Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Carrizo Plain National Monument in California

Recent Dog-Friendly Reviews in Carrizo Plain National Monument

550 Reviews of 83 Carrizo Plain National Monument Campgrounds

• 

  Wendy S.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 6, 2024

  Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area

  Just fine, but read!

  This is a county park on a lake. The campsites are unique in that they are all pull through, but really pull along. There’s lots of space and you are not on top of each other. That said, the campground is full of pocket gophers and ground squirrels so lots of uneven ground. The bathrooms are really old. Like they have metal toilets. I travel a lot and wouldn’t choose to shower here. It’s great in November and December. I’m sure it’s hot in the summer and not a ton of shade. It’s very affordable and did the job. If the bathrooms were not so old it would have been a 4 star.

• F

  Frances L.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 1, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Easy

  Easy enough to find for a night’s stop.

• 

  Natalie T.

  Traveler

  

  Nov. 23, 2024

  Carrizzo Plain National Monument Dispersed

  Rolling Hills & Plains

  ☆ No target shooting allowed ☆ Arrived on a drizzly day & tried going further down the road to other more secluded camping spots. However the dirt road was slick & minivan, loaded down, was slipping & sliding. Backtracked to a nice spot, camaflouged by a small hill, it'll protect my gear tent. This is open castle range.

• 

  ian S.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 11, 2024

  Songdog Ranch

  Politicized campground

  Not a bad campground, but driving in, the owner has large political flags flying. In these highly divisive times, I don't want to stay at places that divide our country, I want to get away from that. Not recommended.

• J

  Jesse B.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 7, 2024

  Bakersfield River Run RV Park

  Don’t bother if you wanna use a restroom after 10pm

  Nice rv park but pretty ridiculous that all the toilets and showers in the rv park are locked from 10pm-7:30 am. When you’re paying a minimum of $59 a night I’d expect I would At least be able to Use the restroom in the middle of the night wouldn’t recommend for that reason

• S

  Sami T.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 29, 2024

  North Beach Campground — Pismo State Beach

  North Beach

  Large sites with fire rings, picnic tables, some sites don’t have much shade and some do. Less than 1/2 mile walk to beach. Couple miles from Oceano dunes. Hot showers. Can get windy. Dog friendly.

• C

  Christine W.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 27, 2024

  North Beach Campground — Pismo State Beach

  A winner

  I skipped out on Oceano and came here hoping they might have something open. Turns out they had 8 and the park ranger let me drive in to scope it out. I picked a site close to the beach and even better my Oceano reservation could be transferred. Yay. Loved this campground so much. It’s well laid out and all the sites are well spaced and clean. The evening was much quieter, with a sunset and sounds of waves. A ten minute walk to the beach and right next to the butterfly grove. I have already made another reservation to see about the butterflies when they are in season. Pismo Beach is fantastic!

• C

  Christine W.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 27, 2024

  Oceano Campground — Pismo State Beach

  You can do better

  Probably just due to the time of year but this campground was way too rowdy for my taste, all the sites are close together and it seemed almost every site was a very large group, generators running after 10pm, amplified music and tv! If that’s your jam you’ll love it. I took off after 1 night.

• 

  Bob H.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 25, 2024

  Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area

  Quiet campground

  Campground is full hookups. Lake was nice and not many boats. Ground was rough due to holes made by squirrel population. Some minor litter.

• 

  AnnaEvan S.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 15, 2024

  Campo Alto Campground

  Great Escape!

  This is a wonderful campground if you're looking to escape the crowds elsewhere. We were in spot 4 which was right next to the check in board. Despite the close proximity to the road the site was very big and had plenty of trees to throw our hammocks up and relax. Next time we would likely pick spots 6-8 or 13-17 as they were a little further into the campground and away from the main road.

  There is plenty of firewood to gather but I may suggest a small hatchet.

  The vault toilets were clean enough for vault toilets.

  My husband and I stayed Saturday to Monday and found that only a few hunters were left Sunday night and Monday morning and we enjoyed walking through the campground and checking out all the small viewpoints through the trees to the valleys below. The group sites looked spacious and awesome as well!

  Pine Mountain Club was close, quaint, and the people we met were friendly.

  We are keeping this spot in our back pockets for the next time we want to escape the busy city life!

• J

  Jason R.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 22, 2024

  Old Sierra Madre

  Lovely hillside spots

  Picked the first nook from the GPS pin but hiked up road and there are quite a few others, some shaded, some exposed. Bit of highway noise.

• J

  Jason R.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 20, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Spots along road when pavement ends

  Didn't have to go as far as GPS pin led me to believe, spot on right shortly after pavement ends. A bit trashed, wish I had a bag to clean up, some bigger stuff like a kids bike, to etc

• B

  Bryce M.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 5, 2024

  Military Park Vandenberg AFB Pine Canyon Campground

  Nice and quiet

  Located on Vandenberg base which requires a membership card (military I.D.) This helps keep the camp site more private. No one goes here. It is tranquil and has trails to hike and lakes to fish in. Hunting is also allowed during select seasons. If you like quiet and keep to yourself, this is the place. There are no trash cans and a permit is required for campfire. There are a couple of port-a-pots and they are very clean. Go SpaceForce! Lastly, watch out for poison oak. Stay on the trails and all is well. Semper Fi.

• S

  Susie B.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 30, 2024

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Please Don’t Tell Anyone About This — OOPS

  This is tragi-comedy: I was invited to a wedding in Santa Barbara. It was summer and the most fleabitten motel prices were astronomical. I began to look at campsites within driving distance, I was desperate. Booked Catchuma and thought, hoorah, I’ve defeated the tourism trap. 

  Well… from the moment I arrived . . . I really could not care less about the wedding. My god. I think I’ll leave it at that. 

  Bring binos. Boat, bring your canoe/kayak.

• K

  Kim G.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 20, 2024

  Lopez Lake Recreation Area

  Not our scene: hot, crowded, buggy

  We had reservations for 2 nights on an Augugst Friday / Saturday at Lopez Lake in a full-hook-up site in Bandtail (Site 38). The reviews of this place were great, and the photos were beautiful. We arrived to find a HUGE park (yes, I should have noted how many campsites there are). Check-in involved parking our van and standing in line like Disneyland. The park employees were nice though. There were big signs all around "NO FIRES" (more on this later) and I was also told at check in that there were no fires. We found our site easily enough, only to realize how closely packed the sites were in Bandtail. Some nice folks to our right had three sites - 11 kids and 21 people between them. The kids rode their bikes all over, and even onto our site (while also running around our van chasing a chipmunk). We had our daughter's dog, so tried sitting outside in the shade, only to find that in addition to the heat (it was mid 80s), there were biting flies. :( Poor puppy got bit or stung more than once. So we went in our van and turned on the AC (it could run on low with the 20A service there). Then, after dark, a dad and his young son arrive on our other side and had to back in their boat in the dark. We got out of our rig and helped them (twice) with our portable lights and guidance. In the morning, they spoke in very loud voices and we were right next door. We did take one of the trails in the heat, but they are not at all well maintained - basically trampled grass that could easily hold a snake. While the area is pretty, it is just way too crowded for our taste. Oh, and the bathrooms were dimily lit, had a couple of non-functioning toilets, and were dirty. We were ready to get out of there and will not be back. Lastly, though the fire danger was marked as extremely high and "NO FIRES" signs at check-in, along with verbal warnings of no fires, I saw two campsites had open fires in the fire pits. This blatant lack of regard for rules and safety didn't sit well with me. And no one was enforcing the fire ban. Sad.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 17, 2024

  Oceano Campground — Pismo State Beach

  Great Campground

  We stayed here a few years ago, but on the primitive / non-hookup side. We stayed on the E/W hookup side this time and liked it as well, though it does have the more typical RV/parking lot feel as compared to the other side.  There's a nice walking trail that connects the two sides. It's $50 for an E/W site, plus an $8.25 reservation fee.

  There's a cool lagoon that you can walk all the way around on, with lots of birds, and much of it accessible as well which is nice. There's a cool visitor center, open 12-4. The beach is a short walk away. There's a great Mexican restaurant down the road also, Old Juan's, it's so good and has great vegan options.

  The showers here are nice and clean, and $1 gets you 4 minutes.  The showers are individual, private, and non-gendered. There was no host on site when we were there, but the rangers were very present.  This campground, like all California State campgrounds we've been to recently, has trash, recycling, and a food compost bin which I love.

  There's a fun game for kids where you download an app and go on a scavenger hunt and complete other challenges.

  No dump station here, but there's one just 2 miles north at North Beach Campground, and it's $10 for dump and water fill there.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 17, 2024

  Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area Campground

  4 x 4 recommended

  We love being able to camp directly on the beach, and have done so many times in Texas and in Louisiana, but wouldn't recommend it here unless you are in a 4wd. We did see 2 skoolies on the beach, but then we also saw a pickup truck stuck in the sand in the parking lot outside of the beach, so there's that.

  Camping overnight is only $10, and the beach is wide open for camping. It was very busy during the day on a weekday in August, so I can imagine the weekends are packed. 

  This is a fun beach in a fun, low key beach town, and we love coming here.

• 

  Andrew S.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 31, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Lots of options

  Along the road, there are lots of exposed options and a few camping options in the trees. I drove the entire road and would not recommend doing that without four wheel drive. Was pleased with all the options though. Stay in the trees to avoid the wind.

• 

  Jeremy F.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 27, 2024

  Lopez Lake Recreation Area

  Great time with the whole family

  Large sites with plenty of room for tents and all the other camping necessities. This site backs up into the hills and there are black bears that roam the area so be sure to prepare for that. The lake is full and lots of areas to fish.

• 

  Elijah L.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 21, 2024

  Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area Campground

  It's the beach

  A vehicle beach with unlimited things to do fishing, offroad sand dunes, hike, camp rv vehicle theres class A B C home made its awesome dogs allowed, after 10pm it's so quite

• 

  Maria K.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 19, 2024

  Bakersfield River Run RV Park

  Perfection!

  Everything in this campground is 5 stars, the BEST one you will find in the Bakersfield area. They have a waiting list for monthly rates. Clean, grassy, bath houses and laundry, many different flowers, pool and hot tub, pool table near the gym.

• S

  Sebastian D.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 17, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Windy with Expansive Views of SLO

  When I saw the TV tower road sign, that marked the last paved road until the actual TV tower hill.  I rode all the way to the end with some medium difficulty off roading there are some steep bits with uneven terrain.  Taking the road up to TV tower are some of the best views you can get from the surrounding area.  John R.'s review accurately sums up the camping experience.  The wind was shaking my tent all night until the morning.  But thankfully I had bugspray the insect problem was solved.  Nightsky was amazing! I saw a shooting star and many satellites.  Would for sure camp again if in the San Luis Obispo area.

• 

  Tammy P.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 10, 2024

  Flying Flags RV Resort

  A lot of amenities and great for family with kids

  Very tight space, lots of amenities like pools, playgrounds for kids, restaurants, activities, performances on weekends but can get quite busy and crowded. Close by solvang town and many pretty hiking trails

• C

  Caitlyn R.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 9, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Beautiful View!

  The road was a bit sketchy, any 4WD would be fine I think. I took my mini van and camped at a turn out along the road because I was a bit hesitant, but again, others would probably be fine. There were lots of people going up the road until very late at night, then turning around and coming back down (I assume because there were no spots?) The stars are beautiful and it's very quiet and cool. Got cold at night but nothing unbearable, lovely sunrise too! I'd recommend bringing a warm sleeping bag and any essentials for dispersed camping. Honestly such a beautiful place, next time I'd like to find a space to set up my tent. Loved it!

• b

  barbara M.

  Guide

  

  May. 31, 2024

  Oceano Campground — Pismo State Beach

  Beautiful, but a little squirrely

  This campground is awesome. It’s very beautiful, with lots of wildflowers, trees, trails, beach dunes…and squirrels. Lots of them. But we also saw and heard hawks, turkey vultures, owls, and many other birds. We also saw a cute little weasel. There’s also lots of rangers, which makes for very well-mannered campers. Loved it!! You can walk to the beach or drive on the beach. Driving in the beach was fun, but it was so windy and so cold! This was the end of May. Not sure what the weather is over months. The actual campground was not as cold or windy, since it’s behind the dunes. The bathrooms have hot water and Flush toilets. Showers are huge and are self-contained and not in the bathrooms. Tokens needed. Starting in May there’s a market night at the main pier, small but fun to visit. Lots to do, from renting dune buggies to playing at the main pier. Loved it and can’t wait to go back. Oh, and about the squirrels. They’re not afraid. They ate through my little pantry that’s canvas that’s connected under my table. Also, mosquitoes! How could I forget. Bring bug spray and citronella or thermacills. They’re out and about and it’s not fun if you’re not prepared. There’s a Walmart not too far away. After the citronella incense weren’t working, we went to Walmart and it was war! Another note, campsite 68 does not look like the photo. Tree is gone and the ice plant has invaded the site and made it smaller. One tent will fit, not another.

• 

  Heather K.

  Ranger

  

  May. 19, 2024

  Oceano Campground — Pismo State Beach

  Great campground, camp hosts not so much

  I’ve been coming to this campground for years with friends. It’s an awesome spot. Bathrooms are generally clean however you do need tokens for the showers and the machine only accepts cash so make sure you have some dollars. You get two tokens for a dollar and each token gets you 2 min of shower time. They have garbage and recycling too. The camp hosts are a bit militant about the rules so don’t break them. They have zero tolerance and don’t put up with anything. Also keep your dog on a leash. Someone’s dog attacked another dog this morning and the State Park LEO were on site.

• 

  Patrick J.

  Legend

  

  May. 9, 2024

  Flying Flags RV Resort

  Always a good stay

  Having stayed here a few times, it is always fun. Check in was nice and efficient. 

  We had a pull trough site that is on the southern part of the park. This is normally more quiet and has better maneuvering room. Friends joined us in the retro Airstream. Nothing but good reports from them. Wineries and breweries located  very close by, so slaking a thirst is never a problem. I'm sure we will be back.