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.
One of the best places for Malibu Camping is Malibu Creek State Park, just 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles, features hiking, fishing, bird watching, mountain biking, rock climbing and horseback riding opportunities.
Fourteen-mile Malibu Creek is the principal watercourse of the Santa Monica Mountains that ends at Malibu Lagoon. There are 15 miles of streamside trail through oak and sycamore woodlands on chaparral-covered slopes. Following the trail along Malibu Creek State Park, the visitor will be treated to spectacular vistas, including volcanic rock gorges, scenic pools, and breathtaking views of the Las Virgenes Valley and Malibu Canyon.
Previous to being opened to the public in 1976, the park was used extensively to film numerous movies and TV shows, such as Planet of the Apes and MAS*H. Most of the park's land holdings were donated by Bob Hope, with later significant acquisitions from Ronald Reagan and 20th Century Fox.
$45 - $225 / night
Lake Casitas camping offers over 400 sites, so you can choose the camping experience that suits you best. Some sites are lakeside, close enough to hear the lapping water, others are nestled among the trees, and still more are located on hillsides offering splendid views of the sparkling lake.
We have sites to accommodate tents, tent trailers, campers and RVs, all with picnic tables and fire rings, and some with children's playgrounds close by. Shower houses with bathrooms are located at the front gate and towards the back of the park. We also have a convenient, fenced, dry storage facility for recreational vehicles, boats, canoes & kayaks
UPDATE as of 10/10/20
Requires military ID and only open for Active Duty for camping at this current time. People can use the Day Use with proper identification
Ventura Beach RV Resort is located just off the 101 freeway in Ventura, California. The resort is a lush 14 acres and offers RV and tent sites ranging from standard to ultra deluxe sites. As well as travel trailer rentals, poolside yurts, and a summer studio.
The resort has a refreshing heated swimming pool and inviting hot tub. A recreational room with billiard tables, a flat screen television, an ATM and vending machine. You can also enjoy our playground and half basketball court.
$55 - $75 / night
This is a nicely maintained municipal water reservoir with a very large lake. No swimming allowed, but boating is. Go figure.
There are campgrounds with hookups that are only available for RVs. There is one Campground -Indian- that has a mixture of tent and RV sites with hookups available but it was under maintenance when I was here this weekend. So all the rest of the areas that do have hookups do not accommodate my truck and tent rig. And there are no 110V or 30a outlets available for people who are traveling light -with solar and a minimum amount of panels, where you might need to plug in once in awhile- they can't cover you here. Too bad no one thought of that when they were designing this place, because it's an awfully big place with a lot of sites.
So we're leaving today to find another place to weekend.
But two nights next to the lake, in the campground called Mallard was lovely as can be. Next time I'll come out with more panels to keep my pair of EcoFlow RiverPro solar generators topped up.
Youre packed like sardines but it's beachfront. It's noisy if you have party neighbors but they do turn off the music by 1030 ish so it's enforced. You hear planes flying and tmobile wifi is not great at the campground but good when on the beach front. It's at prime location in LAX so that was nice to go around town. Has full hookups. We would come back again if we need to be near LA area.
This is such a nice and small campground, it's low key and seems to be overlooked because there always seems to be sites available.
We stayed in site #13, which is a weird "pull in" site, which in all the traveling we've done, we've never stayed in one before. So you pull in forward (not back in), because all your hookups are to the left of the site, on the driver's side. Which is fine, except that unless you have a long sewer hose, your hose won't reach from the back of your RV to the sewer connection. Luckily there were vacant spots when we left, so we backed into a vacant spot with a traditional setup and dumped on our way out.
The best part of this campground is the creek that runs behind it. It's so nice and refreshing on a hot day, and safe for little kids to splash around in. There's also a park, day use area, playground, and some sort of meeting spot adjacent to this campground. The showers were nice (coin operated) and as a full timer I always love to see laundry machines at campgrounds.
Pricey, but that's just the norm now. I think our one night was about $50. Great little place.
Crowded sites, horrible check in, rude people, owner is extremely unpleasant
Great campground, Great spots but unfortunately bit expensive .Very disappointed about the rules regarding fire, but I understood. I left from the campground after the sunset...fire allowed only with courchal...
We stayed in Loop A on a Thursday night in July. For us, it was a convenient overnight stop. It was a lot less crazy/ crowded than we expected for an LA County campground in the middle of summer! This site is on the lagoon, not the main lake, but had nice views and a good breeze in the heat. Very minimal space, not much shade. But the real issue was that the bathroom stalls in our loop (A) had no doors. I also doubt they are cleaned daily, though it wasn't terrible. Being close to the city, there were a ton of people meandering around, but they all seemed to be doing their own thing (e.g fishing or just walking), few suspicious characters. Lots of families and kids made it feel fairly safe for an urban campground. Not our favorite, but we would stop over here again in a pinch.
Just to be clear, I love lake Casitas. I grew up camping here with my family. The reason I’m writing this review is to warn pet owners about the abundance of foxtails and burs. We have 2 poodle mixes with med-long hair and they both ended up with their fur filled with burs and foxtails. So much that it required a vet visit. This was from a weekend camp in our RV that had a large rug and they have raised dog cots.
Great spot! Been here 2 times already!
Quiet 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!
Good campground, convenient location, nice WiFi. Sites are pretty close together, some sites had limited sun in December.
Dockweilder is an awesome camping experience if you love the beach and airplanes. With LAX less than .5 miles away, you get the pleasure of plane spotting 24/7. The bike path is in front of the campground and it will take you all the way to Redondo Beach or Santa Monica.
Check out the local town of El Segundo. It has some great dining options and looks like Mayberry.
Cell Reception: Great
The RV park has a hookup area and a dry camping area. The hookups are full of large rigs, very close one with another, in a parking lot style. The dry camp provides much more space, but only relatively small RVs.
Pros: The park is right next to the beach, walk 1 minute and you're there. There's also a bike path that goes for miles both north or south - great for an early workout. Restrooms are clean and have showers.
Cons: You will hear each and every if the planes taking off from LAX, but at one point you don't hear them anymore. It was not really annoying, but that flight at 5a was...
Economical for California and the area. Off the beaten path from all the craziness by the beach.
We are just passing through CA or it would not be my top spot. They nickel and dime a lot of things, showers pets. We paid online and we pull up and all of a sudden getting charged $5 a day extra for pets including a cat that doesn't leave the camper. Was not thrilled about that.
Otherwise, it was scenic, had a camp store, was close to restaurants, had a gate to drive into, so the place was pretty secure. Seemed like a lot of people gathered on the weekends.
We had the dirt campground which wasn't my favorite but all that was left, while the other campgrounds had cement pads. It was still pretty level.We did have cell reception, nice views and they had a water park for kids during summer months, though wasn't open while we were there.
Nice campground. Plenty of things to do. Jump pad, pool, zip line, playground, creek. Front desk staff was exceptional. Few cons. Park was a bit dirty lots of trash around and generally not very clean. Bathrooms were really gross. Facilities were a little run down. Our spot was tiny but most others seem descent sized
We loved the atmosphere. Small well maintained and cute, outdoor shower was a highlight!
Los empleados que nos atendieron fueron muy desagradables, se estaban riendo de nosotros literalmente. Tras pagar la reserva nos dice que nuestro Jeep Wrangler no puede acceder al camping porque no está camperizado, cuando nosotros disponemos de fregadero, nevera, cocina. Todo ello incorporado en el vehículo . Se negaron a comprobarlo. Y simplemente nos dijeron que tardarían entre 40-60 días en devolvernos el dinero.
Camped here 4th of July weekend and it was quiet and family friendly. Bathrooms were clean, people were respectful, and it was just an all around nice place to camp - expensive though.
This campground had nice facilities, but the general store was minimal due to the old one burning down while trying to dry it out after the flooding. The pool was still closed and there was no pancake breakfast. The bathrooms were clean and in good working order (you need a code to get in). The sites were tightly packed together and there were lots of annoying teenagers running around and music blaring, kids on bikes and scooters, etc. It did quiet down at 10:00ish, so that you could hear the cars rushing along the freeway all night. There was a movie playing that night with free popcorn. The beach and town are a hike from the campground. The site was a double back in, but our sewer hose wasn’t long enough to reach the hookup. Even if we were looking for that atmosphere, the cost was absolutely not worth it. However, we took a tip from another reviewer and went to the Saturday farmers market which was fantastic!
As other(s) indicated before - the campsites I saw were right next to the trail leading up to the falls. Beautiful area, trail and falls (especially right now - May 2023) but I definitely wouldn't want to camp here.
This is a huge place, with lots to do. Not a good place if you're looking for a low key, quiet, simple camping experience. There's a water park here as well, currently closed for renovations but apparently opening soon (and apparently water park fees are rising from $17 to $23, not sure).
The campground is broken down into a bunch of different camping loops, each with different amenities and vibe.
There's a market here with basic fun camping supplies, as well as a propane tank to refill your RV tanks. Price of propane is high here, but really there aren't many options in the area (there's a Corner Market down the road with very slightly lower prices).
The lake itself is beautiful and right in the middle of the entire recreation area. I believe boating and fishing is allowed but swimming is not - double check that info if that's important to you.
Good cell service here at the park but the entire area is iffy and you're driving around so heads up on that.
This RV park had some severe storm damage in early 2023, and at this time is partially open. They are still cleaning up and fixing up the place - check their website for updates. They are planning for a soft reopening and a grand reopening soon! They are great at caring for their guests - they have all kinds of amenities, and they have a weekly weekend pancake breakfast.
We love this area - it's right near the Emma Wood State Beach, and just a short walk to downtown Ventura. Main St in Ventura is closed off to vehicles and is a fun place to walk and shop and eat and hang out and people watch. Saturday mornings there is a huge farmers market as well.
This is a wonderful campground right next to the beach however it is only available to the military and their families. The spots are all paved with most having all the hookups but it is in need of updates. You can’t beat the location though.
Nice dry camping sites next to the beach with clean bathrooms. Hot showers for men but not for women...probably it was just a problem in the morning.
The sites are clean and the pads are very flat. Makes leveling a breeze. Great store with a ton of stuff from wood to ice to food, wine and kids toys.
We are at site 53. Close to restrooms and showers. Our kids love all the extra activities like the playground and jumping pillow. They are too short for the high ropes course but would love to do it when tall enough. The pool isn’t open yet either but they are having a great time with what is available.
Reyes Creek was great. The drive was nice, very scenic. The campsite was nice but small. Campsites are very, very close together. Some are smaller than others. Especially closer to the creek are smaller. The bathrooms are very clean for a campsite bathroom. Jade was very helpful and informative. She told us about two trails, we did the lighter one that was very nice. I can see this place being very nice in the summer. The weather on the apps are wrong. You have to google a few things to get the right weather. It was much colder than expected at night, woke up to 29 degrees F and ice on my tent and car windows. Other people with us said they had ice in their tent.
This county park campground is packed full on the weekend. Many big rigs are shoehorned in, making me feel kinda cramped. There are many trees and plantings, so it’s not a parking lot. No sewer, and $15 dump station is in town, 2 or 3 miles It felt like everyone here knew each other, and we were intruding on their party.
Camping near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking to pitch a tent or park your RV, there are plenty of options to explore.
Camping near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California, offers a unique blend of nature and adventure. Just be prepared for the quirks of each campground, and you'll have a great time!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is Malibu Creek State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 29 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area?
TheDyrt.com has all 15 glamping camping locations near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, with real photos and reviews from campers.
