Best Glamping near Carlsbad, CA

It was our first time camping there with our 30’ foot travel trailer. The overall stay was great! Clean facilities and beautiful scenery. My only complaint is that their road is small and so for newbies backing into a a spot when the campsite is packed, can be nerve racking. Though, I’d would highly recommend it. Best of all, your 5 minutes away from Carlsbad Village if you want to go out to dinner.

Great time “glamping”. Close to home with all the amenities!

Great clean campground, beautiful views, short walk down to the beach! Lots of hiking trils around, or take the walk across the beach to the shake shack! Definitely recommend for a local glamping trip!

Let me first off say that the property is beautiful and that my hosts Carolyn and Bernie were very accommodating and had great energy.  Plenty of room for beautiful hikes on their many acres of land packed with some great views a few decks scattered around the property.  I found out they have a full size professional disc golf course here! I don’t bring my discs, but Carolyn and Bernie happily lent me some discs so I could try it out. 

Now to the Glamping- now I been camping a bunch, the reason I say that this is glamping is that they have actual running water flushable toilets and outdoor hot showers!  I can’t tell you how excited I was lol, it really upleveled the whole camping experience. They also have an industrial kitchen as well as an outdoor bar where they have very fairly priced beer and wine. Did I mention they have a full size professional pool table? Turns out Bernie and Carolyn are professional pool players too! This place is awesome! I will definitely be coming back again again to relax. I live in sd so it’s only about 35-40min drive from my place.  Thank you so much Carolyn and Bernie for such a great experience!!

Went here with friends and it was nice but there are way too many RV'S and ATV'S. there's no place to have a fire because there might be a wild fire outbreak. Bathrooms are clean and the showers are free. There are even halls where you can play BINGO and a game room with Wii games. Camping spots are big enough for 2 8 person tents or 1 small rv and a 4 person tent. If you want to glamping this is a good place but if you want to tent camp I would look somewhere else.

This is hands down the best campground around. The facility is spotless, extremely clean, environment is awesome where everyone is friendly and they put so much effort into making it fun for the kids with activities at the kids club, bike and trike rentals, a super modern pool and awesome gift shop on top of huge jumping pillows, playgrounds and a giant backyard. It’s our favorite camping spot and everywhere we go is unmatched to here. The kids usually ride around the site and you’re in the middle of San Diego so you can go to the beach, Legoland, Sea World go out to eat or door dash some food! Definitely convenient to everything and the best way to glamp!

If you’re headed to San Diego, be sure to stop and check out Carlsbad just off of the 5. this awesome beach town is quintessential Southern California beach awesomeness and it is absolutely gorgeous. Camp right off of the beach as well as have access to local shopping and restaurants. While you camp, you’ve got to check out Carlsbad cliffs for some stellar views. There are also loads of beach activities like whale watching, kayaking, surfing, fishing, and paddle boarding! My secret spot for the best fish and chips EVER is close by in Oceanside called “Harbor Fish n’ Chips.” Be sure to check this place out!

We spent 4 nights here. The park is renovated and clean. Best laundry room I’ve seen in our travels. Sites are gravel with a concrete pad and picnic table. Each corner has a super bright street light. Thank goodness for blackout shades. The lake was closed due to algae bloom. They have a great area of vintage trailers that can be rented, as well as some super nice yurts. The restaurant was only open one of the nights we were there. Not impressive. We were the only diners there. We explored the area. As it was winter, there wasn’t much to do.

I like my beach camping close to funky towns and good Mexican food. South Carlsbad always hits the spot!

South Carlsbad SB is a gem ~ it sits on a bluff right over the Pacific Ocean and is just a few steps down to beach. 👣

Each site has a large iron fire pit and picnic table ~ btahrooms and showers are plenty ~ there is a little genrral store that has firewood ~ food ~ batteries and the like.

Close to many wonderful places to see La Jolla ~ Del Mar horse racing track ~ Carlsbad flower fields & Windmill ~ Oceanside pier are just a few miles drive.

Sooooö PĘÅCĘFUL to have a fire going ~ watching SŮN set and heat the waves lapping you to sleep.

ĘNJÖY

South Carlsbad State Beach is extremely crowded (like many coastal campsites in Southern California), but has very easy access to your own space on the beach below the cliffs.

We scored a last minute site because the weather was cold and windy on a Saturday in February, otherwise BOOK IN ADVANCE.

There are lots of RVs, kids riding their bikes, and dogs galore, all of which are fun, but if you’re looking for a private site, look elsewhere!

Fire Pits and a picnic table at each campsite and plenty of area to park your car and set up a table/easy up/etc.

If you book on the West or Ocean side, only a chain link fence separates you from the beautiful sunsets the Pacific Ocean has to offer!

There is one reason and one reason only to stay at South Carlsbad Campground, and that is Carlsbad State Beach. It's a pretty convincing reason. The sand is perfect. The waves consistent. The water warmer than normal (which probably isn't a good thing in the long run, but it feels like the Caribbean Sea right now.

The actual campground is huge and narrow with one road splitting the sites down the middle. All the sites are roughly the same with the major differences being depth and the amount of shade. The ocean side sites are premium priced ($50 during peak season) and the road side is more affordable ($35) but still pricey for a campsite. Especially one that has no privacy and is backed up against a highway. The Pacific Coast Highway but still. Sites are on sand, have a picnic table and a fire pit...and that's about it. If you're lucky, we weren't, you'll have some shade or privacy to one direction or another. Not many sites do so google earth it if you can. There are pay showers, flush toilets and a camp store with booze, ice cream bars and flip-flops if you forget yours.

And it's busy...all the time. Most sites are booked in advance most of the peak seasons and the camp also acts as the access point for locals and tourists accessing big portions of the beach. With nearly 200 sites and additional traffic be prepared for sand always being kicked up, kids wandering aimlessly and noise from generators, partiers and traffic.

That all sounds not so great, but the location of the camp on the cliffs overlooking the beach is still pretty great. It's not Big Sur, but it if you're looking for beach you won't find a finer spot to camp just about anywhere in SoCal. San Elijo Campground down the road is a smaller version of Carlsbad SB but is also hard to get a spot in without reservations.

Overall, I'm giving Carlsbad SB Campground 2 1/2 Tent Stakes of Awesomeness. It isn't wilderness, but it is the beach. The location makes it worth it. Car, RV or Van camping is more fun that tent camping just because of all the sand, and to cut down on noise, and surf spots within walking distance. 

Pro-Tip #1: California has its own reservation site now. reservecalifornia.com. You can still see the basics on reserveamerica but can't actually reserve it. The new reservecali site is kind of a dick.

Pro-Tip #2: The far south end of the camp has the most shade/privacy brush, and only has sites on the ocean side so you'll have far more privacy.

Pro-Tip #3: Google Earth your site. The difference between sites next to each other is big when you're talking about any versus zero shade.

Pro-Tip #4: Pizza Port Brewing for pizza and beer. You'll be glad you did.

This was my first California camping experience. South Carlsbad State Beach makes camping easy. The beach is close by and the facilities are clean. It's been a few years since I've been, but I don't remember a lot of trees. It's very convenient and easy to camp with your family, especially if you enjoy the beach. A lot of people around us had campers. We were tent camping, so although it was easy to set up the ground was a little hard when putting in the tent stakes. We were there during the summer, so the day time can get a little hot. But when it gets hot, head to the beach to cool off! Aside from the hard ground and minimal trees, it's still a great place to camp and quite a popular one as well.

For years my family has camped at South Carlsbad State Beach. It's a great location right along the beach. It's very hard to get a reservation, you have to call exactly 6 months out, but we love coming here!

So amazing. Coming from the northern Rocky Mountains, I wanted to take my pre-teens to the ocean for the first time before middle school started and Carlsbad State Beach was the perfect place to go! Parking was easy enough to find. The clean city and beach are very family friendly! There were perfect little waves for my family to adventure body boarding for the first time as well. I would definitely recommend this beach to anyone looking for a great day near the ocean

We stayed 2 nights and wanted to stay a third. It was awesome to be so close to the ocean and be able to walk down to the beach. There were big groups on both sides of us, but that was just because we didn't notice how close our site was to the group site. There are bushes in between every site though so it really creates a lot of privacy. Hot showers, close to a grocery store and other conveniences. Carlsbad is also an adorable little town!

This campground is right above the beach in Carlsbad. Half the campgrounds are on the bluff right above the beach and the other half are just across the street. Outstanding ocean views and easy access to the beach below. Love everything about the place except the showers are just ok. Highly recommend this campground and we love going there for our ocean fix. We had a full hookup site but there are only about a dozen of those so you need to reserve up to 6months in advance.

Nice basic county campground, everything is nice and new and clean. I think once the trees and bushes and things start to grow in, there will be a little bit of separation between the sites, but for now most sites are wide open. 

The playground area is really cool, all the structures are made of wood and are all natural. Decent showers, you buy tokens from the ranger. There are nice trails and walking paths right from the campground. We didn’t walk to the beach because the area was flooded when we were there, but it appears that you can easily walk to the beach from the campground, it’s about 1.5 miles away. 

Sites are all dry camping, no power or water at sites, and no dump station at campground. There are water spigots throughout the campground though to fill your jugs. There are yurts to rent, and some equestrian sites as well. The little loop off to the side is tents only. 

You can see the border wall from the campground, and Verizon thought I was in Mexico when we arrived, haha. Good cell service with ATT and Verizon (not sure if Verizon switched me to the international plan during our stay there).

I’ve visited the Carlsbad campgrounds a handful of times, but after the new camp store has been redone, it is AMAZING! It totally transformed the experience you receive. It it a store that has been built in 2021, clean, neat and a great restaurant. The food changes daily and is delicious and reasonably priced. The one problem is you do have to be creative when it come to entertainment. The beach is wonderful but when it’s the winter months (when I went) the beach isn’t pleasant. So bringing your own entertainment is recommended! But with that being the only problem this camp site is pretty spot on. Plus the spots are space and don’t seem crammed together. Defiantly will go back!

Great location, ocean front and convenient to shopping and restaurants. Went to the Farmer’s Market in Carlsbad on Wednesday for fresh eggs and veggies. We were not able to score a hookup spot but were very happy with the size of the space and the view was amazing. Shower facilities take tokens which is a bummer for what you are paying to camp here even without hookups. The camp store had live music but they performers had canceled the night we tried to go down. We were close enough to a water spigot to fill our fresh water and made use of our portable grey disposal tank so we didn’t need to use the showers. But nothing beats the view!

Disclaimer: When I camp, it's to get away from people.

That being said, this park is clean, there was a small store offering treats, plentiful bathrooms and places to park and camp (with reservations made well in advance). We met friends in Carlsbad who managed to secure a lovely spot with close proximity to the beach. We woke up early each morning to enjoy the few quiet hours (before our late-nate neighbors woke up) to drink our coffee and watch the dolphins swim by.

Plenty of activities to keep kids busy until they drop… if you plan ahead. The breeze can be quite chilly, but there are plenty of sun-covered rocks to warm yourself on.

Downside: people, people, people.

South Carlsbad is another Cali jem set up on a bluff overlooking the pacific. It is long and thin so it has a nice thinly populated feel. All bathrooms are clean. I was here during week of 4/20/15 and it was as nice as always. Like San Elijo it has a private feel at your site with the mature growh btw each site. You are along the rr tracks but that's a small price to access the sick beach and the incredible view. There is a nice hilton with a pool across the street. In. Are your kiddies need some creature comforts(I didn't say pool 'hopping' just using facilities as a client of the restaurant...), or daddy wants a bottle of red and a crisp flatbread without driving anywhere. There are nice a frames north and south, plenty of waves for all.

This place is a hot spot and tough to book so make sure you do it far in advance. The area sits up on the Carlsbad cliffs, and there are stairs that run down to the beach about every 1/4 mile or so, some aren’t open though due to damage. Best sites sit on the cliff side where you can over look the ocean, otherwise you’ll be hearing the cars off the road, but any spot is nice as long as you plan on spending your days on the sand.

The spots are separated by large bushes (mostly) but still can get pretty hot in the day so be sure to bring shade. Some spots now have hook ups, and they vary in depth from large enough for a motor home to small enough for a tent.

Where you drive in is the middle, there are washers and dryers there, a store (open in the spring and summer), and rentals for bikes and surf boards. The bathrooms along the campground have showers so be sure to bring cash for tokens.

Other important notes: beach shore can be very rocky in spring time due to tidal patterns, there’s a dump station for RV’s, campsites generally just have fire rings and picnic benches, squirrels can be a bit of a pain, and the ONLY real issue I can find, there is a theft time to time so keep your stuff hidden or locked up. They’ll go for your cooler, generators, and anything they see.

The good. 

Pick a spot - $75 gets you on the bluff with hookups $50 gets you on the bluff but no hookups $35 gets you on the other side Trash, recycling, and sewage disposal ($10) nearby. Water quality at the hookup sites smell fresh.

The not as good. 

Although ocean bluff spots cost you the elevation angle of the site lot or vegetation may impede or restrict your view. There’s also a metal fence. Unlike San Elijo State Park to the south most of the ocean sites do have an actual ocean view.

The bathrooms Bring soap. No dispensers near the sinks. Toilets are cleaned but not necessarily clean.

Noise. Far enough away from the train tracks to not have train noise issues but alongside US101 so there may be road noise.

Stuff to know- 

If you’re towing a vehicle it has to be literally towed onto the property. Don’t disconnect and go get groceries prior to entering or you’ll have to pay $15 a night for the vehicle once you enter (Or take your rig back out back out and tow it in)

Recommendations - 

There is a train station not too far away (short drive long walk) Take the “Coaster” south to Encinitas, Solana or all the way down to Old Town in San Diego and enjoy one of the most toured cities in the US. Taking the train north one stop puts you at downtown Carlsbad- also a worthy venture.

Local cuisine- I like Sushi Cuchi (excuse the name) Half off menu on Sunday night.

Got Gas? - Costco is close and about 30 cents per gallon cheaper than any other gas station. Get there early to avoid the mayhem. Pumps open 5:30-6:00am depending upon the day.

Great place to camp in Southern California. Beautiful beach!