Looking for an adventure where you can explore Maricopa and then fall asleep in your tent? The Dyrt is an easy way to find tent camping spots near Maricopa. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Maricopa campsites are perfect for tent campers.
San Emigdio Campground is situated near the entrance to San Emigdio Canyon between the preserve's Administration Center and The Crossing. The campground includes twelve spacious tent campsites, picnic tables, potable water, flush toilet restrooms, and a dishwashing station. A small creek and pond meanders through the campground and there is plenty of shade provided by large cottonwood trees.
Tent camping and camper vans/trucks only (max length 21 feet).
Rancho Nuevo Campground is a primitive campground with 2 sites on a grassy canyon bottom, 4-wheel drive access only. Road is subject to close in the winter.__
Autonomy Farms was created in 2013 with the goal of connecting people to their food. The main farm operates south of Bakersfield on 20 acres, where we have our poultry operation. The farm sits at the base of the San Joaquin Valley, with beautiful views of Bear Mountain the surrounding foothills.
In 2022, we opened up the farm to allow campers to come visit and stay. The farm features a pond stocked with fish, an outdoor shower (with both hot and cold water), indoor bathroom and plenty of room to roam. We have a total of 6 sites for tent campers, Vans, car campers and pop up camper trailers - sorry, no RVs or 5th wheels are allowed.
We are an organic working farm, so depending on the day you stay, we may have more activity than others. We have staff on and off the farm coming and going from the farmers markets we participate in. We have three working dogs that love to keep predators away at night by barking if they sense any around. We have roosters that crow, lizards, bugs and insects, bull frogs in the pond, California King snakes, and lots of birds/hawks/owls.
$30 - $50 / night
At an elevation of 7,000 feet, Reyes Peak Campground, rises above the Sespe Wilderness and is situated along a ridge with spectacular views of the Cuyama Badlands on one side and the Pacific Ocean from the other side. On clear days you can even see some of the Channel Islands!
Several trails leave the Reyes Peak Campground area. Chorro Grande Trail is located at the gate just past the last campsite. Raspberry Spring Trail will lead you north on a short one-half mile walk through the pines. It starts at the parking area on the western edge of the campground. The Reyes Peak Trail (23W04) is moderately difficult. It leads eastward into the Sespe Wilderness for 5.8 miles to the Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail (22W03). Remember, no mountain bikes are allowed in the wilderness.
The landscape includes Jeffrey pines, sugar pines, white fir and ponderosa pines. Wildflowers are abundant in the spring and early summer. Be dazzled by lupine, false lupine, scarlet bugler and many others. Keep your eyes open for red-tailed hawks soaring above the trees. If you are lucky, you may see a California condor! Other birds in the area include woodpeckers and chickadees. Deer, bear, and coyote also live in the area.
Hiking trails, biking and fishing are within 30 minutes. Take a day trip south along Hwy 33 to the Rose Valley Road (6N31) to the Piedra Blanca trailhead where three trails can be accessed, all located across Sespe Creek. The Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail (22W03) in the Sespe Wilderness will lead you to nearby massive white rocks, called Piedra Blanca! It is an easy walk for the first three miles. A principal attraction to this section of the Sespe is Rose Valley Falls. This trail to the falls begins just before you enter Rose Valley Campground. Follow it for a short half-mile and you will be at the base of the falls. The cliffs at the falls are arkosic sandstone and crumble easily, so tread lightly. Rose Valley Falls is the tallest waterfall in the range and while it is an easy hike to the base of the 100-foot tall lower tier of the waterfall (0.8 miles round trip with 150 feet of elevation gain), it is adventure to reach the more impressive upper tier. Please do not climb around on steep sections or get close to the edge. You will need to park outside Rose Valley Campground to hike the trails. Another trail, the Sespe River Trail (20W13) will lead you downstream into the Sespe Wilderness. You will find some swimming holes along this walk. Remember, no mountain bicycles allowed on wilderness trails. If you would like to go on a mountain bicycle ride, take the Middle Sespe Trail (22W04) that leads up river eight miles to the west to Middle Sespe Trailhead.
$30 - $34 / night
Nestled in the pines. Nice vistas of the Cuyama Valley.
Perfectly situated high above the Sespe Wilderness offering stunning views of the valley below and the Channel Islands in the distance lies Pine Mountain Campground. You will find yourself surrounded by moderate hills, tall pine trees and the sounds of silence. At an elevation of 6,650 feet, it offers cooler temperatures on hot summer days, and a chance to let everything else go as you take in all that nature has to offer.
There is one designated trail in the area, Boulder Canyon (23W03). You may also want to walk around the surrounding hills to see the views and the trees. And just a mile up the road there are a couple of trails leaving Reyes Peak Campground - Chorro Grande Trail and Raspberry Spring Trail. Drive past the gate at the end of the paved road and you will end up at Reyes Peak Trailhead.
You will find Jeffrey pine, sugar pine and white fir trees at the campground. Along the outskirts, you'll notice chaparral species. These species include manzanita, and California sage. You may also see some scrub oak. Be dazzled by wildflowers, which are abundant in the spring and early summer. Lupine, false lupine, scarlet bugler and many others round out the scenery. Keep your eyes open for red-tailed hawks soaring above the trees. If you are lucky, you may see a California condor! Other birds in the area include woodpeckers and chickadees. Deer, bear and coyote also live in the area.
Hiking trails, biking and fishing are all within 30 minutes from the campground. On a day trip south along Hwy 33, to the Rose Valley Road (6N31), you will find the Piedra Blanca trailhead located across Sespe Creek. The Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail (22W03) in the Sespe Wilderness will lead you to nearby massive white rocks, called Piedra Blanca! It is an easy walk for the first three miles. A principal attraction to this section of the Sespe is Rose Valley Falls. This trail to the falls begins just before you enter Rose Valley Campground. Follow it for a short half mile and you will be at the base of the falls. The cliffs at the falls are arkosic sandstone and crumble easily, so tread lightly. Rose Valley Falls is the tallest waterfall in the range and while it is an easy hike to the base of the 100-foot tall lower tier of the waterfall (0.8 miles round trip with 150 feet of elevation gain), it is adventure to reach the more impressive upper tier. Please do not climb around on steep sections or get close to the edge. You will need to park outside Rose Valley Campground to hike the trails. Another trail, the Sespe River Trail (20W13) will lead you downstream into the Sespe Wilderness. You will find some swimming holes along this walk. Remember, no mountain bicycles allowed on wilderness trails. If you would like to go on a mountain bicycle ride, take the Middle Sespe Trail (22W04) that leads up river eight miles to the west to Middle Sespe Trailhead.
$30 - $34 / night
2800-foot elevation. 27 campsites. No water. Vault toilets. Campsites are first come - first served. RV's to 18'.
Adventure Pass or America the Beautiful Pass required, but the camping is free if you have one.
$5 / night
Guide
Ranger woke me up early asking for a permit. He was not agro, as I didn't look like I bum I think that helped. He explained a shell station off the 176 nearby sells $5 day passes and $30 annual.
Guide
This is a county park on a lake. The campsites are unique in that they are all pull through, but really pull along. There’s lots of space and you are not on top of each other. That said, the campground is full of pocket gophers and ground squirrels so lots of uneven ground. The bathrooms are really old. Like they have metal toilets. I travel a lot and wouldn’t choose to shower here. It’s great in November and December. I’m sure it’s hot in the summer and not a ton of shade. It’s very affordable and did the job. If the bathrooms were not so old it would have been a 4 star.
Traveler☆ No target shooting allowed ☆ Arrived on a drizzly day & tried going further down the road to other more secluded camping spots. However the dirt road was slick & minivan, loaded down, was slipping & sliding. Backtracked to a nice spot, camaflouged by a small hill, it'll protect my gear tent. This is open castle range.
Scout
Not a bad campground, but driving in, the owner has large political flags flying. In these highly divisive times, I don't want to stay at places that divide our country, I want to get away from that. Not recommended.
Guide
Facilities are run down. This places needs a major make over! Bathrooms are dirty, showers are gross. Sinks to wash dishes are disgusting & right next to dumpsters. You have no privacy and sites are right on top of each other…you’re basically in a parking lot. Barking dogs right next to you can get pretty annoying pretty fast. NOT WORTH the $70 a night fee. I would only stay here here as a LAST resort
Guide
Facilities are run down. This places needs a major make over! Bathrooms are dirty, showers are gross. Sinks to wash dishes are disgusting & right next to dumpsters. You have no privacy and sites are right on top of each other…you’re basically in a parking lot. Barking dogs right next to you can get pretty annoying pretty fast. NOT WORTH the $70 a night fee. I would only stay here here as a LAST resort
ScoutCampground is full hookups. Lake was nice and not many boats. Ground was rough due to holes made by squirrel population. Some minor litter.
Traveler
This is a wonderful campground if you're looking to escape the crowds elsewhere. We were in spot 4 which was right next to the check in board. Despite the close proximity to the road the site was very big and had plenty of trees to throw our hammocks up and relax. Next time we would likely pick spots 6-8 or 13-17 as they were a little further into the campground and away from the main road.
There is plenty of firewood to gather but I may suggest a small hatchet.
The vault toilets were clean enough for vault toilets.
My husband and I stayed Saturday to Monday and found that only a few hunters were left Sunday night and Monday morning and we enjoyed walking through the campground and checking out all the small viewpoints through the trees to the valleys below. The group sites looked spacious and awesome as well!
Pine Mountain Club was close, quaint, and the people we met were friendly.
We are keeping this spot in our back pockets for the next time we want to escape the busy city life!
Scout
The post fire which burned the area of 10,000 acres on June 15, 2024 has caused this area to be closed until further notice. We went to camp but were turned away. Be aware. Otherwise would have been a great place to stay as I have been there before
Guide
This is a nicely maintained municipal water reservoir with a very large lake. No swimming allowed, but boating is. Go figure.
There are campgrounds with hookups that are only available for RVs. There is one Campground -Indian- that has a mixture of tent and RV sites with hookups available but it was under maintenance when I was here this weekend. So all the rest of the areas that do have hookups do not accommodate my truck and tent rig. And there are no 110V or 30a outlets available for people who are traveling light -with solar and a minimum amount of panels, where you might need to plug in once in awhile- they can't cover you here. Too bad no one thought of that when they were designing this place, because it's an awfully big place with a lot of sites.
So we're leaving today to find another place to weekend.
But two nights next to the lake, in the campground called Mallard was lovely as can be. Next time I'll come out with more panels to keep my pair of EcoFlow RiverPro solar generators topped up.
Guide
Picked the first nook from the GPS pin but hiked up road and there are quite a few others, some shaded, some exposed. Bit of highway noise.
Legend
We loved camping here. The whole area has a really peaceful and mellow vibe. We reserved site #49 which was plenty big enough for our 26ft class c, but the drive through the campground to get to the site was a little narrow and tight, wouldn't recommend for larger RVs. This end of the campground is right next to the emergency exit, too, but they keep that gate locked, otherwise it would be an easy swoop in. Camp host was really nice, campground was huge, nice that there's a creek running through it which comes in handy in the hot summer months. You have to drive over some creek runoff at parts, no problem.
There's zero cell reception in this entire area, the roads leading up to the campground as well.
Fees are $35 or $37 for weekends/holidays. Pricey for what you get and for what we're used to paying for a forest service campground.
Traveler
This is tragi-comedy: I was invited to a wedding in Santa Barbara. It was summer and the most fleabitten motel prices were astronomical. I began to look at campsites within driving distance, I was desperate. Booked Catchuma and thought, hoorah, I’ve defeated the tourism trap.
Well… from the moment I arrived . . . I really could not care less about the wedding. My god. I think I’ll leave it at that.
Bring binos. Boat, bring your canoe/kayak.
Traveler
I love finding a camping spot last minute and it turns out to be amazing! Dennison Park Campground did not disappoint! Although there are beautiful upper campground spots that Overlook Ojai Valley, I chose, from the choices I had, a spot that looked spacious and offered the most shade. Nestled in the middle of upper and lower campsites, I found it to be a quiet reprieve from our day's activities -- the campfire always the highlight for me. The camp host, Dane, was friendly, helpful, and a joy to chat with. He also gave us some suggestions of other county parks to check out the next time we venture to the Ojia area! We will definitely be back to camp here!
Ranger
I had a giant campsite overlooking the heavily flowing creek. The creek was so clean and beautiful. The amazing thing is I brush-crashed for hours and didn’t get a single bug bite. The site was a bit messy when I arrived, but the ranger pulled up right as I got there to empty the trash bin. He said the crows scatter the garbage. A family of 2 peahens, a peacock, and 3 babies hung out near the creek. Beautiful birds. After walking around the creek for an hour, I came back to see a few bundles of wood left for me. I think the ranger found them at a site and gifted them to me. Very nice person!
Traveler
It usually stay empty and easy to get a site even in the peak season summer and spring but there is limited shades in most campsites and can get very hot during the days. There are not many trees around, Site 42 has really good shade but be aware of pocky leaves from those trees. My air mattress pop both times we camp there. There is not much around to do except pyramid lake close by which is nice and convenient to get to the water and go fishing or tubing. Also close by six flag.
Traveler
Very convenient and super clean. The lady who answers the phone is super friendly and helpful. I think it's better for RVs and don't think there are any tent sites.
ScoutJust to be clear, I love lake Casitas. I grew up camping here with my family. The reason I’m writing this review is to warn pet owners about the abundance of foxtails and burs. We have 2 poodle mixes with med-long hair and they both ended up with their fur filled with burs and foxtails. So much that it required a vet visit. This was from a weekend camp in our RV that had a large rug and they have raised dog cots.
Guide
5+ years Full time RVer, worst ever campground we have ever stayed at, stayed in many states, long-term short-term, stayed at this one for two months, although had a reservation for three. Sites are too tight, everything‘s grayish/dusty and dirty, you’re near a rail track, that blows its horn for minutes 24/7, that includes 2 AM, that includes 4 AM. Many of the neighbors you’ll see look like they’re on (mental) disability and don’t look healthy. Hot tub is smelly and yellow water too often although they state they clean it almost weekly. I god major depression staying here.
GuideFree with the purchase of the adventure pass. I was here during the week and it was quiet and uneventful. Plenty of shade and simple. A bit of traffic noise but not too bad.
I stayed here as part of my 2 month camping journey through SoCal. Really easy site to find.
Toilets were clean. Bring your own water.
Scout
Been going up there since 1969 had many many Fantastic trips fishing is always good sightseeing is good just all around good place.
Ranger
I stayed here for one night. Bathrooms were clean. They seem to have a coffee and pizza shack too but they were not open when I arrived. I didn’t use the showers but they have a shower room in addition to bathrooms. It was a quiet night.
The only negative was the people parked next to me had moved their picnic table into my spot so it made it difficult to back in and use my spot.
Guide
Small little campground, easy to get to and across from Foster Park.
There are not too many spaces, and it is a little tight, so larger RVs will not fit.
I got site 11, which is pretty big, but it's next to the road. At all times of the day, you get a lot of loud motorcycles coming through.
It's next to Foster Park, which allows swimming in the river during the summer months.
It's also near the Ojai Bike trail, which you can take all the way to Ojai or down to the beach in Ventura.
I road up to Lake Casitas and into Ojai, which was a nice short loop.
There were no issues with safety; it felt pretty safe.
Guide
When arrived the wind was blowing and the dust was a moving.. but in the evening it calmed down.. nice place every thing looks updated, facilities, pool, help is nice, right next to loves truck stop so there is traffic but not hateful.. good place to stop on I 5
TravelerGreat spot next to the lake. Very windy at times. Lost of gopher holes in the soil.
Guide
Small campground for 12 smaller than 30 ft rigs or tents. Most are much smaller. Rough bumpy road for miles ether direction on a first come, first serve campground. Has vaulted toilet with no water or other services. If full, would seek off road area on right just as you approach. Has older building of interest. There was a great horned owl in one of the few eucalyptus trees at the campsite. Quiet and nice area to take a hike or two with pretty nice views if you like the high desert landscape. Warning not to travel dirt roads after a rain as you’re likely to get stuck. Better if you come in from the north side(58) on paved roads, but would limit you to boondocking likely because unable to get to this or Selby campgrounds. Selby is another first-come site to the NW
ScoutI stayed for a quick stop overnight and found the site as described. Just a table, fire pit, and water spigot. The hosts are very accommodating and made sure I was able to find my site after dark and were very responsive to my texts! Cell service was fine and I felt perfectly safe as a solo female! I really enjoyed the ranch dogs coming to hang out with me! I'll be back to try one of the other sites with more amazing views!
Tent camping near Maricopa, California, offers a variety of scenic locations where nature enthusiasts can enjoy the great outdoors. With options ranging from secluded spots to well-equipped campgrounds, there's something for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Maricopa, CA is Chula Vista Campground at Mt. Pinos with a 4.5-star rating from 6 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 39 tent camping locations near Maricopa, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
