Best Glamping near Lake Sherwood, CA

This campground is between the beach and Amtrak train, but if noise doesn't bother you, there are some really amazing things, especially if you love camping or glamping with your dog! Directly behind the campground you must keep the dog off the beach, but two blocks away is the entrance to the Salt Marshes and the beach entrance there where you can rent sea kayaks and boards in the summer is a secret many don't know...a 1/2 a mile where fido can run free off leash and play in the surf. One of the safest beaches in CA due to the proximity of the channel islands, you won't have to worry about sharks here. And the end of the this beach is the Salt Marsh water inlet and when the time is low you can walk the deserted beach for miles and miles. Just get back before high tide or you will find yourself crossing an extremely powerful river sea. In the summer there is movies in the park which a an ample lush green field for playing frisbee or ball that separates the campground from the main palm lined street Linden. Famous for it's avo cado festival which draws nearly 80,000 people from around the world. Linden Street has a grocery, brewery, pharmacy, and diverse cuisine, everything from a burger stand, Thai, sushi, and a famous grill your steak sit and dine. There is also a lovely little Mexican bakery and candy shop for the kids. You can buy t-shirts, get a haircut, tattoo, or latte to go. There is even the local health food store with a smoothie to go bar in the back for a pick me up or detox with a straw! Carpinteria is a dog friendly town. You will dogs and bikes everywhere which incidentally, you can rent not far from the 2 campgrounds. There is a driving through lot for day travelers or RVs. You must book early online to get a camping spot because of the site's popularity. Othewise, it is a first come basis. It has showers so bring lots of quarters, especially if you want to do your laundry at Linden Street laundry mat. Fire pits and a table are at each site. Expect to also hear generators running as the sites tend to be close, but you can count on having lots to do. Cool nights, warm days, cold water. Sea glass, shells, and cool rocks. Not far from this beach is Rincon Point or what the locals call Bates Beach where surfers are there everyday. The large tide pools and stone is otherworldly, and again, bring the pooch, they are going to love it! We do! Returning! And a good time was had by all...

We live in the South Bay and went camping here for just one night. It was a quick drive up the coast and onto this hidden gem. You get access to a private beach with gorgeous California hill views of PCH behind you. Perfect place for families or even RVs.

Nice big spots, close to the beach. Very quite. Needs to reserve at California State parks website. Dump station and water fill up on your way out not on the campsite, but thats no issue for us. Wifi not working but good 4G reception. Need tokens for the shower, so showered in the RV.

This is a nice little spot, close to town, but not as close to the train as some of the other Southern California state beaches. The campground hosts went above and beyond to keep the bathrooms clean and even provided nice soap. The tent camping spots were a pretty good size for beach camping.

Carpinteria State Beach Campground is a one of our frequently visited “staycation” spots. We live in nearby Santa Barbara, but will use Carp State Beach as a midway meeting point when friends from Southern California and Central California meet up.

The campground is pretty large, and caters mostly to RVs and trailers. There are loops within the campground that are essentially just asphalt lots with small dirt spaces for fire pits and picnic benches - these are intended for RV campers, but we have tent camped there in a pinch. Since we are tent campers we do prefer to camp in the grassy tent sites, but they are limited in number and tend fill up quickly. Because of the moderate year-round weather, Carpinteria State Beach Campground stays pretty full all year long!

The campground has full hook ups, clean plumed bathrooms, and coin-operated showers. There are grocery stores and conscience stores within short walking distance for anything you might need. Train tracks run directly behind the campground, so there is some noise pollution from the passing trains.

The campground is at the very end of downtown Carpinteria, right next to the ocean. There are no “ocean front” sites, but the beach is a quick 1-minute walk from essentially anywhere in the campground. Some small sandy dunes separate the campground from the beach, and there is an accessible paved boardwalk running along the length of the dunes. There are beautiful tide pools just south of Carpinteria State Beach Campground that are a must see. Check the tide charts on the internet to visit the tide pools at low to mid tide.

While we really enjoy camp cooking, we tend to opt to walk into town to eat when camping in Carpinteria. Linden Avenue is right next to the campground, and is the main street in downtown Carpinteria. There is a wide variety of restaurants, breweries and coffee shops downtown. Island Brewery CO is a local favorite just on the edge of the campground - while I don’t think they have food available (yet), their beer is GREAT! Their avocado beer is a must try - I know it sounds weird, but it’s delicious (and doesn’t taste like avocados)! Rincon Brewery is a few blocks up from the campground, and also has great beer, and TASTY FOOD!

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $45/night (normal campsite)

Plumbed Toilets: Yes

Drinking Water: Yes

Showers: Yes (coin-operated)

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grate: Yes

Shade: No

Cell Service: Yes

Animal Bins/Food lockers: No

Trash: Yes

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

With all the Covid-19 guidelines in place for campgrounds to reopen, I was excited to see what that would look like. I naively thought the campgrounds wouldn’t be open to capacity and I was hoping for camping not so close to other campers. I don’t love how tightly packed everyone is on a normal summer camping day/night. So imagine my annoyance when it was just as tightly packed during this social distancing summer as it usually is!

With that said, people were kind and our small campground worked for our family. The only problem we had was a neighboring campground deciding past quiet hours that it was a good time to start singing and playing the ukulele. Not sure why the camp host didn’t come tell them to be quiet. It lasted until 11:30pm at least.

There is construction on one of the bathroom buildings so there were additional porta-pottys with portable hand washing stations next to them. These bathrooms were very clean! I was pleasantly surprised.

We love the beach access right next to our campsite and the beautiful scenery of the mountains above. It really is a gorgeous place.

Our boys loved guessing what trains (metro link or surf liner) were passing through- because yes- the train is a stones throw behind the sites and the trains runs frequently.

My 4 star rating is for what it is. A great camping spot that will always be booked to capacity because it’s beach camping in Southern California. I wanted to write an updated review for those wondering what covid-19 looks like here. Well? It’s the same. Just some extra hand washing stations and some people wearing masks.

Campground review (3 of 5 stars)

The Canyon Campground is located on a spectacular stretch of the PCH just north of Malibu. Like most other California State Parks, it is quite expensive. The sites are located in a dusty coastal sage scrub valley, often right on top of each other.  This place is packed with RVs and families on vacation during the summer, so don't expect to find peace and solitude here. There are full facilities (e.g., showers, camp store), but the $45 per night fee is the highest we've paid for any camping.

One perk is that you can walk to the beach within minutes. Also, one of the few dog beaches in LA is only a couple minutes drive away. Luckily, dogs are allowed in the campground too. If you can look past your nearby neighbors, the views of the nearby Santa Monica Mountains are charming. It's also only a short drive to some spectacular hiking and bouldering. If you bring your crashpad and shoes, the sandbox and temporal boulders are about a 15-30 minute hike upstream, and you certainly won't have any crowds there! Finally, don't forget to reserve your site far in advance (you can do this online), especially for weekends. Otherwise the rangers recommend showing up at 8AM on a Friday or Saturday to try to snag one of the few walk-in sites or a site from cancelled or no-show reservation.

Product review (4.5 of 5 stars)

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test products for review for some of my camping trips. On this trip, we tested the Matador camera base layer case and the lens base layer. See our demo video, presented by my husband, the photography pro. These are two phenomenal products that offer some sleek protection for your camera and lenses. 

Pros:

• easily removable from bag
• modular designs fit most cameras and lenses
• sleek and unobtrusive
• high-quality and durable material
• super lightweight, adds no weight to carry

Cons:

• no mechanism to clip the camera base layer to the camera or strap, which can be somewhat cumbersome while attempting to take a quick shot
• some larger DSLR cameras may have a small gap on the sides of the base layer that lacks complete protection if the lens is left attached

Overall, these two products provide ample protection while you're trying to snap some great photos in the outdoors. I don't think they provide quite the same level of protection as larger bags with more padding, but that's not what they're aiming for. I felt a tremendous peace of mind having my camera dangling from my neck in the base layer while scurrying down the steep sand dunes, which I certainly wouldn't have felt had I not had the base layer on.

Wonderful area with good hiking spots, beach access for both you and your dogs. Easy access to water every 4-5 bays, dumpsters close by, showers on site and a local store for some last minute amenities.

Love this spot for it's tide pools and location off of pch.

This park has great access to a beautiful beach. A lot of surfers which was fun to watch. Not familiar enough with CA to judge but just to mention, you have to buy tokens to take a shower. We were told it was $2 for a 4 min shower. When you actually get to the shower it’s $2 for 2 mins. The sites are spread out enough you’re not right on top of your neighbor but they are still close and it was crowded! A lot of bikes and activity going on pretty late into the night.

Beautiful scenery of the ocean and nice to see the sunrise and sunset.

I've often come to the beach here but not the campsite. It's on the landward side of the pch and feels like you are away from everything. The beach is accessible by a short walk that goes under the pch, so no crossing this busy road. The site has a handy store for basic needs plus toys and shirts and emergency camp stuff. Not sure if all the hookups are operational, we weren't able to get one, but there were tent campers on sites that had them? Like most places, best to book early to guarantee you get what you need. This site had a nice fire pit and table up a short hill and very private

Large campsite, I saw many campsite with more the 8 person and lots of tents live together in one site with no problem. It's not a problem for 3 cars parking on site. Kids love tide pool. Cool camp store, they sell fire wood. Because we stay at site 42, it's quite far from beach so we have to drive to beach but not a problem for parking.

Had a great time at Leo Carrillo. It’s such a chill campground. Having the beach right next door is awesome. The tide pools are great, but there’s some really beautiful spots on north beach.

The park and the signs outside the park say gate hours are from 8 AM to 10 PM. It’s 5 PM at night the gates are locked already they locked them at dark not at 10 PM at dark and there’s no camping here at all.

We visited Leo Carillo in March of 2022 and absolutely loved it. The sites are private and roomy, and they have everything you could need - a camp store, showers, and even food trucks! It’s about a 10 minute walk to the beach, which is pretty rocky and not too swimmable, but still gorgeous. Be aware though, the gates close early and if you miss them, you get locked out!

It was a great trip over all. The site was clean, there wasn’t a crazy amount of bugs. I do like that the store wasn’t extremely over priced.

The one issue I had wasn’t with the site itself it was the other campers. On the first night there was a couple arguing at midnight and 4 am. The rangers eventually showed up but they didn’t care that they were disturbing the peace.

Overall it’s a great spot to camp! Will definitely be back.

We camped in site 103 and found it to be an awesome spot. We brought our infant for her first camping trip and from 103 you couldn't really see anyone else's camp site (site 102 was across the street from our spot but no one was there). It is also nearly as close as you can get to the beach and has quick access to shower/bathroom and water. 

Only downside was that while It was quiet at night, during the day you are near the entrance so there was a lot of foot traffic and cars/RVs driving through. It didn't bother us though.

This was a cool spot. There are a mix of nice open campsites, and more intimate ones. Nice short walk to the beach where dogs are welcome.

Beautiful campgrounds in a canyon next to the beach. Clean restrooms & showers. Spent 3 nights here & wish we could stay longer. The only negative was no wifi or data. So zero internet on site. And Verizon phone signal was spotty at best. Once you get out of the canyon at the beach, the signal is back. But ya, no using data to do social media or watch shows or anything on phone.

Amazing place to camp either for one day, but difficult to find availability