Best Cabin Camping near Del Mar, CA

The tent had nice cots and plenty of space for my wife, myself, and our little son. He had a BLAST with all the farm animals and hiking around the trails. The tent is up the hill away from all the noisy animals so it is very private and peaceful. Plus the view is beautiful!

The outhouse worked great for us, it is just a bit of a hike down the hill from the tent. The cabin is much closer to everything, so if you are planning to stay there you won't have to walk as far. 

Some of the animals are roaming free (it is a farm). Our son LOVED that but just be aware if you are not comfortable with animals.

Karen, the farmhand, helped us out with everything we needed and provided a fire pit, firewood, lounge chairs, trash bins, and a canopy. We bought eggs fresh from the farm and cooked them over the fire for the full experience!

The weather was perfect in May, cool in the evenings but totally comfortable with some warm jackets.

Actually there is...Camp Pendleton Del Mar Beach is not too bad in small doses or stays. The first thing you must remember it is a Marine Corp base and that things run a bit differently. It’s their own world. Federal laws and regulations are enforced. They will give you a ticket for one mile o er the speed limit and take a point. They remodeled the beach area and tore out all the trailers a few years back and built rental cottages. There are also tent sites as well as RV/trailer sites with hook-ups. They each come with a barbecue pit but no grill. Reservations are a must. Prices are seasonal, $50 for the cottages and $40 for the others. You may reserve a spot or cottage for usyally up to two weeks. AnythIng longer and they are are lIkely to place you in the back wIth no vIew. You may bring a dog to the beach but it must be on leash at all times because of the endangered wildlife by the marsh. Del Mar beach is open to the public technically for day trippers. You can drive on base without military ID, they will just ask for a driver license and proof of insurance at the main gate and to sign in. Most ammenties, like the rentals and other camp sites would not be accessible. However, if you have a military sponsor who is willing to make the reservation under his name discreetly, that’s a different story. Active duty usually has priority over retired and civilians in regards to reservations. Active duty can book 12 weeks out and others 10 weeks. On base you will not have access to stores, gas stations, etc., without some form of military ID. Summer months are not bad if you don’t mind young marines enjoying alcoholic libations in large quantities or witnessing a lot of testosterone as they try to exert their dominance. There is a restaurant and bar that is air conditioned so you can escape the heat.

The missus and I decided to do a midweek overnight escape and chose Dos Picos Park due to its close proximity.

Great little campground with partial (electricity & water) hookups. Don't know if the tent only sites have these. On-site dumping available, if you need it. Ok(ish) flushing restrooms and showers available. Better than a pit toilet!! Plenty of shaded spots with some mature trees around the campground. Firepits and picnic tables on each site. Trails all around to hike as well as a catch and release pond on grounds. Rangers were pretty adamant about quiet time starting at 10 pm. Rangers were super friendly, too.

One little gotcha, for me at least. There's no smoking of any product nor e-cig use allowed on the grounds. I personally look forward to enjoying a cigar around the campfire at the end of the day. Bummer but not a deal breaker.

My wife and I stayed here in early May 2021. This was our second time at Paso Picacho after visiting here a few years ago. We were even more impressed this time around. I can't say enough about this place. The grounds are serene and well kept, the atmosphere is relaxed and most of the campers were very respectful. The campsites are huge, if you know which ones to nab with an early reservation, and the staff there are just the most delightful people on earth.

On our first night there, a couple of huge pickups showed up to the spot right above ours at midnight, and they blasted music, partied, and screamed at the top of their lungs often (for whatever reason), and we couldn't sleep. We were super bummed and had thought it was pretty much going to be an awful trip. However, we talked to the campground host and the staff at the entrance, and they were super understanding and helpful. They said that they know people come here for peace and quiet, and that they take it seriously when any campers violate their quiet hours rules.

The camp host hopped on a cart right away and sped away to the offending sites to give them a talking to and made sure to mention that if they violated the noise rules again, they would send in rangers and have them booted out of the campground. It worked like gangbusters! The rest of our trip was amazing, and we didn't hear so much as a peep from the neighboring sites (it was a big group) all weekend. The camp host followed up with us afterward and said that we could come by his site anytime and tell him if the other campers were loud again, even if it was 3am in the morning. He said, "It's no trouble. That's what I'm here for."

Awesome, awesome, awesome. The fire pit worked out great, and we were able to cook all of our meals on the grill that comes with it using the cast iron skillets we bought. They had plenty of wood for sale at the front, as well as ice. The wood price is a little steep ($8 per bundle), but all that money goes back into the park. Knowing that, it actually felt good paying them for the wood rather than buying it elsewhere.

The trails were well kept, and the views were fantastic even with the fire damage. We got to do everything that we wanted to do and then some. We even had time to go to Julian and do some shopping - check out the Cider Mill for some delicious treats!

As far as campsites go, our site (#30) was so, so great. We researched a lot online beforehand (campsitephotos.com was helpful along with this site, Google reviews, and Yelp), so we had a pretty good idea of what the site was going to look like.  But it was even better than the pictures. It was a huge site with plenty of room for 2 tent pads. The picnic table and fire pit were positioned just under a huge, climbable tree that gave us plenty of shade while we were there. The only downside to this site is that it was very close to the bathrooms. That actually bummed me out a bit when we first arrived, but it ended up not being much of an issue at all. The traffic to and from the bathrooms was very light, and the section of the bathroom building facing our site was all showers, which barely anybody used. There is also a lot of bushes and tree cover in between the site and the bathrooms, so we barely saw anybody the whole time we were there.

Reading reviews online is what helped us find such a great spot, so I promised myself  I would walk the grounds and post all of the good site numbers online when we got back. So here they are, at least in my opinion:

Top Three

30: our site- the best!

70: easily the 2nd best site on the grounds- very private, secluded, lots of bush cover, fire pit and table are far from the road- the only downside to this site it that it has very little shade, so bring a canopy or tarp to setup your own shade situation. Other than that, this site was incredible. We will probably check this one out when we go back here in the fall.

85: My pick for the 3rd best site on the grounds, although my wife disagreed. This site is surrounded by forest, trees, and bushes on 3 sides. If you don't count the front facing view, it is one of the most secluded sites in the campground. It is on the outside of a bend in the road, and there are no other sites to the left and right of it. I personally prefer a"bathroom bush" close by to save myself from having to walk to the bathrooms in the dark, and this place has tons of'em. The downside here is that the front of the campsite faces 2-3 other sites that are right across the road. If the site were a house, basically the"front door" is wide open to the campers across the way. If you had a bad group camping across from you, it might be not so fun. However, you can park your car in such a way that it would block out some of that wide open space in the front, making it more private.

Honorable Mention

44: my wife's pick for 3rd- big site, lots of shade, secluded, a little too close to the neighboring site on the left side(facing the site from the road) but nothing but road on the right side

8: Nice, big site that is not close to other campsites. Private, secluded. Lots of trees and shade. The downside to this one is that it is right across from a cabin. Depending on the campers using the cabin during your visit, that proximity to the cabin might be a bummer. However, there were no big parties at the cabins while we were there.

51: Good site, lots of trees and shade. Semi-private.

54: Good site, lots of trees and shade. Not all that private- kind of open and on a little bit of a slope.

20: Just kinda okay. Trees and shade but not very private or secluded. Good if all of the above are booked.