RV Parks Santa Barbara, CA

Recent RV Reviews near Santa Barbara, California

741 Reviews of 78 Santa Barbara Campgrounds

• 

  Penélope F.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 5, 2020

  Flying Flags RV Resort

  Nice place for those who are looking to party!

  Nice RV park... It's pretty big and offers several options for staying from small cabins to full RV hook up sites. I personally was a little disappointed that place was packed as most places we have been staying had a 50% capacity restriction. Staff was friendly and helpful and definitely will return after pandemic is gone. Quiet time wasn't enforce which is nice for those wanting to party.

  Our site had a gas grill and fire pit which was nice for some of the chilly nights we had.

• 

  C N.

  Ranger

  

  Dec. 14, 2019

  Faria Beach Park

  Local R&R

  Faria Beach Park (also known as Pitas Point by surfers), is the perfect getaway for surfers and beach lovers alike. In the winter, large winter storms bring waves to Faria leading surfers to flock to its shore, and campgrounds. The campgrounds have RV hook ups, and offer the perfect view of the ocean. Campgrounds run $35-$39 and RV hooks up go for $50-$58. There is also a concession stand that offers food and refreshments, perfect for the picnic table. The campsite is well maintained but gets busy during the prime times of the year. Any groceries and supplies can be purchased at Ventura, a 15 minute drive away. For beach lovers, low tide at Faria offer tide pools and a stretch of sand to lay out on or run with the puppy. There are available restrooms, free outdoor showers, trash disposal area and fire pits available at select paid campsites. Faria Beach RV Park is the best camping opportunity to be on the beach, while enjoying the beauty of the Pacific Ocean!

• 

  Crystal C.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 30, 2018

  Wayside Village

  Not All Camping Is Created Equally

  In looking for some places to camp near Santa Barbara when I was there for work, I explored all the listings which said “camping”. This like in many locations was a bit deceiving as camping means different things to different people.  

  Let me start off by saying this is a RV site only, not a tent site therefore it offered no services that applied to me as a tent camper.  However like always I chose to explore the site anyway, because I do have friends in the traveling life who do have RVs.  

  This place targets the more long term campers.  As Santa Barbara is vacation destination they encourage the person who is wanting to spend anywhere from a month or more and even do long term site leasing.  It is basically a place you can rent a slot and have water, sewer and trash just like an apartment, but you are in charge of your own electric which is already run to each site as well as cable or internet.   

  The sites were nothing super exciting in appearance and didn’t offer much shade around the facility but they did have the pool which was a big bonus.  It is relatively small so there is no way staying here you wouldn’t know your neighbors.  

  You are minutes from the beach which is a HUGE bonus of this site as well as access to the golf course and resorts so it is like resort living on a more realistic budget.  I could see this being a great option for full timers for sure.

  Again though, this place isn’t really for a short time stay for an RV and does not accommodate tents whatsoever.   

  TIPS:

  • Call in advance since it is small you will want to make sure that there is in fact a site available and might have to be placed on a list.
  • Best for detachable vehicles such as 5th wheels so you can move around town without having to rely on ubers.  Uber is a lot higher in this area for some reason than it is in other areas, probably because it is a destination location.
• 

  Butch C.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 25, 2018

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Old time Favorite

  This a a very nice campground nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara county. The sites for dry camping are the largest that I have every come across in 50 years. The full hookup sites are your standard size that you see at most rv parks. The lake is nice but is at an all time low water level because of the ongoing drought. The Danish town of Solvang is 12 miles away and there must be 50 places that you can go wine tasting in the area if that is your thing.

• 

  Nathaniel S.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 8, 2021

  Flying Flags RV Resort

  Convenient Full Service RV Park in Santa Barbara Area

  There's a lot to like about Flying Flags RV park.  Its clean, has lots of full hookup sites, an onsite restaurant, clean facilities, as well as tents and cabins for rent. Why a 3 star rating then?  Well, per my system, 5 stars are the truly special places (i.e Yosemite, Zion) where one should travel to for multiple days. 4 stars are top-tier spots for locals, and should be part of a larger trip to the region for out-of-staters (examples include Lake Sonoma and Lopez Lake). 3 stars are perfectly fine, but you mostly go there for convenience. Flying Flags in Buellton is such a place. You come here because you can explore Santa Barbara, Solvang, and the surrounding wine region. The RV park itself is big, and the spots are pretty close together, and while it's not necessarily beautiful itself, it is clean and comfortable. If I'm planning a trip to Santa Barbara in my 28' Airstream, this is absolutely a park I'd stay at again. I prefer dry camping (i.e. limited or no hookups) in my trailer, but I certainly appreciate full service as well, and Flying Flags delivers.

  If you own an RV, this is a perfect "home base" for exploring the area.  Solvang is a town in central California that looks like a Scandinavian village. It was featured prominently in the movie Sideways. Buellton and Solvang are both basically right in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country. Many, many wineries are within short driving distance. Santa Barbara is an easy hour-ish trip.  The coast in Santa Barbara and just south in Carpineria is some of the most beautiful in California. The surfing is exquisite (these are well known, popular spots so expect the usual "locals only" aggression in the line up). Paso Robles is about 100 miles up the road from Buellton, so it's entirely possible to do an "up and back" in the same day.

  Flying Flags RV park won't take your breath away with natural beauty, but it's close to a lot of places that will.  It's convenient, clean, and a great place to park an RV for a couple of nights as you explore the surrounding areas.

• 

  Veronica H.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 3, 2021

  Sun Outdoors Santa Barbara

  Luxury RV Resort By the Sea

  If you find yourself up near Santa Barbara, this luxury RV Resort and Campground is a real splurge. The grounds are beautiful, overlooking the ocean, and connecting to the El Capitan Canyon glamping resort, which offers yurts and safari tents. We enjoyed exploring the property's hiking trails and the heated pool was really nice. 

  If you don't feel like cooking, there's a really cute little deli and gift shop called Canyon Market that sells a nice selection of California wines, craft beers and BBQ kits for grill-your-own meals. Their breakfast burritos were really good, and they also serve tacos, burgers, sandwiches and salads throughout the day.

  El Capitan State Beach is about a 20 minute walk away, so keep that in mind if you have a lot of beach gear. 

  My video:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djcr_GYf1kc

• M

  Michele

  Scout

  

  Oct. 9, 2020

  Thousand Trails Rancho Oso

  Honestly

  We stayed at Rancho Oso for two weeks. We chose it because it was near Santa Barbara. And it was affordable (with Thousand Trails). So near to Santa Barbara is a relative term. It’s a 35 minute drive on a lovely windey mountain road. Beautiful drive!!! The problem was the resort does not have wifi or Verizon cell service. So I had to commute daily, I work remotely. If you want remote this is good. The other problem was ants. The 2nd day we came back and we were infested. We were able to move spots but what a hassle. We used all of our available poisons (windex, bug spray, rubbing alcohol) to kill or drown them. Then vacuumed for hours. It took two weeks before they were gone. The resort knew they had a problem but didn’t really help. So we recommend you be proactive and watch for them and maybe spray your perimeter occasionally. So no wifi and cell service - on them. They need to fix this.
  Ant infestations- they should spray. Hot, dry, things closed because of Coronavirus and fire risk - not on them.
  If you want remote, it’s good.

• 

  Andrea R.

  Legend

  

  Apr. 24, 2019

  Thousand Trails Rancho Oso

  Nice.

  Part of the Thousand Trails network. There is very clean bathrooms, room for RV'S, a rec center, store, pool, hot tub. There is a small creek and plenty of hiking trails.

• G

  Gamaliel A.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 22, 2018

  Refugio State Beach Campground

  Central Coast Camping - Beckons a VW Van

  Low key but nice beach side campground along California’s Central Coast. Not to far from Santa Barbara. A bit of a surfers paradise because of some of the spots not far from the campsite.

• J

  James J.

  Scout

  

  Feb. 17, 2021

  Flying Flags RV Resort

  Top Notch

  This RV resort has everything. Super clean, great staff. Close to so many things to do.

• L

  Luke L.

  Traveler

  

  May. 17, 2018

  Santa Cruz Campground — Carpinteria State Beach

  Beautiful ocean sunsets at this quaint campground

  Nestled between Ventura and Santa Barbara just north of Los Angeles is this picture perfect State Beach campground. This location has both full hook-ups as well as tent camping right up to the coast This campsite also has showers availa le and restrooms There are plenty of miles of bike trails as well as hiking tails to the Bluffs that overlook a sea lion protected sanctuary But the most glorious reason to come here are the breath taking sunsets viewable from your own campsite

• 

  Devin W.

  Scout

  

  Feb. 15, 2022

  Mt. Figueroa Campground

  Forest camping 1hr from Santa Barbara

  This is a great 35 campsite campground located about 50 miles from Santa Barbara. There are hiking trails with views of the forest and mountains to explore.

  Every campsite has a fire ring and picnic table.

• m

  marcus K.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 16, 2021

  Sun Outdoors Santa Barbara

  Very nice very nice

  Awesome campground 20 min from Santa Barbara. Its small and really well maintained. Pool, hiking trails, great wifi. Walk down to the beach or just chill at your site. There is a small store in case you forgot the smores.

• 

  MomentoMori C.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 29, 2020

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Near Santa Barbara but Hot!

  We were there in the middle of summer in the dumpster fire year of 2020. Make sure you get the correct weather report of ‘Cachuma Village’ and not assume it is the same climate as the much cooler Santa Barbara (15 degrees difference).

  There are hundreds of campsites and many have RV hookups. I found the following YouTube video helpful when reserving a space. We were glad we picked a space that was under the canopy of two mature trees. https://youtu.be/sDWHOIo66F4

  Although the lake looks beautiful, it is only a boating lake. There is no swimming nor paddle boarding allowed on the lake. There were plenty of fishing boats there as well as rentable pontoon boats.

  There is not much of a hiking experience at the Lake except to walk around it. As we walked around, we loved seeing how other campers set up their camps since we’re relatively new campers.

  We brought our dog and she loved it despite having little balls of thorns attach to her paws like magnets. (See picture). We ended up having to just carry her.

  We’d love to go back again but next time we’ll make time to rent a boat and go fishing ON the lake.

• G

  Gustavo C.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 16, 2021

  Ventura Beach RV Resort

  Nice RV Resort

  The Ventura Beach RV Resort is very nice and a short bike ride or walk from the beach or town. Stay away from the sites in the first row closest to the freeway as those tend to flood. If you're looking for a quiet campground this is likely too loud for you. If you're looking for interaction with other friendly campers then you will likely enjoy it.

• 

  SmallRVLifestyle V.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 25, 2020

  Flying Flags RV Resort

  Nice RV Resort Near Solvang

  Flying Flags RV Resort& Campground is one of my favorite RV resorts.  It is located in Buellton, CA very near the historic town of Solvang, as well as Lake Cachuma and Los Padres National Forest. The campsite is in a beautiful setting surrounded by green rolling hills. April, May is the perfect time to visit. 

  The resort features a plethora of housing options, including vintage trailers and airstreams, cottages, luxury tents, and RV/tent camping spots. 

  Free WiFi, a full laundry facility, pools, and a hot tub, every aspect of your stay is covered. For a relaxing time, they have poolside cabanas, a communal fire pit, picnic areas, and a communal TV lounge with pool and foosball tables. 

  If you have children there is a playground as well as bocce and horseshoes. There is a full fitness center in case you want to get your workout in without the heat. All of the amenities are very well maintained, including the bathrooms and showers. When you get hungry the campground/resort has a few options. 

  There is a full fitness center in case you want to get your workout in without the heat. I rode my bicycle to Solvang, which is 4 miles away. All of the amenities are very well maintained, including the bathrooms and showers. When you get hungry the campground/resort has a few options. There is a convenience store and snack bar on-site, as well as the Campfire Cafe, an eatery with a full menu that allows you to eat in or even deliver to your site.

  In case you are feeling like an adult beverage, Flying Flags has a fairly extensive wine and beer bar. There are also restaurants, convenience, and grocery stores within walking distance. The location of Flying Flags is perfect if you are looking to venture out for an evening or you are here for the wineries. 

  There are several museums in the area, including the Solvang vintage motorcycle museum. There are also golf courses, breweries, wineries, a casino/resort, and the Solvang farmers market. This resort and campground overall is a very nice spot to stop on a long journey, or just to get away for a while. 

  Well worth the trip. It seems like the RVs in the RV park are newer, the park is pretty upscale. I would assume most of the people are full-timers, retired couples who are spending some time in the park. Although it was beautiful weather, you hardly see people outside, it seems like everyone is keeping to themselves. I am not sure why that is.

• 

  Butch C.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 25, 2018

  Thousand Trails Rancho Oso

  My home base Campground

  This Campground belongs to the Thousand Trails network. We use it quite often as it is only 2 hours from our house. The campground is nice. There are wild turkeys that wander thru the campground and you will see an occassional deer or 2. Good & bad is that your wifi, cell service is very limited here. If you want to get away from that hectic "connected 24/7" life this is a place you can do it. If you need that constant connection you won't like it.

• 

  Jenn-X •.

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 5, 2023

  Steckel Park

  Close

  Cool little county park with some full hook up spots. Nice level concrete pads. Non hook up spots are dirt with some general use water. Nice oak trees sprawling through the park. Great creek when flowing.

• 

  Shari G.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 19, 2023

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Huge County Campground with Numerous Site Types

  The lovely county run park in the hills above the Santa Barbara coastline, is a great campground offering a wide variety of camping experiences from full hook ups to grass covered spaces under the trees along the shores of this lovely reservoir. The sites offer the usual camp picnic table and fire ring, and the many group sites offer large grills and even a few picnic shelters. 

  The sunshine is typically abundant in this California park, and even without full hook ups you can easily get all the power you need with an appropriately sized solar panel system. We’ve run on solar for over 10 years, and it saves us thousands of dollars each year for our full-time camping life. 

  The flush bathrooms are clean and spacious. Water spigots were plentiful throughout the campground. The coin operated showers got the job done, but since we were there during a chilly March, things could have been warmer. But hey, everything important got clean… 

  The lake is perfect for boating, but since it’s a drinking water reservoir, there is no body contact with this body of water. So plan on using the campground pool to cool off during the summer months. Hiking and mountain biking trails are abundant throughout the area, and kayaking, canoeing, fishing or sailing on the lake is the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

  The campground offers some excellent yurts and cabins for nightly rent right on the shores of the lake. These are often booked out so plan ahead. 

  The camp store offers enough grocery supplies in case you forgot something, including ice, snacks, fire wood, and gas.  There is also a cool pub down by the boat ramp which offers live music in the weekends.  The nearby tourist town of Solvang offers a great day trip to sample the amazing Dutch pastry treats, pick up some groceries, wine tasting, or a night out on the town.

• L

  Linda S.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 27, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Lots of different kinds of sites.

  Good experience overall. There are many kinds of sites including full hook up, partial, primitive, cabins & yurts. Many sites have views of the lake.

• J

  Jane

  Guide

  

  Jun. 13, 2023

  Santa Cruz Campground — Carpinteria State Beach

  The beach is great

  The spots are just so small, especially the ones with full hook ups. You can park your car on the next loop over, but you will barely have enough space sit in your chair

• 

  Raf A.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 19, 2020

  Lake Casitas Recreation Area

  Great for a family with young kids

  Stayed at site Fox 5 (full hook-ups) for 3 nights. Nice level concrete pad and fire pit. We didn’t have any immediate neighbors and it was very quiet and felt very remote at night time. Fox camp is perfect for our kids that like to be on their bicycles and explore. There is a park store right across the street (very pricey but convenient). We had a great time here and will most likely be back.

• 

  Paul N.

  Guide

  

  May. 22, 2019

  Lake Casitas Recreation Area

  Large water district camping

  Large water district camping outside Ojai Ca. Full hook ups at most sites. $50 a night plus extra for tow vehicle. 8 areas to to choose from. Water park in summer, disc golf, fishing, boating, home of the ‘84 Olympic rowing competition. Gates close at 10 pm and had to park outside when I didn’t get back in time and walk in. Dirt and grass sites depending on where you choose. Many amenities

• 

  Amanda M.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 24, 2018

  Santa Cruz Campground — Carpinteria State Beach

  Carpinteria State Beach Campground

  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

• Y

  Yenyfer B.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 21, 2018

  Lake Casitas Recreation Area

  Great for Socializing!

  We were referred to Lake Casitas by several people. We went for a four day three night camping trip in July '18. They have different camp sites depending on the needs of the campers, such as RV hookups and whatnot. We are relatively new at camping and were looking for a nice time to relax and enjoy nature. Our kids and our dogs really enjoyed it. We liked that the campsite was spacious and had lots of shade. There weren't many bug or flies, which was great. The park has a tiny water park. Cute and perfect for families with small children. My son is 11 and all he could do was the lazy river. The actual park was so big and it was filled to capacity. It was difficult to enjoy nature. There was people everywhere. Also, the weather was hot and dry, which created a lot of fine sand-like dirt lift when cars drove by. My teens loved being able to ride their bikes around. The water level in the river is so low it made me feel sad. The place has showers, but depending on your site, one might end up very far to walk. Restrooms were scarce, but in between they put potable toilets; not fun when it's nearly 100 degrees. The place is great if you enjoy meeting new people, hanging around the bonfire, and I heard it's good fishing. I did not like how packed it gets. It felt like I was in my back yard and too much noise pollution. Water park left much to be desired and wish there was swimming in the lake.

• 

  Crystal

  Guide

  

  Jul. 7, 2021

  Kenney Grove Park

  Small but peaceful

  Ok, so first off driving into this place feels a little "Texas Chainsaw" but don't worry, its fine. When I saw regional park I was expecting something way bigger however this is about the size of a small city park that turned its parking lot into a campground. None the less, we had a very pleasant stay. It was nice and quite despite it being Fourth of July weekend and we even had a few friendly bats fly around us. The playground was a bunch of old metal pieces that looked like you would surely break a leg so naturally my 2 and 4 year old LOVED it. LOL. Its in a great location with close drive to Ventura and Pismo beaches. Would definitely stay here again for a quick getaway.

  Oh and note, the full hook up sites are for Model A's (stayed at 56). So hook ups are on the opposite side and really close to the "entrance" so we couldnt back in, we had to parking our towing vehicle in the general parking area. We had our small travel trailer and thank God we had a 40 ft sewer hose.

• 

  Susanne S.

  Guide

  

  May. 16, 2022

  Camp Comfort Park

  Lovely serene tranquil small full hookup campground

  Camp Comfort in Ojai - i didn't know what to expect but was pleased how amazing it is. A small campground with 16 full RV hookup sites and a camphost run by the county and decent priced. Rangers that check in with you and asks if they can help with anything, all easy, peasy, nice. The location is phenomenal - surrounded by hills that bask in a beautiful golden light before sunset, a creek runs along the edge making the area right in front of the hills like a tropical garden -green and lush. The birds are singing in a chorus and closer to sunset and at night it seems a thousand frogs are croaking. Amazing! There was a wedding in the park and a baby shower while we were here. I can see why they chose this park. Each site has water, sewer, electric, a fire ring and a bench/table. The sites are paved and flat but the surrounding area in the site is dirt so some had a tent up too. Each site is pretty spacious. There seem to be partial shade throughout. The adjacent park is full of beautiful trees and lush. The bathrooms were nice and clean as well as the laundry area. I didn't use their showers as we have our own in our trailer.

  We biked into Ojai thru green lushness and beautiful silvery sheer like oak trees, a nature wonder. There are bike trails going all over Ojai and all the way to Ventura although from the campground into town uou are along a road that just is super lush. The foodin Ojai is really good. The architecture has a lot of mission remenants or replicas. It's quaint and fun! Hippie meets new chic sort of.

  It's hot in the day though right now but cools at night and we left our trailer windows open all night. There were some flies and a few mosquitos probably due to that the creek is almost dry byt its still very lush here, almost tropical looking.

  We will however be back in fall and spring and probably winter but summer might be a little hot for us. It was 90 or 92 in the day time during our visit and upper 40s /lower 50s at night.