have a toilet (there is a sink outside of the bathhouse). The only thing that confused me was that the ones with sinks did not have soap dispensers.
Activities/Amenities: There is a small camp store/restaurant on-site. Although we did not eat there, we saw many people bringing pizzas back to their sites. The store also rents items such as surfboards and bodyboards. Live entertainment from 5-7 pm most nights. The campground stretches about a mile and a half along Highway 101 and is fairly level so many people (including us) were able to get in a decent run. There are several entry points to the beach via stairs.
We were pleasantly surprised to snag a reservation for an oceanfront site which made our stay very pleasant.
We ended up here after a futile search for an affordable hotel in the area. Even though it was not inexpensive, we secured a beachfront site. The sites are in three sections: standard, deluxe, and premium. There are also cabins and a group tent area (on the public beach).
The reservation process was not easy – you cannot make same-day online reservations and have to navigate a detailed menu on the phone to finally get to the reservation desk.
We arrived after dark, just as the office was closing but were able to get our information packet. Payment is in full when you make the reservation. As we expected, the sites are stacked up next to each other like dominoes with minimal foliage/fencing to separate the sites. The beachfront and preferred sites have a concrete and sand pad while some less expensive sites have just sand.
There are codes to enter the restrooms, the bike path, and the pool. The restrooms were clean as were the showers, with good hot water and decent water pressure.
In season, there are many activities and amenities offered including a water park, water sports rentals, a bistro, a snack bar, movies on the beach, and a swimming beach. About the only amenities available in November were the pool, two hot tubs (although one was not working when we were there), and the .75-mile concrete path around the lake. A gentle water aerobics class is offered three times a week. There is also a marina, but we don’t have a boat so we did not explore this. In season, you can rent pavilions, and pool or beach cabanas, all for an additional cost.
Although this is a fully contained resort, it is not quiet. You will hear road noise and at certain times of the day, near constant noise from planes at nearby John Wayne airport.
This was an affordable respite for us on a long road trip, but it is VERY expensive in season (about three times the price of “winter” rates). Also, it would be an entirely different experience when fully booked!
General: A mix of partial hook-up and tent sites plus six cabins about an hour from San Diego.
Site Quality: All the sites have paved pads except 64-68 and 70-75; these have gravel pads. These sites also have a curb which can be a bit challenging when backing in an RV. A fire ring and picnic table complete the site. Some have better separation/privacy than others. This area had a lot of recent rain so the creek that meanders through the park was very high. Sites 74 and 75 were flooded and unoccupied when we were there.
Bathhouse: The one closest to site 73 was very basic (no hooks, shelves, or mirror); there was also one handicap-accessible separate bathroom. Although there were showers in other parts of the campground, there were not any in the bathhouse closest to our site.
Activities/Amenities: Campfire program, horseshoe pit, short nature trail, dump station. There is also a large, enclosed picnic pavilion. This park seemed to attract family groups (at least on a Friday) and it was great to see so many kids around the campground not on their devices! Appreciate the dishwashing sink and the propane canister recycling.
We had to change our plans at the last minute so we were fortunate to secure a site at this park on a Friday night in late March and it was fine for an overnight.
I thought this campground was pretty nice and I enjoyed the views, the peace and quiet, we slept in our Cargo Van set up as a camper. We paid $30 for the spot and restroom was pretty close about a 2 min walk. I recommend this location!
Site #13 Electric - plenty of room for four people in two tents with two trucks. Not camping-camping but great for an overnight when you just need to sleep under the stars. They sell wood for $5. Only real con was that we encountered a tarantula and had to remove it from our camping area. Great place for kids first camping experience.
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.
Very nice gated and secure campground with many amenities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Carlsbad, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Carlsbad, CA is South Carlsbad State Beach Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 73 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 44 glamping camping locations near Carlsbad, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.