Best RV Parks & Resorts near Goleta, CA

Huge campground! Variety of sites from dry to full hookups. Anything with hookups is cramped though. We originally booked FHU and opted out for much more spacious dry site. Dry sites really vary but all are largish. Fire pit at 409 put in a strange location so that we is located on the back side of our trailer. Really no other way we could have configured it. For such a large park with so many amenities I cannot believe the dog park is downright tiny. But park during week is largely vacant so a lot of space to let your dog run (which is against policy). Sure the place is a muddy mess is the rain. Ground squirrels got the place all torn up but hey they were there first. Generally this is a great destination resort! Go see the monarch butterflies in Goleta in winter months. They overwinter there!

First: the bad… it was so windy and cold. Make sure you bring warm clothes!

The good: nice level site, full hookup, picnic table, trees.. (hookup sites don’t have fire pits) Biking/hiking trail was nice:) And can bike and walk around campground! It’s a very big place to explore:) Great disc golf course!! Free to play! The store has camping items, some food (overpriced but that’s expected) , souvenirs, gas… We wanted to get propane when checking out, but nobody in the store knew how to do it, so we were told to come back in 1.5 hours, but we were leaving. It was too windy and cold to fish, which is why we went there:( check the forecast and any wind advisories!! Great restaurant, lots of space to explore. No human contact with the water. Don’t expect to swim.

General: Variety of sites from basic camping to those with electric hookups. Some are considered premium beachfront sites and cabins. Prices are also adjusted seasonally. 

Site Quality: Some sites are concrete; some are on sand. Our site was close to the beach, however, the view of the ocean was blocked by dunes (and also by a restroom). Our site also easily accommodated two camper vans. Each site had a large picnic table and fire ring, although the picnic table was a bit warped. 

Bath/Shower: The closest restroom to our site was very basic – one toilet each for men and women with a shared sink on the outside. Showers are in a separate building and are $ 1.00 for three minutes. 

Activities: The beach here is ruggedly beautiful and you can walk quite a distance if you go to the left; to the right, there is a lot of driftwood but is still somewhat walkable. There is also a store/small restaurant on-site.

We were supposed to spend two nights here but after a very stormy night, we had to evacuate as the only road in/out was unstable, but we would definitely return. If we were unable to reserve a premium beach site, we would choose a site at the top level. Although these are furthest from the beach, they provide the best view of the ocean.

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

We loved this campground.  The 3 nights we stayed here were really relaxing and peaceful. Almost all other campers were quiet and respectful and friendly.  We won't talk about the noisy family with 4 rambunctious kids that busted in one evening, screamed and yelled for about 12 hours, straight, then just as dramatically busted out at 630am (!) the next morning.  Other than them, all the campers, as well as the many people who stopped here to use the restroom or to park their car while they went hiking or bike riding were so chill and peaceful.  Our 26ft motorhome was by far the biggest beast there.  Other than a few small trailers, the other campers were all in camper vans, truck campers, or tents.

There is zero cell reception at the campground, but if you hike up the hill behind the campground you can get decent verizon and ATT (we didn't take our T-Mobile hotspot so we don't know for sure if there's T-Mobile reception there).

The Selby rocks are closed this time of year through July due to migratory bird nesting, but there's plenty of other hiking and exploring in the area, including some petroglyphs on the big rocks near the barn down the road.

It gets pretty windy at night.

There are 2 unisex vault toilets.

3 potable water spigots for water to be used while at the campground (as opposed to filling your RV tank)

A large metal structure which I assume is 3 horse corrals.

No trash service, please pack out what you bring in so this campground stays free and open.

Each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and a shade structure.

There is one "bonus" dispersed-type spot with a rock fire ring behind the campground, just go up the little hill and it's on the left.

The road coming in was doable, just some gravelly washboarding. 

 Highly recommend this campground!  Apparently this time of year is the busy season due to amazing blooms, but this year was a dry winter so we didn't see many flowers.

We were hesitant at first from working remote by being so close to the highway, but the tall wall that separates the highway and the park works very well. We ended up extending our stay because it worked out so well. 

Wifi and AT&T cell service worked great overall. Video calls were inconsistent so hotspotted those calls, but streaming and email and search worked just fine. 

Very close to neighbors and a tight fit, but the city has so much to offer, we didn't need to spend much time at the RV park so were fine with cramped space. Great owners and really nice and accommodating staff. Management helped us park. 

Laundry conveniently on site and worked really well.$1.50 wash and$1.00 dry. Trader Joes.7 mi away; walkable to the waterfront and biking lanes and trails all around.

Being that we chose this camp site last minute is a total score. Large sites, full hookup options and 10 minutes from the beach. Camp host were very nice and accommodating. Some sites are close to the 33 highway so you will have road noise but we are used to Rincon. There is tent camping in the higher sites. Covered with plenty of mature trees for nice shade. Clean restrooms but no showers. Campground is very close to the Ojai-Ventura bike trail. Hiking trails all over and did I say 10 minutes from the beach!!! We stayed with our 2 toddlers/teen and had a blast. Only odd thing is that some sites hookups are backwards. No biggie. We just ran our lines under our rig. We would definitely stay here again.