Best Equestrian Camping near Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Clean, quiet campground located in one of the OC Parks, with plenty of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian use. I stayed here on a weekday, and there were a few couple of vacant campsites in my area, so it was an extremely quiet visit. Bathrooms were clean and well stocked for my stay. I didn’t use the showers since I was only staying one night, but I heard they were free!

Rangers were very friendly and firewood was only $5 for a decent bundle that lasted me over 2 hours.

The city of Rancho Santa Margarita is right up the hill, so you can grab food and any necessities if needed.

My site backed to the creek, so I never had people walking through my campsite.

My dog & I slept in my van, but there was room for multiple tents, and a decent amount of shade in my spot.

My spot didn’t have its own water spigot, but there was one at a site across from me.

I was fortunate that all of the campers around me were quiet and considerate. I know that it doesn’t always work out that way, and having obnoxious neighbors can really ruin your experience.

Giant oval loop with camp sites all along both sides. Rv sites, tent sites and equestrian (horse) sites. Paved road is good for bike riding. Behind my Camp site was a few different hiking paths. Restroom buildings have water, toilets, and showers. It says to bring quarters for the showers but they were free. Each site is typical... Picnic bench, fire pit, and metal grill. No gathering fire wood, gotta buy it at local grocery or gas station. $20 a night. Lots of families with kids. Feels really safe here. Saw the park rangers driving around and the front has a gate guard who checks you in. Also only 10 minutes away from city.

Lovely campground in the Orange County foothills. Great hiking and equestrian trails. Excellent equestrian camping with a private corral right next to each campsite in the equestrian area.

Room for large rigs and good space for tents with flat pads.

My 3 dogs and I stay here often, as it's the lowest cost in Orange County and allows dogs. It has several restrooms, showers, equestrian areas, nature trails and picnicking for day use too.

Casper is a great park located 15min from the city. It has three main camping areas that cater to campers, RVs and horses. There are a number of hiking trails around that range from a 1 to 12 miles. On Saturdays there’s a nature walk.

The park has a day-use area and 4 campgrounds: Ortega Flats(13 RV only sites), Live Oak Campground(tents and campers), Star Mesa Equestrian Campground, and Owl/Quail Group Campground. I reserved an electric site in the Ortega Flats Campground. I heard cars passing by all day and night. There were only port-a-potties by this campground but you could walk farther in the park for more decent toilets and showers.

The campsite was nice, shady with benches, a picnic table plus a fire pit. I had electric hookup but no water because of the drought. The rangers are friendly and patrol regularly which makes you feel safer. There is a cute playground for kids, a nature center where you can enjoy viewing through the telescope overlooking almost all of the 8,000 acres of the Caspers WP. If you like hiking or mountain biking this is a great park for you! The nearest shops are about 10-15 drive away.

[ PROS ]

• Part of OC Parks so getting a campsite is relatively easy compared to other online booking systems like ReserveAmerica. We’re usually able to book a site 2 weeks before we decide to  go.
• Rangers are so friendly and helpful. Honestly, really wonderful staff who love what they do.
• Because of invasive pests found in their park recently, outside firewood is permitted. But they sell them on site for $5 a bundle. That’s really good compared to other campground that cost upward of $7+ a bundle.
• FREE SHOWERS and clean restrooms. No tokens needed here. This is such a great amenity. Only downside is that they are a little far to get to. Caspers Wilderness Park has multiple campgrounds within the park, and each campground only has 1 shower facility (at least from what we could see).
• Fun fact: This park used to be covered by the Pacific Ocean so there are remnants of marine fossils along the riverbanks.
• LOTS OF HIKING TRAILS! If you love hiking, they have so many trails to choose from, from easy to strenuous. There is a trail for everyone. Also great for cyclists.
• Lots of wilderness sighting in the park -- snakes, deer,

[ CONS ]

• No fur friends allowed so leave your pets at home. Unless you own a horse! Lots of horse trails which also means you have to watch out for horse poop on the trail.
• They do not allow any alcohol at the park. No exceptions. It’s a family environment so no boozing here.
• The campsites are a little close together and noise travel.
• Lots of snakes (including rattle snakes) so be careful where you step.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - this weekend I tested Mountain House’s Homestyle Turkey Casserole. I’ve been a long time fan of Mountain House and their products, so I was really excited to try the casserole. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, so you bet I was stoked to bring a little bit of that holiday comfort food with me while camping. As always with all Mountain House products, this was so easy to make -- literally as easy as boiling water. Directions were simple as to be expected and the ingredients inside looked like real food. Once I add the water, the smell was phenomenal. Everything rehydrated perfectly and evenly. There were very nice large pieces of turkey, lots of harvest vegetables, and a heaping amount of stuffing. For two people, the serving size was generous and this was a very satisfying/filling dish. While my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this,  it’s not one of my favorite Mountain House meals.

Sweet Oaks winery campgrounds has 16 sites available for both tent camping and RV’s (no hook-ups). It’s pretty close to grocery stores and big box stores just in case you forgot some gear/supplies. They have a beautiful well-kept property with super-clean restrooms (no showers). They do have a water hose for you to fill up your tanks or Jerry cans. They didn’t allow campfires due to high fire danger though. You’ll have to bring your own fire pit setup if they ever allow them in the future. It was a beautiful walk around the vineyards but there are also hiking trails nearby. It’s off a road suitable for road bikes but there are also mountain bike trails nearby. They have equestrian activities also available for guests. We were able to get our tin top Eurovan to fit on one of their tent sites which offered a beautiful view of Temecula valley. The wine tasting room was closed due to the pandemic but you can order wine online and they will deliver to your site. One more thing, we counted about 8 hot air balloons as we had breakfast!

Best place ever!! Tent camping, RV camping, they have a restaurant and bar, best burgers in all of southern California!! They also have a small store, there's showers, restrooms and a swimming pool! Tent camping along Santa Ana River, you can also fish and hike. So amazing and beautiful, awesome memories made!!

This is a great family campground right around the corner from Temecula, Murrietta, and Menifee. It has tent, partial, and full hookup sites along with a camp store, fishing, biking, bathrooms, and day use areas. The lake is beautiful and boating is also an option. The fishing costs an extra fee per day on top of your California State License, so it’s a bit pricy. There are also nice hiking trails near the campground.

This is two different campgrounds. The front (closest to entry road) kinda sucks. Lots of noise. Sites are small, open and up against an industrial fence.  Everything to the back (after site 7 on the right and 18 on the left) is great. Sites with trees, road noise is blocked, closer to the trailhead and just generally nicer.

This campground is about 11 miles out of Temecula (1 bar of service still with Verizon) and only about 50 minutes from coastal North San Diego. The sites are all a little different but in general have some form of a table, grill, firepit. Bathrooms are standard pit toilets, but they were clean and the camp hosts in March of 2021 were on top of things.

There is a well trafficked trailhead at the back of the campground so on weekends during the day there is a lot of traffic from locals who are just there to hike. We came in on a Sunday and just caught the end of this. The trail itself is a big loop (10 miles) that connects to another loop and another. Almost 20 miles of hiking if you want it. We did an out and back. Trail was nice but it does get narrow often and very few people were wearing masks or even had them which sucked for trying to social distance. The views were fantastic.

Don't bother setting an alarm here. There are roosters nearby that will crow which will wake the dogs and then about a dozen other types of birds will join in at dawn. Crows will chatter. Bluebirds will chip. California Quails will...I don't know...quail?

A definite recommend if you're trying to get away without getting to far away.

Like a lot of So. Cal. Campgrounds this one fills up on weekends but usually easy to camp at during the week. You can also hike through here by entering from nearby neighborhoods. Years ago this place was out in the boonies but now urban sprawl is surrounding it. We are OC natives camping here in our new RV getting used to our rig before we get to where we really want to go which is in the middle of nature. The campground is fairly quiet and primitive except for the showers which can vary from good to phenomenal. Most sites have a picnic table and fire ring and/or bbq. The ground is mostly like rock hard and it’s common to see bent spikes left behind so please be prepared if putting up a tent or canopy. Also water sources are few and far between. Basically dry camping only but there are sites with water.