Best Equestrian Camping near Lake Elsinore, CA

This is probably the nicest thing in lake elsinore along with the bowling alley. We stayed there for a weekend and had a great time taking the kids to the pool, and slaps pad. The restaurant has great food and cold drinks. They had a band play while we were there.

Learning that was a city run campground things made more sense.

Being a family of 3 kids, 3 dogs, 3 adults and a cat that run our business from the road there’s things that are important to us as digital nomads. You can follow us at EmpoweringHumansAdventures.com

Things that we loved:

1. Very safe & secure.
2. The staff was incredible.
3. Ideal for children with all the fun things to do.

Not so much:

1. Internet was great but it had bandwidth restraints that would turn your internet off after very small amounts of data used. There was no option to upgrade so you had to use your own hotspots. Very disappointing and will be one of the reasons we do t go back.

2. The beach was right there, close and beautiful right on Lake Elsinore. Yet the beach was disgusting, stinky and covered with algae. There wasn’t clear information on the lake. We chose this Campground because of the beach and location.

3. The sites were all uneven. Every camper we saw had to do major leveling efforts.

This place has HUGE potential but there’s a LOT to fix.

Watch our video reviews...

Giant oval loop with camp sites all along both sides. Rv sites, tent sites and equestrian (horse) sites. Paved road is good for bike riding. Behind my Camp site was a few different hiking paths. Restroom buildings have water, toilets, and showers. It says to bring quarters for the showers but they were free. Each site is typical... Picnic bench, fire pit, and metal grill. No gathering fire wood, gotta buy it at local grocery or gas station. $20 a night. Lots of families with kids. Feels really safe here. Saw the park rangers driving around and the front has a gate guard who checks you in. Also only 10 minutes away from city.

Lovely campground in the Orange County foothills. Great hiking and equestrian trails. Excellent equestrian camping with a private corral right next to each campsite in the equestrian area.

Room for large rigs and good space for tents with flat pads.

My 3 dogs and I stay here often, as it's the lowest cost in Orange County and allows dogs. It has several restrooms, showers, equestrian areas, nature trails and picnicking for day use too.

Casper is a great park located 15min from the city. It has three main camping areas that cater to campers, RVs and horses. There are a number of hiking trails around that range from a 1 to 12 miles. On Saturdays there’s a nature walk.

The park has a day-use area and 4 campgrounds: Ortega Flats(13 RV only sites), Live Oak Campground(tents and campers), Star Mesa Equestrian Campground, and Owl/Quail Group Campground. I reserved an electric site in the Ortega Flats Campground. I heard cars passing by all day and night. There were only port-a-potties by this campground but you could walk farther in the park for more decent toilets and showers.

The campsite was nice, shady with benches, a picnic table plus a fire pit. I had electric hookup but no water because of the drought. The rangers are friendly and patrol regularly which makes you feel safer. There is a cute playground for kids, a nature center where you can enjoy viewing through the telescope overlooking almost all of the 8,000 acres of the Caspers WP. If you like hiking or mountain biking this is a great park for you! The nearest shops are about 10-15 drive away.

Sweet Oaks winery campgrounds has 16 sites available for both tent camping and RV’s (no hook-ups). It’s pretty close to grocery stores and big box stores just in case you forgot some gear/supplies. They have a beautiful well-kept property with super-clean restrooms (no showers). They do have a water hose for you to fill up your tanks or Jerry cans. They didn’t allow campfires due to high fire danger though. You’ll have to bring your own fire pit setup if they ever allow them in the future. It was a beautiful walk around the vineyards but there are also hiking trails nearby. It’s off a road suitable for road bikes but there are also mountain bike trails nearby. They have equestrian activities also available for guests. We were able to get our tin top Eurovan to fit on one of their tent sites which offered a beautiful view of Temecula valley. The wine tasting room was closed due to the pandemic but you can order wine online and they will deliver to your site. One more thing, we counted about 8 hot air balloons as we had breakfast!

[ PROS ]

• Part of OC Parks so getting a campsite is relatively easy compared to other online booking systems like ReserveAmerica. We’re usually able to book a site 2 weeks before we decide to  go.
• Rangers are so friendly and helpful. Honestly, really wonderful staff who love what they do.
• Because of invasive pests found in their park recently, outside firewood is permitted. But they sell them on site for $5 a bundle. That’s really good compared to other campground that cost upward of $7+ a bundle.
• FREE SHOWERS and clean restrooms. No tokens needed here. This is such a great amenity. Only downside is that they are a little far to get to. Caspers Wilderness Park has multiple campgrounds within the park, and each campground only has 1 shower facility (at least from what we could see).
• Fun fact: This park used to be covered by the Pacific Ocean so there are remnants of marine fossils along the riverbanks.
• LOTS OF HIKING TRAILS! If you love hiking, they have so many trails to choose from, from easy to strenuous. There is a trail for everyone. Also great for cyclists.
• Lots of wilderness sighting in the park -- snakes, deer,

[ CONS ]

• No fur friends allowed so leave your pets at home. Unless you own a horse! Lots of horse trails which also means you have to watch out for horse poop on the trail.
• They do not allow any alcohol at the park. No exceptions. It’s a family environment so no boozing here.
• The campsites are a little close together and noise travel.
• Lots of snakes (including rattle snakes) so be careful where you step.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - this weekend I tested Mountain House’s Homestyle Turkey Casserole. I’ve been a long time fan of Mountain House and their products, so I was really excited to try the casserole. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, so you bet I was stoked to bring a little bit of that holiday comfort food with me while camping. As always with all Mountain House products, this was so easy to make -- literally as easy as boiling water. Directions were simple as to be expected and the ingredients inside looked like real food. Once I add the water, the smell was phenomenal. Everything rehydrated perfectly and evenly. There were very nice large pieces of turkey, lots of harvest vegetables, and a heaping amount of stuffing. For two people, the serving size was generous and this was a very satisfying/filling dish. While my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this,  it’s not one of my favorite Mountain House meals.

Clean, quiet campground located in one of the OC Parks, with plenty of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian use. I stayed here on a weekday, and there were a few couple of vacant campsites in my area, so it was an extremely quiet visit. Bathrooms were clean and well stocked for my stay. I didn’t use the showers since I was only staying one night, but I heard they were free!

Rangers were very friendly and firewood was only $5 for a decent bundle that lasted me over 2 hours.

The city of Rancho Santa Margarita is right up the hill, so you can grab food and any necessities if needed.

My site backed to the creek, so I never had people walking through my campsite.

My dog & I slept in my van, but there was room for multiple tents, and a decent amount of shade in my spot.

My spot didn’t have its own water spigot, but there was one at a site across from me.

I was fortunate that all of the campers around me were quiet and considerate. I know that it doesn’t always work out that way, and having obnoxious neighbors can really ruin your experience.

Best place ever!! Tent camping, RV camping, they have a restaurant and bar, best burgers in all of southern California!! They also have a small store, there's showers, restrooms and a swimming pool! Tent camping along Santa Ana River, you can also fish and hike. So amazing and beautiful, awesome memories made!!

This is a great family campground right around the corner from Temecula, Murrietta, and Menifee. It has tent, partial, and full hookup sites along with a camp store, fishing, biking, bathrooms, and day use areas. The lake is beautiful and boating is also an option. The fishing costs an extra fee per day on top of your California State License, so it’s a bit pricy. There are also nice hiking trails near the campground.

This is two different campgrounds. The front (closest to entry road) kinda sucks. Lots of noise. Sites are small, open and up against an industrial fence.  Everything to the back (after site 7 on the right and 18 on the left) is great. Sites with trees, road noise is blocked, closer to the trailhead and just generally nicer.

This campground is about 11 miles out of Temecula (1 bar of service still with Verizon) and only about 50 minutes from coastal North San Diego. The sites are all a little different but in general have some form of a table, grill, firepit. Bathrooms are standard pit toilets, but they were clean and the camp hosts in March of 2021 were on top of things.

There is a well trafficked trailhead at the back of the campground so on weekends during the day there is a lot of traffic from locals who are just there to hike. We came in on a Sunday and just caught the end of this. The trail itself is a big loop (10 miles) that connects to another loop and another. Almost 20 miles of hiking if you want it. We did an out and back. Trail was nice but it does get narrow often and very few people were wearing masks or even had them which sucked for trying to social distance. The views were fantastic.

Don't bother setting an alarm here. There are roosters nearby that will crow which will wake the dogs and then about a dozen other types of birds will join in at dawn. Crows will chatter. Bluebirds will chip. California Quails will...I don't know...quail?

A definite recommend if you're trying to get away without getting to far away.

Spent Spring break here with the family. We read a lot of reviews on this park - many of them mixed. Overall, this park did not disappoint - too much.

Amenities are very good for young kids. Canopy Court area has easy and close access to the splash pad, the playground, a large grass area, and even the pool. The boat launch is very near by too but we had no use for that.

This park is clean! Like no park I have seen before. The staff are always moving around the grounds and “picking up” as they go. Quiet hours are strict - some may see that as a bad thing but I appreciate it. Even with 4 young kids, we like that the park slowed down right on time.

Only arguments - the spots are relatively tight. We reserved a spot for a rig with slide outs on both sides to accommodate our 39’er but it took some creative parking to get the rig into the spot in a way that we could actually open both sides. Once in, we had to make sure we pulled back far enough otherwise the very nice provided picnic table would of been right next to the front wheel. Water pressure is a bit low too but nothing terrible.

Location wise - awesome. We used the campground as a base camp to spend time in LA and San Diego as well as a day in Joshua Tree National Park. 1-2 hours from everything.

We will definitely be back.

My family loves this place we were here before the remodeling and we are still faithful returners every year for the past 20 + years we absolutely love it here and the family fun is always amazing

First time here and would definitely come back.

Just in credible. Staff was great. RV site the best. Seeing the vintage trailers. The clean well take care of ground. Best site set up easy. Just a good time.