Best Campgrounds near Manchester, CA

Two separate camping areas. Review pertains to Surfwood... which is closer to ocean and boardwalk. Mixed review on sites... some big... some level... some well spaced... some with good views... others not so much. This area contains new restroom & shower building. $1 token for 5 minutes... buy at front gate when drive in. Quiet at night except for sound of gentle surf. Great boardwalk to ocean cliffs... and nice paved walking trail to town. Dump station appears open but did not use. First-come first-serve for unreserved sites after 2pm per person at front gate. Make sure to place items out immediately when you select un-reserved spot before returning to pay within 30 minutes... Will stay again if in area.

Came back a year later on a whim and still found it to be a nice place, in spite of the heat. Had a nice spot that was semi-shaded in the afternoon, next to a lovely couple who I was able to share some beers with. 

The place was at capacity, but many people leave during the day. In the evening it did get a little loud at times, but nothing obnoxious.

Decent cell coverage - enough that I was able to stream college football.

The upper campgrounds were closed. Not sure how long this has been the case, but it made for a nice quite walk. 

Restrooms remain very useable, in spite of the volume of use.

A simple, rustic cabin.  As noted by others, it suffers from a little damage/neglect—many of the windows are boarded up—but it's an old fire lookout so we didn't expect a rental cabin atmosphere.  Views are exceptional, as is the peace and quiet.  Get up early and you'll catch the dawn chorus of an amazing number of birds: warblers, woodpeckers, quail, juncos, grosbeaks, cowbirds, even robins.  The cabin is roughly outfitted with cots, bunkbeds, a table and chairs.  There's a clean outhouse down by where you park and a firepit, which we didn't use because it was windy when we were there.  Keep your food up on the table at night--the mice are nocturnal visitors and will help themselves if you leave food on the counter.  Only caveat is the access to the cabin.  They're not kidding when they warn you to bring a chainsaw.  Two of the three roads in and out were blocked by downed trees (so big our small chainsaw wasn't helpful), and in places the road that was open had pretty deep potholes and gullies formed by last winter's heavy rains.  I was really glad we had 4WD.

Aurora has two sites that are across the road from each other. One is on the water with back up sites. It’s very nice, certainly beautiful and worth the extra 10 dollars. A picnic bench behind the RVs and looking out to the water. Large group cooking and gathering areas. The other side is a standard RV park. It’s a medium size park. There are no walking trails, but the walk along the road way is very beautiful. Although it is along town building, the water side is a low water estuary or sorts - lots of tall grasses and duckweed type plants. Many birds. I even saw an egret. The RV park has a few boats to rent. Fishing allowed but may require a permit (did not research this). To get to clear lake from the west the road is very windy and only allows 34 feet and I think that is pushing it. For me, this is the perfect place to just stop and breath.