Best Campgrounds near Santa Margarita, CA

Stayed here many times. Love it

This was a beautiful campground with level, paved sites, lots of trees, great showers, and access to the beach within walking distance.

This campground is quiet and spaces aren't too close together. East walk to trails and the beach at the cove.

Oceano CA. Wooded nice spaces with 20 amp electric and water. We tried to reserve online but site said they were full and sign at entrance said they were full. We waited at check in gate at 2pm (check in time) for about 10 minutes. Staff came by in a car and registered us from their car! Strange but we were grateful. Many available spaces! Go figure.

This place is 10/10. Clean bathrooms, quiet and quaint. Close to one of the most beautiful beaches. The campsites in the way back are the best..much quieter.

We stayed in the upper San Simeon creek campground area - site C25. It had the best view of the ocean but was surrounded by power lines and looked down on camp hosts site/buildings. I felt like it was a little bit of a fishbowl with no privacy and we stared at the RVs in front of us. Which all RV/trailer sites are mostly parallel parking. We drove through the bottom site and it provided much more privacy due to trees and seemed to be more level as well. No view, but you get that “true camping” in the Forrest feeling. The walking trails were fun and the beach was close enough. There are camp kitties that will visit you if you are lucky enough (I think they belong to the host).

Primitive campground ocean beach 1/2 mile walk, wave sounds all day, scenic view, sites spaced out OK, some trees but bright and airy. Nice go to site for chilling but weekends and summers can be busy. Water spickets in campground, dump station below on another campground.

Lots of space for campers and tents. Nice, CLEAN, showers and restrooms. Staying here gives free access to driving onto the beach.

Lots of families and dogs. Noise wasn't a problem other than generators constantly running.

This was my first time camping independently, so didn't know what to expect. Everyone was really nice, camp host, camp ranger, etc. A lot of good amenities and very close to the beach. Loved my site specifically as well, especially since walking down noticing others didn't have as much space, shade, etc. Will say this is a really good rv place, did not see a lot of tent campers. They also sell fire wood for $10 so be ready with cash!

This is a resort style park with all the amenities. We used both pools and spas daily even in December. Sites are gravel with concrete pads. All have fireplaces and seemed appropriately level. We stayed for 14 days, but would have saved a BUNCH if we could have stayed for longer and gotten the monthly rate (they call it "Park and play"). The area is surrounded by natural grassy areas with some trails. The park was busy and a bit loud over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, but otherwise not busy and very quiet. The check in was quick and smooth. The pleasant and helpful staff is available 24/7 in the welcome center.

Easy enough to find for a night’s stop.

Nice Campground. RV Park Style. We have a fire ring, food locker, table and benches. It’s like being in a RV neighborhood. Location, Location, Location. Quick walk to the harbor, cafe, waterfront and walking trails. We have family in the area and bring our rig when visiting. We will definitely be back. Nice spot very comfortable.

Large sites with fire rings, picnic tables, some sites don’t have much shade and some do. Less than 1/2 mile walk to beach. Couple miles from Oceano dunes. Hot showers. Can get windy. Dog friendly.

I skipped out on Oceano and came here hoping they might have something open. Turns out they had 8 and the park ranger let me drive in to scope it out. I picked a site close to the beach and even better my Oceano reservation could be transferred. Yay. Loved this campground so much. It’s well laid out and all the sites are well spaced and clean. The evening was much quieter, with a sunset and sounds of waves. A ten minute walk to the beach and right next to the butterfly grove. I have already made another reservation to see about the butterflies when they are in season. Pismo Beach is fantastic!

Probably just due to the time of year but this campground was way too rowdy for my taste, all the sites are close together and it seemed almost every site was a very large group, generators running after 10pm, amplified music and tv! If that’s your jam you’ll love it. I took off after 1 night.

Very well kept and clean. Shower area is very nice. Need a key code to go anywhere. Great amenities. Beautiful pool. An outdoor bar, but only open certain months. Nice group camping area. Green grass areas. Mini concrete pads though not perfectly level? Close to lots of wineries and a water park but not really safe to walk or bike to. Probably one of the most beautiful hot tub areas I've ever seen in an RV park

We stayed here for 3 nights in the summer, arriving on a Sunday, and it was great. I was worried about the heat, but it really wasn’t too bad, even on the hot days (low 90s) it cools down in the evening and didn’t get hot until early afternoon. Just be sure to get one of the shady spots! We set up in site #1 when we first arrived because it was private and had nice views, but it was way too much direct sun. We moved to #4 and it was much better- shady and even better views. 

There were other people here when we stayed here but everyone was very quiet and respectful, and we didn’t hear any shooting like other reviews have mentioned— this may be due to the ban on shooting (and camp fires) at this time because of fire danger, but I was still impressed and surprised that people respected the ban. There is one pit toilet that we didn’t check out, but man you can smell it if you camp in one of the sites near to it. 

We saw one volunteer/employee come and clean things up while we were here. We were pleasantly surprised that the trash wasn’t too bad here. No trash service so please pack out your waste. Cell service is good up at the campground, though you do lose it in parts on the drive up. We made it up in our 26ft class c no problem, though the road is narrow at times and we were glad we didn’t come across any oncoming traffic. Sites are relatively flat/ fixable with levels. Two of the sites are huge/ pull throughs so would be good for bigger rigs or big groups. If you get up here and all the sites are taken, there are several spots outside of the campground where you can disperse camp. 

This is an OHV area but we didn’t see any while we were here. We hiked along the OHV trails and there was nothing- but I could see it getting busy on the weekends. 

There's a 14 day stay limit. No water provided up here.

My only complaint was the BEES! They were everywhere and aggressive, and all in our face, but didn’t sting us. One of the campers said that this was unusual though. Really nice campground, amazing that it’s free! Thanks BLM!