Best Tent Camping near Sunset Beach, CA

Campground is separated by large parking spots (class A/C or travel trailers) and the other is geared towards smaller setups (smaller trailers and tents). Some spots have great shade over the picnic table (we hung our hammock on ours), and all of the tent sites have fire pits. Some units are on a slope so keep an eye out for that if you are tent camping. Bathrooms were clean and showers have token dispensers right by the showers. Got pretty cold at night.

Does not allow tent camping

Cottonwood is for the true RV’ers. Lakeside is more for tent camping. Nice park for family camping.

Walk to the beach is kind of long. Camp is on the bluff! We tent camped and had a good time

We tent camped here. The campground is large, so most spaces have a lot of room. Lots of amenities for those that need them. Short walk to the beach. Some seasons, the beach is very rocky and difficult to swim.

We tent camped here. The sites are TIGHT sand the campground crowded. BUT, the tent spots are ocean front. It was wonderful! so for that I could overlook the crowded sites. It is more for surfing than playing in the waves on the beach, there are rocks spread out making it less enjoyable for kids, but our crew were happy there.

If you want tent camping on the coast, this is one of the few SoCal offerings that provides. The shortcoming is the proximity to the railroad, especially that 4am freight line which I’d be shocked didn’t wake everyone up who was tented. Other than that, the wave is worthwhile, but will require a lil hoofing to get ya there. Amenities were better then anticipated

Very well maintained campground with RV and tent sites. It’s right on the PCH so you get some great views of the pacific and the beach is just across the highway. It’s a bit noisy since the PCH is a heavily traveled highway and isn’t very remote, if that’s what you’re looking for. Great campground for families.

This is a great park in Southern Orange County. I have tent camped here for years with my kids in the Live Oak campground and never had a bad experience. There are hiking trails everywhere with lots of wildlife to watch. I switched to a travel trailer several years ago and now use Ortega Flats campground. The sites are big and well spaced, with 30 amp electric. The water is off for the time being. The dump station is very close by and easy to access.

We tent camped here. It’s a nice campground, clean with lots of amenities for those that need them. The vegetation is mostly brush, so not much shade from trees. In the summer, that can make it very hot. The walk to the beach is long for small kids, but if you want to gamble for a parking spot at the beach, your camp pass allows you to park at several nearby other beaches. They had a great Junior Ranger program offered, our kids loved it!

We stayed at Cabin Flat several years ago, and it's one of the most difficult campgrounds to reach near Wrightwood in the Angeles National Forest. To get here, you need to take the Blue Ridge Trail Road from Inspiration Point off of Highway 2. This road is closed during the winter, as it traverses through Mountain High Ski Resort. That said, the campground itself is very basic. I would not recommend bringing an RV here as the dirt road to get down is winding and bumpy. Tent camping only.

This is a great small, hike in camp ground with no privy but decent tent sites. There's no running water but the creek is usually running so come prepared with your own water and something to treat the creek water with. Check for fire restrictions and dig your cat holes at least 200 feet from the water. Or bring WAG bags and pack it back out. Very much like Hoegees campground. Good for families abs Scouts.

After experiencing both amenities this place is more or less for RVs and 4/10 as for they do have the tent camping on the steep incline and not too many sites but for RVs couldn't be happier plus the people here are nice and friendly you do have your Karen's but you're going to have them everywhere we enjoyed the lake the view the weather it could have been better over here will definitely be returning you can stay for 20 days and then you have to leave for 60 days and that's fine with me I'm looking forward to returning

We recently tent camped here for 5 days, space 138. Since we were here, Sunday - Friday, we didn't get any weekend crowds, and the days we were here, it seemed more 1-2 night use in the spaces around us.

There are pay per use showers, and flush toilets, that were both clean and had plenty of TP.

I think the wood bundles were $8 from the Ranger stop, but we had bought some in San Clemente before hand.

the long hike to the beach is fairly easy, but long, at least 30 minutes walking on a dusty trail. but it was better than trying to find parking.

Giant oval loop with camp sites all along both sides. Rv sites, tent sites and equestrian (horse) sites. Paved road is good for bike riding. Behind my Camp site was a few different hiking paths. Restroom buildings have water, toilets, and showers. It says to bring quarters for the showers but they were free. Each site is typical... Picnic bench, fire pit, and metal grill. No gathering fire wood, gotta buy it at local grocery or gas station. $20 a night. Lots of families with kids. Feels really safe here. Saw the park rangers driving around and the front has a gate guard who checks you in. Also only 10 minutes away from city.

Believe it or not, this was the first camp spot we stayed at with my family and it was my wife's first time ever camping since! We stayed in the premium tent campsites on the bluff that overlooked the beach. These are the best sites hands down in the whole campground. We camped here no problem in our sprinter van.

There are bathrooms and showers are good and nice hot water. There is a coin dispenser there.

The downer is that I thought our camp spot would be closer to the overlook, but it's actually just a parking spot with a grass spot and then walk over to an overlook. We only stayed one night as we were passing through, but would stay here again if we were in the area.

Also, we got there relatively late so the office was closed, got a ticket in the morning and had to walk all the way to the office to get us checked in properly. These premium sites are furthest away from the office just FYI.

I stayed here Labor Day weekend for tent camping! So, since I don't plan to camp here again for awhile, I should let you in on the secret(?) that the best campsite is Site 29!!! Reserve this one if you can!! It's the furthest away from the road and taxi dropoff, so it can be frustrating if you have to lug all your stuff, but it's well worth it. This site is much larger than the other sites. I think it's because it's at the end and it's not big enough to make into 2 separate sites. There's also a lot of shade relative to the other sites, which generally don't have much. This of course changes depending on the time of day. Site 29 also seems to be more separated from the other sites, whereas the other sites seem to be stacked on one another. 

The ranger was very helpful. The bathrooms were pretty clean and well-stocked the whole time, which is impressive since it was such a busy weekend. 

The shuttle is $2 exact change.

I appreciate that there are covered trash cans scattered amongst the sites so we don't all have to lug our trash to a big smelly dumpster. 

The ranger said that AT&T and Verizon have service at the campground. My friends have Sprint and they did not have service. 

Ok that's all I can think of for now. Have fun camping here! :)

I have been to this campground twice now. I would love to go back again one day. There is a nice size creek that runs adjacent to the campsites, which appears to run only during snow melt. It was dry one of the times we camped there, the other time it was flowing very good. I would estimate that it was probably around 40-50 feet wide when we went there. You do have to drive through the creek to get to the campground, so a small car probably would not be advisable when it is really flowing. I drove my small Toyota pickup through it with no problem.

A forest adventure pass was required.

Campsites were very clean. Has pit toilets, which were also very clean. No electricity or water at the camp site. No dump station. Has fire rings.

We tent camped both times.

A mother bear and her two cubs did visit us on one of the visits. We did find what looked like mountain lion footprints. There is wild life. No bear containers at the time.

This campground is nestled in a valley/canyon and is next to Fenner Canyon Conservation Camp #41.

There really are no views other than the surrounding trees and landscape, but was still very beautiful.

It is a very quiet place to stay. Depending on the traffic from the nearby Highway 2, you might hear some of that traffic, but it is not bad at all.

At the time of visiting, we did not have cell phone service in that canyon.

I took my family here for a 5 night stay during the week from Sunday to Friday.

Although the park itself is clean and rangers are nice I did not feel safe with the amount of permanent campers and sketchy characters camping here. There were mostly beat up rv’s with beat up cars next to them and very few families tent camping.

The gates never closed so there were cars coming and going at all hours of the night. The first night we had neighbors right next to us show up at 10:30pm to setup camp. They were extremely loud and didn’t care who heard them. We gave them the benefit of the doubt for a good hour or more thinking once they got their tent up they would quiet down. That never happened. This couple continued being loud and even left in their car at midnight playing loud music to then come back and continue being loud once inside their tent. We could not sleep with their constant talking. At one point they left their campsite on foot and went right through ours. When they returned about an hour later they were laughing and doing who knows what in their tent. They continued their own party until 4:30am.

Although there is a host on site rangers seem to disappear and go home well before 10pm which is considered quiet time.

There was absolutely nothing we could do from our tent. There was no answer when calling so we lost a whole nights sleep.

Once the sun came up we decided to see what these neighbors looked like so we could kindly ask them to be quiet the next night as we were staying 3 more nights. They looked like the type of people who wouldn’t care and we did not want them to retaliate against us. We did talk to the ranger station but they didn’t seem to want to address the situation besides offering a different site for us. We had to tear down everything and move camps. After multiple loading trips we were at our new campsite. We were just happy to be away from those sketchy people.

The next nights we tried to make the best of it but I wasn’t fully comfortable and didn’t feel safe in this campground knowing anyone could just drive in whenever they wanted.

If you’re looking for a safe campground to take your family look at a campground that has a strict quiet policy and a closing time so there is no entry after 10pm.

Talk about the views! This campground is located above San Clemente State Beach and offers a short walk to a tunneled beach access under the train tracks and spectacular sights.

With 160 sites to choose from, including ADA accessible, that are a good size, multiple bathrooms with hot showers available, hiking trails, and close to the town, this is a must to try!

Dogs are allowed but must remain on a leash no longer than 6 feet. I tied mine on a long leash to the overhang like everyone else and it was fine.

Tent Site Amenities:

Firepit with grate, picnic table, overhang and some have water spigots. All sites can accommodate two cars, the first is included in your fee and the second can be added for an additional $15 a night. The bathrooms are cleaned every morning around 10/11am.

The front gate opens at 6am and closes at 10pm with the exception of the gate code from a Ranger upon request.

Not everything can be perfect, no matter how beautiful. Here are some cons to consider that I have come across:

During the spring and summer there are ants everywhere. Skunks are desensitized to humans and will walk right up to forge through your trash. For the sites further from the ocean, the constant freeway noise is noticeable and if school is in session, the local elementary children's screams can become annoying. Some sites are a little too close to eachother unless you reserve those for a large party, then it makes sense as to why they are close. But if you want your own space and little bit of privacy, it can be annoying. I noticed a few like that.

Overall it is one of my favorite places to camp! I just can get over the scenery.

You can find all the info to book and see pictures of each campsite on www.reservecalifornia.com