Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, CA is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Find the best campgrounds near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
"All are location by the base MWR outdoor recreation facility which has all kinds of beach and camping gear available to check out, like snorkels and surfboards and more, and staff to advise about local"
"This is a wonderful campground right next to the beach however it is only available to the military and their families."
"From zipline obstacle courses to tie dye classes, this KOA easily occupies kids and has teepee and cabin rentals available for glampers, but nice showers, clean bathrooms and a roomy pool area really make"
"Staff was kind, helpful and available. Stayed in space #2. Right at the entrance. Sewer, water, 30&50amp, picnic table and fire ring included. House bathrooms available."
"Pool, hot tub, laundry, people friendly, picnic tables, fire rings and green grass every paved site. Buttt...266.00 2 nights!"
"It is close to the 101 freeway, you can hear the traffic, but that didn’t bother us. Just be aware, it’s not a super quiet place."
$150 - $185 / night
"SUPER fast wifi(if that’s your thing, we were here for a little under two weeks, so it was nice!), electric hookups, picnic table and fire pit!"
"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"
"A little remote and you have to drive to the nearest town(s), but clean grounds and nice site. Very easy to book online.
The RV park is pretty large so it's a nice daily walk."
"Plenty of spots around the grounds with 30 and 50 amp hook ups. WiFi is included with 3 pools and a hot tube, small store, and a really nice laundry facility."
$30 - $154 / night
"There is no running water, and the pit toilets are definitely of the smellier side, but clean nevertheless."
"It's about a 40 minute drive from the nearest town (and therefore the nearest gas station or market - plan ahead). There is no power, or water."
"Cool drive to get to the campground. You drive up and down these hilly roads up the mountain to get there. Once there, there's a parking lot that fits about 20 cars."
"Fun little campground with decent facilities and beautiful surroundings. Lots of trails all around with a nice hike of about 1/2 mile up to Millard Falls that is easy for kids and grown ups."
$150 - $154 / night
"They got a nice nature trail , this time there was decent size water flowing , got tables and bathrooms. There was a trail was had to much poison oak in the entrance we couldn’t enter."
ScoutFrom zipline obstacle courses to tie dye classes, this KOA easily occupies kids and has teepee and cabin rentals available for glampers, but nice showers, clean bathrooms and a roomy pool area really make this campground 5 stars.
GuideCool drive to get to the campground. You drive up and down these hilly roads up the mountain to get there. Once there, there's a parking lot that fits about 20 cars. There's about 100 yd hike to the campsites. There's a road that leads to the campsite but it's been blocked off. Only the campsite managers use that road so it's not accessible by RV, just tents. A campsite manager stays in a little trailer overnight so if there's any problems there's somebody there you can go to and ask for help. There's about six campsites and their first come first serve, no reservations. I went during the week and was the only one camping. This place is heavily used for day camping and hiking. There's not a lot of privacy because there's always lots of people passing by who are hiking and biking. You can stay overnight which I did and everything was fine but there's not a lot of privacy. The next day as I was leaving there was another guy sitting up his tent. I bet on the weekends they can fill up pretty fast. It's in Bear country so they provide food storage for each campsite also trash containers too. Each side has a picnic bench and a fire pit. The fire ban has been lifted so you can have a fire. Each fire pit had wood left at it so you didn't have to go searching for campfirewood. Bathrooms included male and female toilets but no showers or water. There's a creek that runs through the campground which makes it very pretty. I saw two to three cabins along the outskirts of the campground that I assume were for rentals. There was one family at one of the cabins the night I stayed. About a 20 minute hike and you can end up at a waterfall which is very pretty. But there are several trails to take for hiking and biking and I saw lots of people doing that. Overall a good campsite four stars. Would have been five stars if they had showers and running water. I didn't see any bears although there was an animal outside my tent at one point in the night I could hear him nosing around. So it's important to keep all of your food and anything with any kind of smell in the bear boxes
RangerChecked in the day after Thanksgiving without reservations. Staff was kind, helpful and available. Stayed in space #2. Right at the entrance. Sewer, water, 30&50amp, picnic table and fire ring included. House bathrooms available. And alot of family activity amenities. However all amenities were closed unbeknownst to us until after set up.
GuideWe recently stayed here, for the 1st time, last week. We decided to leave the travel trailer at home, and change it up! We stayed the 1st in a large teepee. It had beds for a total of six people. It was hot in the daytime, and got really cold at night, so we switched to a Glamping tent. The Glamping tent was nice! It had a very confortable queen bed, 2 lamps, a fan, a heater, a mini fridge and a microwave. It also had a futon type couch that made into a bed. Loved the Glamping tent.
Only downfall was, that the place does not enforce it quiet time rules. 10pm to 8 am. Late night loud groups, carrying on until 2 in the morning, loud obnoxious kids screaming at 6:15 in the morning...😩they have many beautiful Peafowl, and they can be loud too, but I only heard them once. The place has very nice tiled showers, with good water pressure, clean bathrooms, a big beautiful pool, but it was closed for the season.
There are fire pits throughout the 76 acre park, it was nice having a campfire, since so many places don’t allow them anymore...they have a very large jumping pillow for kiddos, my 6 year had a blast playing on it. They also have a zip line, but it was damaged in the large fire last year, and is being fixed currently. There is a stream that runs thru the property, it was fun to explore. They have a rock climbing wall, that is brought out on holiday weekends.
Lots of fun activities for kids, like crafts, making your own rocket to launch, etc. It is not the place to come, if you want a quiet, mellow place to read a book! It is busy, and loud. They do not have any laundry facilities, nor do they have a little store. The prices on everything are going up 10% on everything, next year. This means that most campsites with full hook-ups with be $ 71 a night, ( not bad ) but the large teepees will cost about $ 200 a night, and the Glamping tents, about $ 180 a night.
You can buy a KOA discount card, for just $ 30 bucks, and it gets you 10% off, each stay for a year. Valid at all KOAs in America, and some in Australia! We had a good time, and plan to go back in the summer next year. Hopefully, with our travel trailer, it will be less loud 😉
GuideAt first, we thought it was a tad pricey but after you realize what all you’re paying for ya wonderful!
We had an RV, two cars. and a tent and they allowed us to use one spot, for $30 a night! Which is pretty rare!
SUPER fast wifi(if that’s your thing, we were here for a little under two weeks, so it was nice!), electric hookups, picnic table and fire pit! AMAZING bathrooms and coin showers as well as coin laundry!
The ADORABLE town of Ojai is a quick 5 min drive up the road with anything you could ever want! The camp host is an amazing older guy, who’s incredibly friendly and takes pride in this campground!
They lock the gates at night (you can still get in and out!) so you feel safe, they allow pets, and even though it’s buy a road you don’t hear any noise at night!
Perk (or maybe not a perk if you’re not into it), it’s one of the most haunted campgrounds in the US!
TravelerBeautiful place. Pool, hot tub, laundry, people friendly, picnic tables, fire rings and green grass every paved site. Buttt...266.00 2 nights! Sprinklers go on at midnight and spray all over the RV 2025 just had detailed and arrived late so we had things on the picnic table. Have to wear wristbands. Hwy loud. And understandable that the beaches are gone from past storms flooding and fires. Overall it's a Beautiful place if you have money to throw away but have a safe locked down clean Beautifully maintained Park. You can't even use the grass next to the site lol We will be back hoping my hometown beaches will be getting back to pretty again. And blessed we have the money.
TravelerQuiet and nice 2-day stay. Alexi from reception was super nice and courteous. We couldn’t be more grateful to her! Our lot was secluded, private and close to the entrance/exit. The only thing was the unlevel ground we were on. Our RV was a simple 30’ rental without any leveling. Many peacock’s roam around the premises and they can be very intrusive! Playgrounds, zip lining and a massive bounce pad were all on site. Make sure you hike down to the creek!
ScoutThis was our first trip with our new motorhome and first camping trip ever. The staff was really friendly and accommodating. The grounds are nice and very large. Sites are easy to navigate and pull into, especially for a first timer.
The RV sites are pretty close together but the full hookups makes it really nice. Will stay here again and they are very pet friendly which was nice.
ScoutWe Stayed 4 nights in space 15 Saturday thru Wednesday. Saturday night was like spring break for 40 somethings, it was Loud and everyone had a beer or pot and the kids were running all around. It did quite down around 10 which was good so On one side of the coin is a packed camp ground with the sewer connection of your neighbor 6 feet from your picnic table. Every open space is filled and So tight I had to back out of a pull thru space because road was to narrow to make the turn pulling forward. There were so many people running their ac that my surge protector kept shutting off on “low current” below 104 voltes. At night when the breeze stopped the sewer smell was heavy. Also the road noise from 101 was nonstop. On the other side of the coin the employees were very helpful, small store on site had everything we forgot to bring. Close to beach and most of the time had a nice breeze. Lots of security and every interaction with the employees was excellent because they were happy and attentive. Unfortunately the employees are not enough to make me stay here again, the price is to high for constant noise and a nose full of sewer smell.
Experience the charm of cabin camping near the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, where nature meets comfort in a variety of scenic settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is Point Mugu Recreation Facility with a 4.2-star rating from 13 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 15 cabin camping locations near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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