Best Tent Camping near Newport Coast, CA

One of the most amazing campgrounds I’ve ever stayed at. You’re on a sandy beach with waves crashing on the shore. There’s only a handful of sites, so try to book this early. Sites have rocks stacked up as a wind shield, it really helps! You’ll also have a picnic table, food storage box, and a fire pit. Vault toilets are available. No water on site, you must bring your own. Water, firewood, and fire starter are available for purchase. You can buy them at two harbors, which is where they will give you a key for a locker that is at parsons landing which will have all those items. I believe it’s 2 gallons of water.

Cool drive to get to the campground. You drive up and down these hilly roads up the mountain to get there. Once there, there's a parking lot that fits about 20 cars. There's about 100 yd hike to the campsites. There's a road that leads to the campsite but it's been blocked off. Only the campsite managers use that road so it's not accessible by RV, just tents. A campsite manager stays in a little trailer overnight so if there's any problems there's somebody there you can go to and ask for help. There's about six campsites and their first come first serve, no reservations. I went during the week and was the only one camping. This place is heavily used for day camping and hiking. There's not a lot of privacy because there's always lots of people passing by who are hiking and biking. You can stay overnight which I did and everything was fine but there's not a lot of privacy. The next day as I was leaving there was another guy sitting up his tent. I bet on the weekends they can fill up pretty fast. It's in Bear country so they provide food storage for each campsite also trash containers too. Each side has a picnic bench and a fire pit. The fire ban has been lifted so you can have a fire. Each fire pit had wood left at it so you didn't have to go searching for campfirewood. Bathrooms included male and female toilets but no showers or water. There's a creek that runs through the campground which makes it very pretty. I saw two to three cabins along the outskirts of the campground that I assume were for rentals. There was one family at one of the cabins the night I stayed. About a 20 minute hike and you can end up at a waterfall which is very pretty. But there are several trails to take for hiking and biking and I saw lots of people doing that. Overall a good campsite four stars. Would have been five stars if they had showers and running water. I didn't see any bears although there was an animal outside my tent at one point in the night I could hear him nosing around. So it's important to keep all of your food and anything with any kind of smell in the bear boxes

Tucked on the outskirts of Mission Viejo is an oasis of green grass and groves of the twisting and searching limbs of Coastal Live Oak trees.  If you stuck me in the middle of this park, I’d never know that I was miles away from the sprawl of suburbia of a major metropolitan area…shhh don’t tell anyone.

There are 3 campgrounds within this regional park -- one soley dedicated to RV's that require electrical hook-ups (Ortega Flats), a group campground (San Juan Meadow), and another which is a mix of tents and off-grid RVs (Live Oak).  This review is specifically for the off-grid Live Oak Campground which s aptly named because you’ll find yourself enjoying the ample shade of these amazing arbors, but plenty of sun to run our solar powered system.  

The campsites can be reserved but there is plenty of room for first-come first-served travelers as well.  The sites offer enough space to tuck away a tent in the corner, or set up the longer trailer, as well as the typical picnic table and fire ring.  Plenty of port o potties are scattered throughout the campground and served the large groups gathered here on Easter weekend.  We indulged in making a fabulous brunch of Wood Fired Waffles to celebrate the holiday!  As of April 2023, they were still experiencing a well water issue, so no water was available from the faucet, but the river running through the park was useful for obtaining water to wash dishes.

Hiking, biking and horseback riding trails meander throughout the park. The campground borders on a small creek for fishing, but is off-limits to wading and swimming because of the instability of the opposite bank. Keep an eye on the kids!  Be sure to check out the volunteer-run Nature Center on the property which is full of great information about flora, fauna, and native history.

The closest store for firewood, and groceries is just a few miles back toward town.  And, the closest beach is just about 30 minutes away, so a great option for a day trip.

I recently moved to WA from Los Angeles so this review is legit 😁 This was and still continues to be one of my favorite campsite close to Los Angeles, I have plenty of fond memories with close friends at this site. It’s completely exposed all the way to the top, a well worth 3 mile uphill hike to three different camp sites. My favorite is the middle site where you get a clear view of the city, beautiful views at night. They say there’s no water but there is, there’s a spout located by the restroom close to the museum, you’ll have to treat it before using (but don’t take my word for it, they tend to shut it off so take plenty of water for your time there and check it out if you need more) If you continue past the middle campsite to the upper site, you’ll have plenty of space for tents and hammocks just no view due to the trees on the edge. If you continue on that trail for another 3 miles i believe, you’ll get to idlehour campground. It’s a small site right next to a creek, you can continue on to Mt Lowe campground and inspiration point. Back to Henninger, plenty of trees for hammocks and sometimes they have firewood collected. At the museum you can buy soda cans so take some change. Hauling a 24 pack of cold Modelos in my pack was not fun at all, but boy did they taste good at the top hahaha. Bugs can get annoying so carry some bug spray, hang your food and PACK IT OUT!!! Leave no trace behind.

This is more of your traditional campground where you must carry all your food and gear to the campsite.  It is a short hike from the parking lot to the camping area and the camp hosts can provide containers to carry your items.  The campground was not busy and this allowed me to pick a spot hidden away from others. There are restrooms and a place to get water, but when I was there the showers were closed.  There are many hiking opportunities and chances to see wildlife (deer, wild turkey, rabbits, squirrels, racoons, and birds). Sites include fire pits, picnic tables, and food storage box.

Looks like I arrived at the peak of their off-season. Complete fire ban, including gas stoves. Trash littered the campground and only one bathroom open. Gates are closed, so you have to park on the street and walk in. Only two other tents in this giant, beautiful campground. I wish I knew when season was so I could see what the regular vibe is like. Several trails and lake access nearby.

Cafe by the campground only has a handful of items, hamburger and hot dog and other basic stuff. Store was well stocked with junk food, but not much I would consider “camping supplies.”

Overall it looked like a neglected campground and recreation area but during season it’s probably a fun place to be.