Best Camping near Channel Islands National Park

Recent Reviews in Channel Islands National Park

661 Reviews of 69 Channel Islands National Park Campgrounds

• 

  OREN LOCK &.

  Scout

  

  Dec. 15, 2024

  Ventura Beach RV Resort

  Rude !!

  Rude and not pleasant employee no compassion, whatsoever noisy, and a lot more never coming back

• 

  Dominik K.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 23, 2024

  El Capitán State Beach Campground

  Great place worth to visit

  Place with beautiful ocean view, a lot of space on each campsite. One star less due to Very worn sanitary facilities…… but still working :-) Very crowded on weekends

• A

  Alfred

  Scout

  

  Nov. 23, 2024

  Canyon Campground — Leo Carrillo State Park Campground

  Great beach camping experience with some minor drawbacks

  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

• 

  Jon S.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 15, 2024

  Ventura Beach RV Resort

  Ditto no laundry right now

  Ditto what others say…clean, great noise, pricey $142/night for Sprinter, laundry is being remodeled right now

• 

  Spicy N.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 3, 2024

  Santa Cruz Campground — Carpinteria State Beach

  Not Worth staying here

  Facilities are run down. This places needs a major make over! Bathrooms are dirty, showers are gross. Sinks to wash dishes are disgusting & right next to dumpsters. You have no privacy and sites are right on top of each other…you’re basically in a parking lot. Barking dogs right next to you can get pretty annoying pretty fast. NOT WORTH the $70 a night fee. I would only stay here here as a LAST resort

• 

  Spicy N.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 3, 2024

  Anacapa Campground — Carpinteria State Beach

  For $70 a night we Expected More!

  Facilities are run down. This places needs a major make over! Bathrooms are dirty, showers are gross. Sinks to wash dishes are disgusting & right next to dumpsters. You have no privacy and sites are right on top of each other…you’re basically in a parking lot. Barking dogs right next to you can get pretty annoying pretty fast. NOT WORTH the $70 a night fee. I would only stay here here as a LAST resort

• 

  Michelle M.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 27, 2024

  Lake Casitas Recreation Area

  A beautiful Lake

  This is a nicely maintained municipal water reservoir with a very large lake. No swimming allowed, but boating is. Go figure.

  There are campgrounds with hookups that are only available for RVs. There is one Campground -Indian- that has a mixture of tent and RV sites with hookups available but it was under maintenance when I was here this weekend. So all the rest of the areas that do have hookups do not accommodate my truck and tent rig. And there are no 110V or 30a outlets available for people who are traveling light -with solar and a minimum amount of panels, where you might need to plug in once in awhile- they can't cover you here. Too bad no one thought of that when they were designing this place, because it's an awfully big place with a lot of sites.

  So we're leaving today to find another place to weekend.

  But two nights next to the lake, in the campground called Mallard was lovely as can be. Next time I'll come out with more panels to keep my pair of EcoFlow RiverPro solar generators topped up.

• 

  ArtisticArtsy A.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 22, 2024

  El Capitán State Beach Campground

  Weekend getaway

  Clean and very nice view. Easy access to the beach.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 21, 2024

  Wheeler Gorge Campground

  Peaceful and Calm!

  We loved camping here. The whole area has a really peaceful and mellow vibe. We reserved site #49 which was plenty big enough for our 26ft class c, but the drive through the campground to get to the site was a little narrow and tight, wouldn't recommend for larger RVs. This end of the campground is right next to the emergency exit, too, but they keep that gate locked, otherwise it would be an easy swoop in. Camp host was really nice, campground was huge, nice that there's a creek running through it which comes in handy in the hot summer months. You have to drive over some creek runoff at parts, no problem.

  There's zero cell reception in this entire area, the roads leading up to the campground as well.

  Fees are $35 or $37 for weekends/holidays. Pricey for what you get and for what we're used to paying for a forest service campground.

• 

  Kim N.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 3, 2024

  Thornhill Broome Beach — Point Mugu State Park

  Great site with no amenities

  Loved the quietness of this campsite. No water, no dump station, only portable bathrooms on site from what we can see. We were in an RV so we didn't mind at all. Went to Sycamore campground to fill up on water. Youre packed right on the beach next to the sand. Combo of tent and rv campers. Wifi is great at this location. We have tmobile

• 

  Kim N.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 3, 2024

  Sycamore Canyon Campground — Point Mugu State Park

  no wifi

  No tmobile wifi. we dropped by to fill up water since we were camping at thornhill Broome. Water refill was free. We didn't  dump there. Can't comment on anything else.

• 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.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 3, 2024

  Camp Comfort Park

  Nice Little Campground

  This is such a nice and small campground, it's low key and seems to be overlooked because there always seems to be sites available.

  We stayed in site #13, which is a weird "pull in" site, which in all the traveling we've done, we've never stayed in one before. So you pull in forward (not back in), because  all your hookups are to the left of the site, on the driver's side.  Which is fine, except that unless you have a long sewer hose, your hose won't reach from the back of your RV to the sewer connection. Luckily there were vacant spots when we left, so we backed into a vacant spot with a  traditional setup and dumped on our way out.

  The best part of this campground is the creek that runs behind it. It's so nice and refreshing on a hot day, and safe for little kids to splash around in. There's also a park, day use area, playground, and some sort of meeting spot adjacent to this campground. The showers were nice (coin operated) and as a full timer I always love to see laundry machines at campgrounds.

  Pricey, but that's just the norm now.  I think our one night was about $50.  Great little place.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 3, 2024

  Faria Beach Park

  Beachy casual

  I'm giving this place 5 stars, because even though it's cramped and packed and awkward to maneuver through, it's got the casual and fun beach vibe that we love about this area.

  You're right on the beach, with easy access to the beach via stairs. This campground is very close to Rincon, but the setup is totally different. Rincon is basically just a parking space on the road, while Faria is a regular campground. The drive down from the main road is pretty steep with a sharp turn, I'm surprised more RVs don't scrape and cause damage on the way down.

  The sites here are very close together, but it doesn't matter. Everyone is friendly and happy and in a good mood. The cafe is fun and seems to be a hangout for bikers riding along Hwy 1. We love it here.

• 

  Leslie R.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 29, 2024

  Danielson Group Multi-Use Area

  Haven't stayed, looks a little run down

  I came across this group campsite while on a long hike with a friend. I had no idea it existed, so I'm adding it to the Dyrt so more people can find it if they are looking for a group campsite. You can reserve it for large groups of 10-50 people. Some of the communal areas and fencing looked like it could use some resfreshing. Facilities available: Drinking Water, Flush Toilets, Showers, Tent Spaces, and Fireplace.

  I recommend visiting in the spring, when things are greenest, and there are beautiful wildflowers.

• 

  Leslie R.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 29, 2024

  Santa Cruz Island Scorpion Canyon Campground — Channel Islands National Park

  protected campground in middle of the island

  Both upper and lower campgrounds get almost total shade, which provides a relief from the direct sunlight throughout the rest of the island. The vault toilets were clean. Each site comes with its own table and metal food box. Some sites are closer together, but if you get lucky you can nab one towrds the outskirts.

  According to my Alltrails, lower sites were about 0.3 mile from the dock, and upper sites were about 0.6 mile.

  I recommend packing dramamine, in case you get motion sickness on the 1-1.5 hour boat ride in both directions. In January, the ride out to the island was pretty chopping. The ride back was calmer, and we boated along a pod of HUNDREDS of dolphins, it was spectacular.

• J

  Jane P.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 28, 2024

  Ventura Beach RV Resort

  Worst place ever

  Crowded sites, horrible check in, rude people, owner is extremely unpleasant

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 26, 2024

  Rincon Parkway RV Overnight

  Love it here

  We come here often, whenever we are in the Ventura area. I used to be crabby about the high cost for just a parking spot along the freeway, but I've grown to love it. You're right on the beach, the weather is always perfect here and the ocean sounds drown out your neighbor's generator.

  No amenities other than trash dumpsters and the occasional recycle bin. Self contained RVs only, no tents.

  Cost is $47 during peak season, plus a $10 reservation fee and $2.50 per day per dog. Sigh - it adds up but it's kind of worth it. No check in required when you arrive, just pull into your reserved spot. No host on site, but rangers do come by often.

  You have to scramble down rocks to get to the beach, or you can walk to Faria campground and access the beach via their stairs.

• 

  Elaine H.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 16, 2024

  Dennison Park

  Great campground and host!

  I love finding a camping spot last minute and it turns out to be amazing! Dennison Park Campground did not disappoint! Although there are beautiful upper campground spots that Overlook Ojai Valley, I chose, from the choices I had, a spot that looked spacious and offered the most shade. Nestled in the middle of upper and lower campsites, I found it to be a quiet reprieve from our day's activities -- the campfire always the highlight for me. The camp host, Dane, was friendly, helpful, and a joy to chat with. He also gave us some suggestions of other county parks to check out the next time we venture to the Ojia area! We will definitely be back to camp here!

• 

  Michelle W.

  Ranger

  

  Jun. 28, 2024

  Steckel Park

  Much better than I expected

  I had a giant campsite overlooking the heavily flowing creek. The creek was so clean and beautiful. The amazing thing is I brush-crashed for hours and didn’t get a single bug bite. The site was a bit messy when I arrived, but the ranger pulled up right as I got there to empty the trash bin. He said the crows scatter the garbage. A family of 2 peahens, a peacock, and 3 babies hung out near the creek. Beautiful birds. After walking around the creek for an hour, I came back to see a few bundles of wood left for me. I think the ranger found them at a site and gifted them to me. Very nice person!

• 

  Tippy B.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 12, 2024

  Rincon Parkway RV Overnight

  Million dollar view

  We are road tripping for our honey moon and are letting the gods decide on where we were van camping once a destination has been confirmed. We accidentally ran into this parkway and let me tell you…. You’d be crazy not to stay. Views were amazing to fall asleep to and wake up to.

  You can bring your own wood, have a fire where you camp. Don’t forget your campfire stove, there are porta-potties. As long as your self contained in a RV, car, bus, you are golden. Stay…. It will be a memorable trip. And you can’t beat the price.

• t

  tryna H.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 5, 2024

  Lake Casitas Recreation Area

  Nice place but dog owners beware

  Just to be clear, I love lake Casitas. I grew up camping here with my family. The reason I’m writing this review is to warn pet owners about the abundance of foxtails and burs. We have 2 poodle mixes with med-long hair and they both ended up with their fur filled with burs and foxtails. So much that it required a vet visit. This was from a weekend camp in our RV that had a large rug and they have raised dog cots.

• K

  Kim G.

  Ranger

  

  May. 23, 2024

  El Capitán State Beach Campground

  Bluff-top beach-ish camping

  We spent two nights at El Capitan State Beach. Our site had an ocean view, which is why I give this campground a 4-star rating. There isn't much to do here (limited hiking), so that is why it isn't a 5-star review. Still, other than one windy day, we had a lovely time relaxing here, walking the limited beach bluff-top walk down to the beach and west toward Refugio. The path used to go all the way to Refugio, but it is closed right after the walk/bike-in campsites at El Capitan due to the ocean erroding away the cliffs the path sits on. The bathrooms were fairly clean and there are showers (didn't use). Like many CA parks, the area has a run-down feel. We went into Santa Barbara on our way to and from the campsite. It is about a 20-mile drive, so a bit long. One of my photos is at Chase Palm Park in Santa Barbara (you can see the pier). It is a good place to park a van (up to 22 ft) or they have "motor home" spots for day parking.

• 

  Heather K.

  Ranger

  

  May. 16, 2024

  Hobson Beach County Park

  Expensive But It’s On The Beach

  I stayed here for one night. Bathrooms were clean. They seem to have a coffee and pizza shack too but they were not open when I arrived. I didn’t use the showers but they have a shower room in addition to bathrooms. It was a quiet night.

  The only negative was the people parked next to me had moved their picnic table into my spot so it made it difficult to back in and use my spot.

• M

  Mike G.

  Guide

  

  May. 3, 2024

  Foster Residence Campground

  Small Campground but Nice

  Small little campground, easy to get to and across from Foster Park. 

  There are not too many spaces, and it is a little tight, so larger RVs will not fit. 

  I got site 11, which is pretty big, but it's next to the road. At all times of the day, you get a lot of loud motorcycles coming through. 

  It's next to Foster Park, which allows swimming in the river during the summer months. 

  It's also near the Ojai Bike trail, which you can take all the way to Ojai or down to the beach in Ventura. 

  I road up to Lake Casitas and into Ojai, which was a nice short loop.

  There were no issues with safety; it felt pretty safe.

• M

  Mike G.

  Guide

  

  May. 2, 2024

  Sycamore Canyon Campground — Point Mugu State Park

  Compact Little Campground

  Small little campground adjacent to Sycamore Canyon. This is great for trail runners and mountain bikers. 

  The spaces are pretty small, so they are not meant for large RVs. The facilities are Okay. I don't think there was hot water when I went there. 

  There is no reception for T-Mobile users. However, I used my WeBoost and got two bars. I was able to stream music, text and some internet. 

  It's nice to ride down PCH on this stretch towards Camarillo. You can visit the Missile Park in Point Magu or the Light House in Hueneme.

• M

  Mike G.

  Guide

  

  May. 2, 2024

  Faria Beach Park

  Beach Front Camping At Its Best

  It's a nice little site. It's not too crowded, as there aren't too many sites within the campground. You are packed in like sardines, but this is conducive to every beachfront campground. 

  The place is clean and easy to get to. There are signs to lock your stuff up so it doesn't get stolen. The person next to me said they got their bike stolen the last time they were there. 

  The view is amazing of course. There is nothing else in the area, no shopping.  

  Good area if you plan to ride or run. You could ride up to Santa Barbara from here and run along the beach path.  You could also ride up to Lake Casitas and make a loop out of it.