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Best Equestrian Camping near Santee, CA

175 Reviews

Boulder Oaks Equestrian Campground offers horse corrals in a dedicated loop designed specifically for equestrians camping with their animals. Located in the Cleveland National Forest near Alpine, the campground provides clean vault toilets, trash collection, and drinking water for both campers and horses. Sites accommodate both tents and RVs with ample space for horse trailers. The campground connects directly to multiple trail systems suitable for day rides through diverse terrain. Sites are marked clearly with arrival and departure dates, making it easy to identify available spots upon arrival.

Sweetwater Summit Regional Park maintains several campsites with horse stalls for equestrian campers. The park features a mix of partial and full hookup sites, with the equestrian area designed to accommodate both camping needs and horse care. Trail access from the campground connects riders to the Bonita Valley trail system. The campground's proximity to grocery stores and restaurants (just a few miles away) allows riders to easily resupply during extended stays. Water spigots throughout the grounds provide convenient access for filling horse troughs. The campground remains open year-round, with trails offering varied terrain suitable for riders of different experience levels.

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Best Equestrian Sites Near Santee, California (18)

    1. Sweetwater Summit Regional Park

    33 Reviews
    Bonita, CA
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (619) 472-7572

    $34 - $38 / night

    "The campground also has some nice amenities: good trail system, a splash pad (open in spring and summer months), a playground, some areas to have a group picnic, even a large event room."

    "Close to the city, camp is clean and staff is friendly and helpful.

    Showers were clean, and partial hookups are only $35 a night. Cheapest I've found in California."

    2. Kumeyaay Lake Campground

    20 Reviews
    Santee, CA
    3 miles
    Website
    +1 (619) 668-2748

    $24 - $25 / night

    "Nice trails nearby and within the campground. The city of Santee was only 10 minutes away with plenty of stores and restaurants."

    "Campground was close to freeway exit and nearby local neighborhoods. Despite that, it still felt quiet and comfortable. Sites were clean snd a good size. Bathrooms were nice and clean."

    3. Thousand Trails Pio Pico

    13 Reviews
    Dulzura, CA
    16 miles
    Website
    +1 (888) 707-1477

    "Locations near Jamul Casino. Staff is kind and professional. Full hookups sites. Fill propano available. Spot are very big. The pool and kid playground are great."

    "Showers were nice and warm, and not coin operated - a rarity given the water droughts around CA."

    4. Paso Picacho Campground — Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

    23 Reviews
    Descanso, CA
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (760) 765-3023

    $40 - $250 / night

    "The only downside to this site is that it was very close to the bathrooms. That actually bummed me out a bit when we first arrived, but it ended up not being much of an issue at all."

    "The trash cans were just a few feet from the site and the bathrooms were a short walk just a couple spots away."

    5. Green Valley Campground — Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

    16 Reviews
    Descanso, CA
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (760) 465-3020

    $40 / night

    "Headed back to the ranger and they gave us an open disabled spot (we have a placard) in the horse camp. It was AMAZING. Large flat pad that had the sweet water river right behind."

    "While both have their positives, I personally love this one for its close proximity to the waterfalls that are a short trail from the campsites."

    6. El Prado Campground

    22 Reviews
    Mount Laguna, CA
    32 miles
    Website
    +1 (619) 473-2082

    $35 / night

    "This is the closest campground to the lakes. Just a couple steps away from the beautiful meadow it overlooks. Lots of trees for hammocking!!"

    "It is a big, big campground that is wooded and adjacent a large meadow, recreational area and lake (when not dried out, drought sucks)."

    7. Thousand Trails Oakzanita Springs

    6 Reviews
    Guatay, CA
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (888) 707-1477

    "The entrance is a hair-pin turn (from the south) and you'll need to go a little further north to turn around."

    "The drive getting here is wicked, if you’ve never been here before. In my scooter club, the San Diego Pharaohs, we’ve ridden up here in the mountains plenty, so I knew what I was in for."

    8. Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground

    5 Reviews
    Imperial Beach, CA
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (619) 428-2146

    $24 - $90 / night

    "There are nice trails and walking paths right from the campground."

    "There are walking trails walking distance from the campground and the playground in the park was very cool! If you have kids it would be a fun spot for them to play."

    9. KQ Ranch Resort

    9 Reviews
    Julian, CA
    28 miles
    Website
    +1 (760) 765-2771

    "Membership costs us around $2000 And have access to / 3000 different camp sites nationwide At any time of the year a drop of a dime essentially"

    "Great location and beautiful scenery in the mountains. The resort has lost of activities to participate in. Also, great hiking trails."

    10. Boulder Oaks Eqst

    4 Reviews
    Campo, CA
    31 miles
    Website
    +1 (619) 445-6235

    $20 - $50 / night

    "Nice big sites and an entire loop with equestrian sites.

    Pit toilets. One dumpster. Water.

    I was there May 5, 2024 and the fee was $14."

    "Found this spot after being turned away from lake Moreno campgrounds. Plenty of room for our trailer and enough space between sites to feel like we were alone out here."

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Recent Equestrian Camping Photos near Santee, CA

5 Photos of 18 Santee Campgrounds

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Santee, CA

175 Reviews of 18 Santee Campgrounds

  • K
    Sep. 27, 2022

    Dripping Springs Campground

    Very relaxing

    I was so excited to check this campground out. When my hubby and I arrived we automatically were happy. The campground was very clean, well ran, all sites were marked open or reserved with the arrival and departure date on it, bathrooms are the cleanest vault toilets we have ever seen (and we camp all over), there is a fire station located close to the campground which was good to know in case of fires. The host is very nice and helpful. If you have any questions or concerns he is happy to help! There is running water for dishes and campfires as well as horse corrals for your horse. Pull through sites for trailers. Everyone that was staying on the equestrian loop was amazing. Site 31 did have a problem with ants.

  • Sandra S.
    Mar. 13, 2023

    Kumeyaay Lake Campground

    Weekend Camping

    This campground is only open Friday-Sunday. Most of the sites were occupied but didn’t feel packed or overcrowded. Bathrooms were clean and had hot showers. Nice trails nearby and within the campground. The city of Santee was only 10 minutes away with plenty of stores and restaurants. Only complaint is the person next to us came back to their site at 4am and was loud. Overall great place to camp for the weekend!

  • B
    Jul. 8, 2017

    Sweetwater Summit Regional Park

    Good urban Experience

    This is a San Diego County Park/Campground. It offers everything from tent/car camping to full hook-up for large RVs. The campground also has some nice amenities: good trail system, a splash pad (open in spring and summer months), a playground, some areas to have a group picnic, even a large event room. There are about 60 camping spaces, mostly partial hook-ups (electricity and water) and a few full hook-ups (electricity, water, and sewer) in the original campground. These sites, 1-60 offer a bit more shade than the newer campsites which are all full hook-up. The newer sites (61 and higher) are on a hill and offer some good views of Bonita Valley. 61 and higher all are all full hook-ups - but you can put a tent on 'em.

    The campground is freeway close and only a few miles away from grocery stores and restaurants.

    This campground has a nice feel. It is a good place to unwind and enjoy a campfire and the whole camping experience. Good place for kids. There are several campsites with horse stalls for the equestrian campers.

    Sweetwater is perched near a Freeway/Toll Road (not a terribly busy one) and it is under the San Diego Airport glide path for incoming flights. So yeah, a little more city than some other campgrounds.

    At this time sites cost between $26 and $36 (?) per night. That gets yo one motor vehicle. Additional vehicles are $4 per night. There is a $1 pet fee, per pet.

    http://www.sdparks.org/content/sdparks/en/park-pages/SweetwaterSummit.html

  • Laura M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 21, 2023

    Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground

    So Close to Mexico!

    Nice basic county campground, everything is nice and new and clean. I think once the trees and bushes and things start to grow in, there will be a little bit of separation between the sites, but for now most sites are wide open. 

    The playground area is really cool, all the structures are made of wood and are all natural. Decent showers, you buy tokens from the ranger. There are nice trails and walking paths right from the campground. We didn’t walk to the beach because the area was flooded when we were there, but it appears that you can easily walk to the beach from the campground, it’s about 1.5 miles away. 

    Sites are all dry camping, no power or water at sites, and no dump station at campground. There are water spigots throughout the campground though to fill your jugs. There are yurts to rent, and some equestrian sites as well. The little loop off to the side is tents only. 

    You can see the border wall from the campground, and Verizon thought I was in Mexico when we arrived, haha. Good cell service with ATT and Verizon (not sure if Verizon switched me to the international plan during our stay there).

  • MomentoMori C.
    Nov. 30, 2020

    Sweet Oaks Winery - Temporarily Closed

    Great camping for newbies

    Sweet Oaks winery campgrounds has 16 sites available for both tent camping and RV’s (no hook-ups). It’s pretty close to grocery stores and big box stores just in case you forgot some gear/supplies. They have a beautiful well-kept property with super-clean restrooms (no showers). They do have a water hose for you to fill up your tanks or Jerry cans. They didn’t allow campfires due to high fire danger though. You’ll have to bring your own fire pit setup if they ever allow them in the future. It was a beautiful walk around the vineyards but there are also hiking trails nearby. It’s off a road suitable for road bikes but there are also mountain bike trails nearby. They have equestrian activities also available for guests. We were able to get our tin top Eurovan to fit on one of their tent sites which offered a beautiful view of Temecula valley. The wine tasting room was closed due to the pandemic but you can order wine online and they will deliver to your site. One more thing, we counted about 8 hot air balloons as we had breakfast!

  • Beth W.
    May. 7, 2024

    Boulder Oaks Eqst

    Beautiful and quiet

    Super cute area, and much cooler since it’s a little higher altitude. Nice big sites and an entire loop with equestrian sites.

    Pit toilets. One dumpster. Water.

    I was there May 5, 2024 and the fee was $14.

  • n
    Jun. 4, 2021

    Green Valley Campground — Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

    Horse camp blessing

    Was able to score a site that fit our 28’ trailer- joke was on us... there was NO way it could’ve worked, not to mention there was not a single other trailer, only tents. Headed back to the ranger and they gave us an open disabled spot (we have a placard) in the horse camp. It was AMAZING. Large flat pad that had the sweet water river right behind. Lots of area for the kids to play and ride bikes on the paved loop around the sites. The walk to the waterfall “hike” was manageable and another day we hiked to the airplane monument (don’t get your hopes up lol) and that was a solid moderate hike. Also drove out to hike to stonewall mine Beautiful weather and the falls were super fun to see, and splash in the top most parts (take a left at the split in the trail just at the bottom of the dirt little hill from the entrance)

  • K
    May. 21, 2018

    Green Valley Campground — Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

    Close and Perfect for Weekends

    This is my favorite out of the two campgrounds in the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. While both have their positives, I personally love this one for its close proximity to the waterfalls that are a short trail from the campsites. Depending on what campsite you are in, you can walk to the trail and down to the falls which are perfect for swimming around when it is hot outside. I love this campground for a quick weekend getaway from San Diego that has minimal preparation. Every site is a drive up site, most have shade and there are plenty of bathrooms. Most sites also have a fire ring and picnic table to use as well. A perfect, lower cost campsite that is great for families and people who want an easy camping experience with some water involved!

  • Dad & B R.
    Jun. 23, 2019

    Dripping Springs Campground

    Great hiking

    Make sure to reserve, spots fill up in the summer. Awesome hike and great campfire, camp host was nice and helpful. Site number 8 is great, also 7 (double site) and 29. Equestrian sites up the hill. Saw a few rabbits and lizards, not too loud, it’s peaceful and good distance between some sites. Heads up, site 3 is so small that I genuinely don’t know how anyone ever uses it. Even a one man tent would have to squeeze in. Most other sites have plenty of room though. Had a good time here. FYI: You can get firewood at Vail Lake RV Resort, right at the gate. $8 a bundle. Camp host let us know when we got in to Dripping Springs that some people had problems finding firewood. Another tip is to gather some kindling from the trails.

Guide to Santee

Horse camping in California offers a unique opportunity to explore the great outdoors while enjoying the companionship of your equine friends. With numerous campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to saddle up and hit the trails.

Equestrian campers like these nearby activities

Tips for equestrian camping near Santee, California

  • When visiting Kumeyaay Lake Campground, remember that it’s best to camp during the cooler months to avoid the summer heat while enjoying the nearby trails.
  • At Boulder Oaks Eqst, be prepared for a peaceful experience with clean facilities and ample shade, making it a comfortable spot for both you and your horse.
  • Hideout Mountain Campground provides a serene environment for equestrian campers, with easy access to trails and amenities for your horse.

Campers appreciate these amenities for horses

  • Thousand Trails Pio Pico features spacious sites with electric hookups, making it convenient for those traveling with horses and RVs.
  • At Oakzanita Springs, you’ll find well-maintained facilities and a friendly atmosphere, perfect for a relaxing stay with your horse.
  • KQ Ranch Resort offers a variety of activities for families and horses alike, ensuring a fun-filled camping experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Santee, CA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Santee, CA is Sweetwater Summit Regional Park with a 4.4-star rating from 33 reviews.

What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Santee, CA?

TheDyrt.com has all 18 equestrian camping locations near Santee, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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