Best Tent Camping near Corona del Mar, CA

Tent camping near Corona del Mar, California includes several options on Catalina Island, where tent campers can experience coastal views and secluded sites. Black Jack Campground and Parsons Landing Campground offer tent-specific sites with varying amenities and access methods. Little Harbor Campground provides beach access with tent sites that include fire pits and picnic tables.

Most tent campsites in the Corona del Mar region require advance planning, as many are accessible only by ferry followed by hiking or walking. Sites typically feature picnic tables, fire rings, and food storage boxes to protect supplies from wildlife. Potable water availability varies significantly between campgrounds, with some offering drinking water on-site while others require campers to carry or purchase water. Tent-only areas generally provide vault toilets but limited or no shower facilities. Wildlife encounters are common, particularly with foxes, birds, and squirrels that may attempt to access improperly stored food.

The primitive tent setups on Catalina Island offer unique coastal camping experiences with minimal development. Parsons Landing provides beachfront tent camping with waves crashing nearby and sandy terrain. A review mentioned, "One of the most amazing campgrounds I've ever stayed at. You're on a sandy beach with waves crashing on the shore." Sites often include wind shields constructed from stacked rocks, helping protect tents from coastal breezes. Black Jack Campground sits at a higher elevation away from the beach but offers tent campers outdoor showers, potable water, and food storage lockers. Many tent sites throughout the region feature fire pits, though fire regulations may change seasonally and campers should verify current restrictions before arrival.

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Best Tent Sites Near Corona del Mar, California (25)

    1. China Camp State Park Campground

    10 Reviews
    Chino Hills, CA
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (415) 456-0766

    $35 - $175 / night

    "The campground was not busy and this allowed me to pick a spot hidden away from others. There are restrooms and a place to get water, but when I was there the showers were closed.  "

    "This walk-in campground is part of China Camp State Park. Only 33 tent-only sites! Wheeled totes can be borrowed to haul your gear up some little hills to your campsite under oak and bay trees."

    2. Falcon Group Campground

    1 Review
    Trabuco Canyon, CA
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (951) 736-1811

    $60 - $120 / night

    "It is very hot during this time so we ended up going down to the Lake to cool off. The campground was very well priced and it had bolted toilets and a water spout. No showers or sinks. "

    3. Black Jack Campground

    8 Reviews
    Avalon, CA
    34 miles
    Website
    +1 (310) 510-8368

    "Great campground that is very accessible to the trans Catalina trail."

    "Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. You have to find or bring in your own wood for the fire. There’s two bathrooms and a public, open shower. Fresh water is available too."

    4. Hermit Gulch Campground

    6 Reviews
    Avalon, CA
    33 miles
    Website

    "Only 30 mins walk or 5 minute bus ride from downtown Avalon."

    "I stayed here Labor Day weekend for tent camping! So, since I don't plan to camp here again for awhile, I should let you in on the secret(?) that the best campsite is Site 29!!!"

    5. Two Harbors Campground

    10 Reviews
    Two Harbors, CA
    37 miles
    Website
    +1 (877) 778-1487

    "I am glad we pitched in a tent instead of paying for the high price hotels in town. The campground have toilets, running water, and showers."

    "We took the ferry to two harbors and walked up all of our gear to the site."

    6. Little Harbor Campground

    8 Reviews
    Two Harbors, CA
    38 miles
    Website
    +1 (310) 510-4205

    "If you’re backpacking through here, I highly recommend you stay the night. A camp site includes potable water, fire pit, picnic table, food storage box. Everything you need. Porta potties available."

    "If you’re backpacking the Trans-Catalina trail, this is one of the best spots. Great views of the sunset, spaced out campsites with water spouts at each one and a 6 mile hike from airport in the sky."

    7. Manker Campground

    13 Reviews
    Mount Baldy, CA
    48 miles
    Website
    +1 (626) 335-1251

    $12 / night

    "Although the restroom are very dirty but overall it was a great stay!"

    "Tucked away at the top of a precarious winding mountain road. It is very basic, simple and beautiful."

    8. Parsons Landing Campground

    5 Reviews
    Two Harbors, CA
    40 miles
    Website

    "Sites have rocks stacked up as a wind shield, it really helps! You’ll also have a picnic table, food storage box, and a fire pit. Vault toilets are available."

    "This is the final campgound on the Trans Catalina Trail and one of my favorites."

    9. Millard Trail Campground

    9 Reviews
    Altadena, CA
    46 miles
    Website

    "Cool drive to get to the campground. You drive up and down these hilly roads up the mountain to get there. Once there, there's a parking lot that fits about 20 cars."

    "When you can’t do a 2h hike before setting camp, but you also don’t want to camp close to your car, Millard campground is perfect. The parking lot is just behind the corner out of view."

    10. Spruce Grove Trail Campground - TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO FIRE

    5 Reviews
    Mount Wilson, CA
    44 miles
    Website
    +1 (818) 482-8937

    "This is a backpackers campground. First come first serve, picnic tables and fire rings included. I think there is only about 8-10 sites. Nice creek flows though the campground."

    "This is a hike in campground that has stoves and a creek running through. The sites are nicely spaced and there is plenty of shade. Perfect little backpacking trip."

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Tent Camping Reviews near Corona del Mar, CA

863 Reviews of 25 Corona del Mar Campgrounds


  • Luis N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 19, 2020

    Parsons Landing Campground

    Beach side campground

    One of the most amazing campgrounds I’ve ever stayed at. You’re on a sandy beach with waves crashing on the shore. There’s only a handful of sites, so try to book this early. Sites have rocks stacked up as a wind shield, it really helps! You’ll also have a picnic table, food storage box, and a fire pit. Vault toilets are available. No water on site, you must bring your own. Water, firewood, and fire starter are available for purchase. You can buy them at two harbors, which is where they will give you a key for a locker that is at parsons landing which will have all those items. I believe it’s 2 gallons of water.

  • Luis N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 19, 2020

    Black Jack Campground

    Great site!!

    Great campground that is very accessible to the trans Catalina trail. The campground has potable water, lockers, vault toilets, an outdoor shower (very cold water), trash cans, picnic table, fire pit, food storage box. Foxes are common on this campground as they look for any food, campers may leave behind so make sure you clean up after yourself

  • j
    Mar. 25, 2021

    Millard Trail Campground

    Great campground for hiking/biking

    Cool drive to get to the campground. You drive up and down these hilly roads up the mountain to get there. Once there, there's a parking lot that fits about 20 cars. There's about 100 yd hike to the campsites. There's a road that leads to the campsite but it's been blocked off. Only the campsite managers use that road so it's not accessible by RV, just tents. A campsite manager stays in a little trailer overnight so if there's any problems there's somebody there you can go to and ask for help. There's about six campsites and their first come first serve, no reservations. I went during the week and was the only one camping. This place is heavily used for day camping and hiking. There's not a lot of privacy because there's always lots of people passing by who are hiking and biking. You can stay overnight which I did and everything was fine but there's not a lot of privacy. The next day as I was leaving there was another guy sitting up his tent. I bet on the weekends they can fill up pretty fast. It's in Bear country so they provide food storage for each campsite also trash containers too. Each side has a picnic bench and a fire pit. The fire ban has been lifted so you can have a fire. Each fire pit had wood left at it so you didn't have to go searching for campfirewood. Bathrooms included male and female toilets but no showers or water. There's a creek that runs through the campground which makes it very pretty. I saw two to three cabins along the outskirts of the campground that I assume were for rentals. There was one family at one of the cabins the night I stayed. About a 20 minute hike and you can end up at a waterfall which is very pretty. But there are several trails to take for hiking and biking and I saw lots of people doing that. Overall a good campsite four stars. Would have been five stars if they had showers and running water. I didn't see any bears although there was an animal outside my tent at one point in the night I could hear him nosing around. So it's important to keep all of your food and anything with any kind of smell in the bear boxes

  • K
    Jan. 5, 2022

    Oakwilde Trail Campground

    Half Sunk, Overgrown

    The camp site looks like it was buried in mud from a flood a few years ago. There’s been no maintenance to this camp. The cook stoves are covered, half of the one picnic table was underground. But still, it’s a beautiful and remote spot. The river was running when I was there in January and it was just gorgeous. Looks like there’s really only one usable flat spot to set up a tent. But you can’t have a fire or anything. I didn’t camp just hiked in and checked it out. Dunno if I would try camping here.

  • Shari  G.The Dyrt PRO User
    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.

  • Tony  C.
    Jun. 24, 2019

    Henninger Flat - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

    Great local campsite

    I recently moved to WA from Los Angeles so this review is legit 😁 This was and still continues to be one of my favorite campsite close to Los Angeles, I have plenty of fond memories with close friends at this site. It’s completely exposed all the way to the top, a well worth 3 mile uphill hike to three different camp sites. My favorite is the middle site where you get a clear view of the city, beautiful views at night. They say there’s no water but there is, there’s a spout located by the restroom close to the museum, you’ll have to treat it before using (but don’t take my word for it, they tend to shut it off so take plenty of water for your time there and check it out if you need more) If you continue past the middle campsite to the upper site, you’ll have plenty of space for tents and hammocks just no view due to the trees on the edge. If you continue on that trail for another 3 miles i believe, you’ll get to idlehour campground. It’s a small site right next to a creek, you can continue on to Mt Lowe campground and inspiration point. Back to Henninger, plenty of trees for hammocks and sometimes they have firewood collected. At the museum you can buy soda cans so take some change. Hauling a 24 pack of cold Modelos in my pack was not fun at all, but boy did they taste good at the top hahaha. Bugs can get annoying so carry some bug spray, hang your food and PACK IT OUT!!! Leave no trace behind.

  • Luis N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 19, 2020

    Little Harbor Campground

    Must visit!!!

    This is one of the most beautiful campgrounds I have ever been too. The view of the beach and the palm trees and all of it is amazing! If you’re backpacking through here, I highly recommend you stay the night. A camp site includes potable water, fire pit, picnic table, food storage box. Everything you need. Porta potties available. Careful with all the buffalo poop. There is almost no cell coverage here except on top of a large rock on the shore.

  • Tim J.
    Sep. 10, 2018

    China Camp State Park Campground

    Secluded and Quiet

    This is more of your traditional campground where you must carry all your food and gear to the campsite.  It is a short hike from the parking lot to the camping area and the camp hosts can provide containers to carry your items.  The campground was not busy and this allowed me to pick a spot hidden away from others. There are restrooms and a place to get water, but when I was there the showers were closed.  There are many hiking opportunities and chances to see wildlife (deer, wild turkey, rabbits, squirrels, racoons, and birds). Sites include fire pits, picnic tables, and food storage box.

  • J
    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.

Guide to Corona del Mar

Tent camping near Corona del Mar, California, offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the beautiful coastal scenery. With a variety of campgrounds nearby, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.

Some prices for tent camping range from $27 to $70

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Enjoy mountain biking and hiking at China Camp State Park Campground, where trails cater to various skill levels and provide scenic views.
  • The Falcon Group Campground is perfect for first-time campers, with easy access to Lake Elsinore for cooling off during hot summer days.
  • For those looking to explore Catalina Island, Little Harbor Campground offers excellent snorkeling and kayaking opportunities right from your campsite.

Tips for tent camping near Corona del Mar

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Corona del Mar, CA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Corona del Mar, CA is China Camp State Park Campground with a 4.2-star rating from 10 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Corona del Mar, CA?

TheDyrt.com has all 25 tent camping locations near Corona del Mar, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.