Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

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.

Hardly anyone there when I went in March and felt like I had the place to myself! Hot showers and picnic table available. Just a 1 min walk down the hill to the lake - a perfect place to have my morning coffee! They allowed pets which is awesome. Super quiet, lots of stars, and a beautiful view. Couldn’t ask for better!

Even though you are lined up next to your neighbors, noise just doesn’t carry because the roar of the ocean is so loud! It’s amazing to fall asleep to. We loved exploring the sand dunes across the street and even saw a pod of dolphins! Restrooms were well maintained and staff was friendly. A huge bonus is that it was pet friendly, but most of the trails around are not.

This 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.

Casitas Lake near Ojai in Ventura County has something for everyone, especially parents with children off from school in the summertime. The campgrounds are spacious and clean and there are at least six different types from basic tent on dirt all the way up to executive motorhome with all hook ups. Prices vary from 35 to 55$ for tents on dirt to 65-75$ for RVs with hook ups.There is also a charge for a vehicle, boat, pet, etc. The highlight for families though is the waterpark. Open during the summer, it’s perfect for the younger kids when it’s hot.Always check current Covid restrictions as most water parks are closed.

This is a very nice campground near everything but still away from it all. No issues parking our 42' 5th wheel here. Clean and quiet despite the peacocks. They can be rather loud when startled. I swear they could hear my morning alarm and squawked their disapproval. The camp host Shawn is AMAZING! Bathrooms are very clean. Showers are coin operated. DO NOT expect cell service. I could only work from this spot by placing my mobile HomeFi router on top of the camper. Our Verizon phones were paper weights. Make sure your reservations are complete online before arriving. The Rangers check the spots multiple times a week. The kids enjoyed the playground and fields. It's not uncommon to see and hear movie/TV production crews at the filming locations along the road. Pet friendly but be careful at night. Mountain lions were spotted while there.

Campground has three separate site loops with about 90 Dry Camp camp locations. Water spigots are available in some areas, but not for permanent hookup. I was here in November and it was pretty empty except for the weekend. Some people changed their minds about camping as often in California, there is high risk of fire and no campfires or BBQ's were allowed.

Common areas and every other site was closed due to Covid restrictions. Camp host was very friendly. Some nice hills for hiking and Pyramid lake was close by, paid access to the lake was not included in campground fees.

Restrooms are available and cleaned daily.

I enjoyed my stay here and there was plenty of room for walking my dogs.

  This is one of our favorite spots, incredible ocean views and 1 1/2 mile dog friendly beach. Each site, along old PCH, is 45' long. Spots along the seawall can accommodate bigger rigs. Added bonus @ nearby Hobson Beach is their great pizza & calzone. At the southern end is Faria Beach with excellent homemade coffee cake. Our dog Libbi's favorite camping spot.

This is a very beautiful area, tons of hiking and even some swimming areas that can be hiked to. Lost of filming has been done here, and there’s some cool landmarks to see. Always check before hand if the grounds are open, on occasion I have gone and they’ve had it closed. Also something to be aware of, they do not allow dogs, big bummer. Years ago, I saw dogs in the park, but the last time I went, they were not even allowed in. Otherwise it’s a very pretty place.

All in all we like this campsite and will return. Our experience was fantastic mostly because the campground was empty (only campers Friday night, 2 other sites filled Saturday).  Views from upper campsites are beautiful (we stayed in site #14), and on a full moon the sound of coyotes cackling throughout the valley is a nice way to fall asleep.

For our purposes:

• Dog Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Toddler Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pros:

• Beautiful views
• Not crowded 
• Dog Friendly
• Play area for kids
• Clean bathrooms (portable bathrooms in some parts of campground)
• Friendly rangers

Cons:

• Water spigots are available but inconvenient for most sites.
• Terrain is uneven for tent pads in many sites
• No good dog friendly hikes directly accessible from camp ground (lots within a short drive)
• Our site was poorly maintained. Broken glass all over, broken fire pit, lots of scattered branches.
• Little bit of road noise, not too bad though.

This was a cool spot. There are a mix of nice open campsites, and more intimate ones. Nice short walk to the beach where dogs are welcome.

Carpinteria SB is one of our favorite places to camp.  Anacapa and Santa Cruz sections are all dry camping and larger sites.  The other two sections have hook up sites but the sites are very tight.  Anacapa section is right next to a large grassy area and park.  We like to take our dog to play fetch there and we take out daughter to the park at least a few times a day.  Dogs are allowed in the campground but not on the beach, so the grassy area by the park is a great alternative if your dog has a lot of energy.  The town of Carpinteria is super cute with lots of shops and restaurants to walk to.  Island Brewery is walking distance.  They usually have a food truck in the later afternoons and also have a little kids room with toys to keep the kids busy :-)

I would say the only downfall is the train is right next to the campground and it does go by multiple times a day/night

$10 per night per person, max 2 nights and 48 hour wait before you can come back. Max 5 times per year.

Took my son here for a weekend to explore Santa Barbara. There is no overnight parking in the park unless you have a previously reserved car camping campsite. We walking in with our belongings and there was three other campers on their bikes. Short walk to the Amtrak Surfliner, restaurants, dogs are allowed on a leash on the campsite. There is a dog beach a few minutes walk away.

There’s 3 fire pits for H&B campers, a Food box and a bike rack.

I really liked this place, and would definitely go back. This is on the smaller scale of campgrounds, which is very nice. Less chance of drunk, noisy neighbors. When we went, us, and the other family we went with, were the only ones in that particular section. The kids had plenty of room to run around and get dirty, and there was a playground with an old school merry-go-round within sight of where our spot was. RV’s are allowed as well, but those sites are separate from the tent sites, which is nice too. The drive was 45 minutes to an hour from our house, which was great. You don’t have to go far to go camping. The one drawback was the camp host. We always bring our dog with us, who is a diabetic alert service dog for our two boys. This particular person kept telling us that the dog had to be on a leash, and that he was not allowed in the playground area. We explained to her that he was a service animal, and is allowed under the ADA to go anywhere. She wasn’t having it. Hopefully this person’s time as the host is over, because this really is a great spot.

Anyone with a disability and/or a service dog.. do not try to stay here. They refused us entry because they didn’t approve of her breed. I explained that she is a service dog that has been trained and her handler, require her in order to provide life saving measures. They refused. I let them know they have broken state and federal law and it was probably a mistake on their part and should reconsider. They refused. I hesitated posting about them until clearance from disabled Americans discrimination attorney approved. Appears I am good to go in letting everyone know what they have done. Do not, under any circumstances, spend your money at a campsite that outright discrimates against those with disabilities. Disgusting 🤢

We were driving by and saw this campground. We stopped and were able to easily get a spot online. Very mellow and good for road bikers. Super dog friendly.