Searching for a tent campsite near Rancho Santa Margarita? Find the best information on tent camping near Rancho Santa Margarita, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Search nearby tent campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
San Clemente State Beach camping is located at the south end of the city of San Clemente, California. The area around San Clemente is known for its ocean, hill, and mountain views, a pleasant climate and its Spanish Colonial style architecture. The city slogan is "Spanish Village by the Sea." Visitors are attracted to the San Clemente area for its intense winds and dramatic location. San Clemente has been a California state beach since 1937 and is popular among water sport enthusiasts, and anyone who wishes to escape from inland heat and nearby metropolitan areas for the day. The beautiful mile long beach stretches between the curling ocean surf and the foot of a steep bluff.
$45 - $300 / night
All campsites at China Camp Campground are HIKE-IN SITES for tent-camping only. Visitors must handcarry all equipment from the parking lot to the campsites. Campsites range from 50-300 yards from the parking lot. Eight persons maximum are allowed in each site. Check in time is 2pm or later and check out is Noon. Enroute camping is available for RV's with a grey water holding tank for one night only. No dump station or hook-ups are available. Enroute Camping is limited to space availability. Check in for enroute camping is 6pm and check out is 9am. A "Hike and Bike" site is available for those who travel to China Camp on foot or by bicycle.
$35 - $175 / night
Silverwood Lake camping includes a table, BBQ and fire ring. These sites hold up to 8 persons including children and 3 vehicles. There are boat ramps and boat rentals on-site. You can fish Striped Bass, Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Trout, Catfish, Bluegill, and Carp at the lake.
$45 - $350 / night
Falcon Group Campground has three individual group campsites just off the scenic Ortega Highway in Southern California, which connects San Juan Capistrano and Temecula Valley Highway. The pleasant climate, scenery, trail system and convenient location, make this a popular destination for groups from Los Angeles and San Diego. Hiking is especially popular among campers.
Hikers of any level can find trails that challenge and accommodate their recreational goals around the campground. Among them are the Falcon Trail, a 1.4-mile easy trail that connects to the campground, and Trabuco Canyon Trail, which provides scenic 6.8-mile hike into the backcountry. The San Juan Trial, which is popular with mountain bikers, has a trailhead at Blue Jay campground, adjacent from Falcon Group Campground. The trail climbs a very steep set of stacked switchbacks from the floor of Hot Springs Canyon and traverses briefly before steeply ascending a ridge toward Sugarloaf Mountain. There are also many ideal picnic spots and scenic overlooks along Ortega Highway.
The campground sits at an elevation of 3,300 ft. off the Ortega Highway scenic drive in the Santa Ana Mountains, a route that offers beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, valleys and forest. The area lies in a mixed forest and chaparral ecosystem and is inhabited by a variety of birds, plants and wildlife.
The closest town is Lake Elsinore, which has various shops, restaurants and recreation opportunities.
$120 / night
Camp high in the clouds at Manker Flats Campground. This campground sits at 6000-feet and offers 21 campsites open year-round. However, piped-water is turned once temperatures reach freezing. Each site comes with a spacious spot for all your family camping needs and includes a picnic bench, fire ring, and vault toilets. It's located within a short drive to historic Mt. Baldy Schoolhouse and Visitor Center where visitors can discover the land's Native American roots. Close by, hikers have several options to begin their day's adventure including, Mt. Baldy Bowl trailhead. This trailhead can be combined with another major route, Devil's Backbone, to reach the summit (10,069') to form an impressive 11.3-mile loop hike. For the more casual hiker, a 1.4 mile round trip to the 75-foot San Antonio Falls is available. Bears are very active in this area, so it is recommended that all campers use provided bear boxes, personal bear canisters, or seal all food as to eliminate scent.
$12 / night
These five remote camping sites offer locations for tent and car camping. There are some mature shade trees near the sites, but other than a metal fire ring for campfires, these sites do NOT contain the amenities found at developed campgrounds. There is no water, no picnic tables, no restrooms nearby, and no trash containers. Please pack it in - pack it out! All sites are first-come, first-served. Campfire permits are required for any type of fire use - campfires, charcoal BBQ's, or stoves. Campfires may not be allowed certain times of the year. Contact the Mill Creek Ranger Station for current fire restriction information and road conditions. (909) 382-2882 (closed Tues/Wed) These yellow post sites are reached via forest road 1N12 (unpaved, trailers and large RVs not suitable). Please refer to the yellow-post site map available for free at the Mill Creek Ranger Station. High-clearance vehicles are recommended and four-wheel drive vehicles may also be required to reach these sites, depending on current road conditions.
Traveler
We stayed here multiple times to car camp and have stayed in sites 3, 6, and 28. We really enjoyed site 28 due to the spectacular views of Escondido. The reason I gave it 4 stars is because their can be some creepy people occasionally like some old guy was following my son in his car. But other than that we had a good stay. If you are in a camper I would recommend Escondido RV resort instead due to the more inviting feel (we stayed there in our Coleman travel trailer). But if you car camp a lot like myself I would recommend staying here at Dixon lake. Great stay overall👍😊
Scout
I can’t say that it was awesome but it wasn’t jaw dropping. Nothing to write home about but not uninviting.
Scout
Staff all friendly and facilities while dated are kept very clean. Campers are respectful and quit at night but it’s a very noisy location right next to the freeway which took some getting used to the first few days.
Scout
Just had the best weekend even with the 3 bears that decided to come by. Group of 30 . Definitely a good time. Be careful with the bears! 😮💨🥰🏕️
Traveler
This is a very nice and quiet campground and everyone there was very respectful of quite hours. The place was very clean and very beautiful. The only con was that there are way too many insects everywhere, My base camp got bombarded with a swarm of wasps, And I was forced to leave a day early, and had to leave my cooking pot behind because of the swarm of wasps... I wish there were some kind of rangers or someone there that I could have asked for help about this, or I wish someone would do something about this issue but I guess it is what it is at this location lol 😆 Other than not being able to cook and eat without wasps in your face and In your food, it was really nice
Guide
There’s a few designated camp areas up this way. Went out in early Sept 2024 and the road was fine. I drive a lifted AWD overloaded Honda Element and I had no issue. There were two sections on the final ascent loop to the top of Thomas Mountain that were a little scratchy. You do not need to complete the final ascent to the top to enjoy the camping areas. Although if your car is capable there’s an excellent spot at the very end of the loop.
Scout
Let's start off with the fact that this"resort" has REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS living there and TWEAKERS SELLING DRUGS. When I mentioned it to the management they could care less, didn't say a word and walked away laughing. They DO NOT perform ANY BACKGROUND CHECKS and especially with children in the park I find that very disturbing. They nickel and dime you for every little thing and the rent has gone up 3x in one year. The water supply smells like sewage when you take a shower. Because they do pump outs the resort smells like human excrement most of the time. The lakes are polluted as well and completely full of cyanobacteria AKA green algae which is a respiratory hazard. POTENTIAL BEWARE.
Scout
Well secluded sites each with an incredible view!
GuideLabor Day weekend. We occupied the only spot out of five. Lots of wildlife. Raccoons in the night, gray squirrel, other squirrels, many birds. So much
Traveler
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.
Guide
Visiting family in Santa Ana and LA. Not to far for them to come to us and all to go to beach. Park clean and well maintained, personnel very kind and friendly Beautiful view from our site on area B. Crowded on weekend, much less during week Campground is not associated to adjacent Frank Bonelli Regional. Charge $12 to enter with vehicle but no fee to ride in on bikes
Traveler
Clean dump station, beautiful sites, very strict on rules. We came 10 minutes early before check in time, they made us wait. Campsite comes with wifi but very weak. We have t mobile and had bad reception. Would come back again for beautiful views, small hike, sandy beaches with lots of sand crabs.
Legend
We traveled as a group of 17 campers and were able to disperse evenly between 4 close together campsites. We were in 19, 20, 21 and 23. Even though the website says it allowed 2 cars per site we were charged for the 2nd vehicle. In each site. I had also checked online prior to make sure we would have cell service with that many people meeting us. Only those of us that had Verizon had only a single bar. The campsites in the inner ring (ours was #21) are VERY close together. Not at all private, your camp is literally up against a couple others. We had children from the other sites running all through ours and it was so close you could hear everyone else’s private conversations. #19 and #20 were on the outer circle but just enough space to park and then walk through very sticky manzanita trees into the campsite and picnic table area. None of them had much or any shade. Our saving grace was our 4th spot - which gave us enough room to have all of us sit out of the way of the sticky trees and one tree in the middle to give us a touch of shade throughout the day. It had 2 picnic tables and was much more private so we didn’t disturb anyone and we didn’t have everyone else disturbing us. The vault toilets (yes, I know what they entail, and yes, it’s summer) were horrendous and barely useable, but we had 2 within very quick walking distance of us. They do allow dogs (we had 5 dogs and 3 cats with us) and it’s a short drive into the little town of Idyllwild. It’s a campground that served its purpose in getting all of us together and of course we had a blast, but it’s not on my “must camp here again” list.
ScoutAlthough we booked a campsite, it felt more like we were invited to Mazen's home. He was communicative and responsive, happily answered all of our questions, and was beyond generous. I can't say enough about the beautiful views of Lake Elsinore! We can't wait to visit this campground again!
Traveler
The parking lot is next to the beach on the one side but also next to the highway on the other side. So the view and the breeze is beautiful, but the traffic noise in the evening and morning is not so nice. With earplugs everything is fine! ;) The host Jim is very kind and helpful!
Traveler
It was overall a nice campsite. Our site seemed to be pretty large it came with a picnic table & fire pit. The walk to the beach was close seemed maybe about 10 minute till we reached the beach from our site. It is on a hill you need to walk down & back up. The only down side was the bathrooms on the same road as our site were pretty dirty did not seem to have any maintenance during our stay.
ScoutWe couldn't find any campgrounds, after calling multiple places we came across "The Secret Place". They have the best views I have ever experienced! Especially during sunset and as the city lights start to twinkle. Very nice and quiet place. No full hookups, but good bathrooms and showers available. The camp host was knowledgeable about the area and recommended great things to do. Very helpful, very respectful and very friendly. Will definitely stay here again, made our honeymoon trip very memorable! A+ recommend.
Scout
My fiancé and I were last minute camping and this campground was beautiful, quiet, and very aesthetic! There is a lot to do near by, a very convenient store about 5-10 minutes away called valley center foods! Employees were sooo sweet and friendly! DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! Ps isn’t that expensive when tent camping ⛺️ 🙌🏻
Guide
Nice little site that is right in the middle of everything.
It's crowded and you don't have much space, but if your using this instead of a hotel room it works great.
It had a game room and pool so kids had something to do. There were families all over with kids riding bikes. We had a quick stay over while we were seeing family in the area and it worked great .
Only issue we had is both entrances have a hell of a dip, we scraped the ass end real good going in and out with our 24ft class c.
Traveler
Awesome spot, lots of sights and some even have overlooks of the entire park. Can get crowded but no one was there on a Friday night in July. Bathrooms, trash, water and even buckets to fill to put out your fire. Fire pits, benches and grills nothing more you could want.
Scout
Great rv resort. Close proximity to casino.
Scout
Great campground for families. Lots of activities for the kids to do, like smores by the fire, art, splash pad, and play ground. Facility was clean
Scout
I have been a member of this place for 20+ years.
Most times if someone has a problem at the front gate. It because of the many background checks and or any one of the Screening Process...
The previous review does not mention anything about that factor???? I wonder why??
Traveler
After trying to find an escape from the fireworks and trying campgrounds in surrounding areas to this one and all of them being full, we just kept driving (ended up off-roading) and found this hidden jem. Quite, dark, and one dirt road in n out. No amenities besides a picnic table & fire pit. There's an outhouse, but it's pretty gross..
Scout
We spent 3days and 2nights here and enjoyed our stay, the caretaker was so nice! Although the restroom are very dirty but overall it was a great stay!
Scout
The pictures can be deceiving. It’s beautiful there, however, other than the picture showing flat ground, and wide space, this isn’t accurate.
This time of year, mosquitos and flies everywhere to the point where it really ruined the experience. No matter what sprays, lotions, candles or anything we tried, it was not working.
Traveler
Nice campground. Mostly no hookups, but has toilets and fresh water throughout. Great little restaurant serving pizza and snacks over looking the ocean. Beach access. Lots of sites.
Camping near Rancho Santa Margarita offers a fantastic escape into nature, with beautiful campgrounds that cater to all types of campers. Whether you're looking for a beachside retreat or a mountain getaway, there are plenty of options to explore.
Exploring the campgrounds around Rancho Santa Margarita can lead to memorable adventures, whether you're camping in a tent, RV, or cabin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Rancho Santa Margarita, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Rancho Santa Margarita, CA is San Clemente State Beach Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 35 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Rancho Santa Margarita, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
