Best Campgrounds near Santa Ana, CA

We booked one of the smaller sites for a party of 6. The campground itself has all the standard amenities - outhouse bathrooms, picnic tables, fire rings, trash dumpsters, and info boards. Beautiful views and quick access to hiking trails too. A downside of the group campground is that some of the sites are for LARGE groups. One of the sites had 50 people who spent the entire weekend blasting their music on a speaker set and drinking. Music started at 7am and ended at 1am. That’s not the fault of the National Forest. Sadly, they are so understaffed right now. We didn’t see a single park ranger for all three days. So there was no enforcement of campground policies. Not what we were looking for a weekend spent in nature.

Camping for over 25 years- 140 nights a year and we have never experienced a campground as unprofessional, clueless and arrogant as this one. Their campsite math is completely unacceptable and when asked for ax explination we were treated like we should be happy they were allowing us to stay and it felt like they thought we could not afford to stay there. PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND UNDERSTAND THE BILL!!! Their site measurements are for your camping unit ONLY. If you have a tow vehicle or are towing a vehicle you must pay per night for a parking spot, whether it fits on the site or not. So, a 40X14ft standard site can accommodate a travel trailer of 20 feet or less BUT a motorhome of 40 ft or less. If your travel trailer is 21ft you MUST pay for a parking spot even if your total length is less than 40 ft. They neglected to tell us this information when we booked our site quoted$500 the weekly rate and we paid the deposit. We called to ask a question and they mentioned our total$740.61. We asked how we added$240 when the website stated$500. The woman could not explain the breakdown and could only tell us that we must pay for our truck to park and the website are not actual prices!! When we asked how we would have known this and she laughed and said you probably wouldn’t, you would have had to pay at arrival. WHAT, WHO HAS EVER HEARD OF THAT! With one story after another and no answers we called and told them we would be staying elsewhere because we needed to know the total! They canceled our site but kept our deposit despite their inability to understand and explain how they charge for a site. IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW– BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU! They just want to fill their campground! 1. If you are in anything other than a motorhome you will need to pay for your vehicle to park! 2. The 40ft RV length restriction includes the length of the hitch 3. Despite their sites being able to accommodate a 40ft rig their campground is extremely tight and sites may be very difficult to back in if longer than 35ft. 4. If you have a larger RV or slide-outs it is recommended you book Deluxe space or Deluxe space+ parking. 5. Standard sites may be too narrow to extend awning 6. There is no guarantee your vehicle will be parked next to or near your RV you are only paying for a spot. 7. Despite Disneyland being a family destination, their campsites are for 2 people only. You must pay for each additional person over 10 years old. 8. You must pay for your family pet. 9. You will need to pay for the pool key but should get it back. 10. Any standard site is a parking lot no grass. 11. Any time it says grass it is synthetic grass- AstroTurf 12. The very small strip of grass on a site has a fee attached. 13. Must be manufactured by a recognized maker or you must provide photos and copy of valid DMV Registration 14. You must have a 25ft sewage hose. 15. Tax is not included 7.75% CA Tax AND transient occupancy tax of 15%

Our friends just bought a camper van and wanted to test the systems on it while having a weekend getaway and this was a great spot for it! All hookups PLUS dump out in each spot (so convenient, loved this!). It’s right in the middle of the city but they did a great job making it feel like you were out in nature. Great walking around the trails and lake. 8 minutes from a super Walmart if you need anything. Other campers are next to you, but not right on top of you. The camp hosts were friendly and do a great job of keeping the sites and bathrooms super clean! Fire pits and picnic tables in each spot as well. One of the hosts offered us some leftover firewood, but we had a propane pit we were using. It’s not a “must come back to” spot but great for a last minute camping experience!

There was abundant firewood for purchase at the gate. There is a nice bathroom with flushing toilets and sinks with soap closer to spot #41, but we were at #19, so it was a small walk to get there. However, there was a portopotty right near our site if the walk is too inconvenient.

Our site was flat, and it was easy ground for stakes. Although keep an eye out for critter holes. Tons of little animals hanging out (rabbits, birds, chipmunks). Those chipmunks will definitely go for your stuff if you don't pack it away. 

We did see that someone had to be rescued from the riverbed while we were there, so be careful if you plan to climb down into it.

The only bummer was that in some cases, you had to drive to get to other trails, or walk on the road.