Best Equestrian Camping near Taft, CA

Recent Equestrian Reviews in Taft

125 Reviews of 12 Taft Campgrounds

• S

  Susie B.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 30, 2024

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Please Don’t Tell Anyone About This — OOPS

  This is tragi-comedy: I was invited to a wedding in Santa Barbara. It was summer and the most fleabitten motel prices were astronomical. I began to look at campsites within driving distance, I was desperate. Booked Catchuma and thought, hoorah, I’ve defeated the tourism trap. 

  Well… from the moment I arrived . . . I really could not care less about the wedding. My god. I think I’ll leave it at that. 

  Bring binos. Boat, bring your canoe/kayak.

• M

  Michael B.

  Guide

  

  May. 1, 2024

  KCL Campground

  Quiet rolling hills

  Small campground for 12 smaller than 30 ft rigs or tents. Most are much smaller. Rough bumpy road for miles ether direction on a first come, first serve campground. Has vaulted toilet with no water or other services. If full, would seek off road area on right just as you approach. Has older building of interest. There was a great horned owl in one of the few eucalyptus trees at the campsite. Quiet and nice area to take a hike or two with pretty nice views if you like the high desert landscape. Warning not to travel dirt roads after a rain as you’re likely to get stuck. Better if you come in from the north side(58) on paved roads, but would limit you to boondocking likely because unable to get to this or Selby campgrounds. Selby is another first-come site to the NW

• 

  Julian M.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 7, 2024

  Sycamore Campground

  Birthday party

  Great weekend experience

• 

  Shari G.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 19, 2023

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Huge County Campground with Numerous Site Types

  The lovely county run park in the hills above the Santa Barbara coastline, is a great campground offering a wide variety of camping experiences from full hook ups to grass covered spaces under the trees along the shores of this lovely reservoir. The sites offer the usual camp picnic table and fire ring, and the many group sites offer large grills and even a few picnic shelters. 

  The sunshine is typically abundant in this California park, and even without full hook ups you can easily get all the power you need with an appropriately sized solar panel system. We’ve run on solar for over 10 years, and it saves us thousands of dollars each year for our full-time camping life. 

  The flush bathrooms are clean and spacious. Water spigots were plentiful throughout the campground. The coin operated showers got the job done, but since we were there during a chilly March, things could have been warmer. But hey, everything important got clean… 

  The lake is perfect for boating, but since it’s a drinking water reservoir, there is no body contact with this body of water. So plan on using the campground pool to cool off during the summer months. Hiking and mountain biking trails are abundant throughout the area, and kayaking, canoeing, fishing or sailing on the lake is the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

  The campground offers some excellent yurts and cabins for nightly rent right on the shores of the lake. These are often booked out so plan ahead. 

  The camp store offers enough grocery supplies in case you forgot something, including ice, snacks, fire wood, and gas.  There is also a cool pub down by the boat ramp which offers live music in the weekends.  The nearby tourist town of Solvang offers a great day trip to sample the amazing Dutch pastry treats, pick up some groceries, wine tasting, or a night out on the town.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 13, 2023

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Quiet in the off-season

  General: Many different options from tent sites to premium tent sites, water/electric, and FHU sites in addition to yurts and cabins. 

  Site Quality: Varies greatly depending on what type of site you choose. The only sites with gravel paved pads were the ones with water/electric hookups or FHU; all others were grass. Most seemed level. It was raining heavily when we were there and some of the sites were flooded. Very little to no separation/privacy between sites. We were in a w/e site, and it was long enough to easily accommodate two camper vans.

  Activities/Amenities: Off-season, everything was closed but in-season, there is a marina, boat rentals, restaurant, store, gas station, pool, and laundry. 

  Bath/Shower house: Clean but very basic. No hooks or shelves for toiletries. Cold water only. The shower looked nice but did not use so cannot comment on it. 

  IMO, the best options are the premier tent sites, yurts, and cabins as they offer the best lake views. We had not planned on camping here but after evacuating from Jalama Beach, we were told this park would honor our reservation. It rained most of the time we were there, and it was off-season, so I imagine it would be an entirely different experience in the summer when all amenities were offered and the campground was full.

• 

  Jenn-X •.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 28, 2023

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Cachuma Lake

  Sprawling campgrounds.

• j

  jerry

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 6, 2023

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Camp ground site 143 partial hook ups

  Stayed at camp site #143 no shade trees very dusty site. Rental boats pontoon type are brand new. Boat rental opens at 7am close at 7pm boat harbor is very nice with new boat docks. If going fishing the K boats are nice but anchor line to short to use I bring my own 50’ of anchor rope and use their anchor. Came hear to get away from all the illegal fire works where I live. Not one fireworks at the park yea the dog had a great nights sleep. Plus the swimming pool was great open from 12 noon to 5:30pm they have plenty of chairs and have life guards

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Apr. 22, 2023

  KCL Campground

  Beautiful, quiet and free

  7 regular campsites for car/ RV camping, and about 4-5 or so walk up sites behind the barn for tents only. There is parking at the barn. 

  Pretty busy little campground, but if you arrive and all the spots are taken I’d stick around because a lot of picnickers use camping spots for lunch and are gone shortly after. Not only that, but people kind of squeeze in any which way and make a spot for themselves for the night as well, and it was all fine.  The campground was so nice and quiet and peaceful - nobody had kids with them so it was just a mellow calm vibe the whole time, so relaxing.

  Very friendly and quiet vibes here, we really enjoyed it. Nice walking trails right from the campground as well.  Amazing wildflower blooms in spring.

  Toilets available, as well as water, but the spigot ran dry when we were here in April. 

  Zero Verizon coverage, even with the weboost, even from the top of the hill. ATT had good service, good enough for streaming and web browsing. 

  We made it here in our 26ft class c. The road coming in was rough but doable.  I wouldn't try coming in anything bigger, as it was we were the biggest giant thing there. We did fit in our spot along the edge but still felt very big.  The middle sites are not level but the ones along the edges were.

  Free, 14 day limit.  Ranger came through to check on things.

• 

  AM S.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 15, 2023

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Wholesome experience

  Something for everyone, no matter your level of camping. Staff was great when my car battery died too.

• 

  April C.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 14, 2023

  KCL Campground

  Great location

  Nice and clean. Vault toilets. There’s water, but not sure if it’s potable, there wasn’t a sign. No trash service, you have to pack it out. There is an area for your horse. Walk in sites, rv/car camp/van/tent sites. It’s first come first serve, no reservations and it’s free.

• R

  Roxy

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 8, 2023

  Reyes Creek Campground

  Nice stay but cold

  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.

• D

  Debbie M.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 9, 2023

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Excellent location

  We stayed during the recent storm of the century in Central California so weren’t able to take advantage of what the park has to offer. The sites are very long and not too jammed together. Immaculate bathrooms and showers. Close to Los Olivos (great wine tasting) and Solvang. Disc gold course.

• L

  Linda S.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 27, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Lots of different kinds of sites.

  Good experience overall. There are many kinds of sites including full hook up, partial, primitive, cabins & yurts. Many sites have views of the lake.

• 

  Jonah E.

  Scout

  

  Dec. 1, 2022

  Reyes Creek Campground

  Love this spot. No campsite map, made one here.

  I love this campground, but reserving a site is a pain since there isn't a site map. Here's the sites in the main loop. Hope you all find this helpful!

• m

  mary F.

  Legend

  

  Nov. 22, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Mostly a good camp

  Huge campground! Variety of sites from dry to full hookups. Anything with hookups is cramped though. We originally booked FHU and opted out for much more spacious dry site. Dry sites really vary but all are largish. Fire pit at 409 put in a strange location so that we is located on the back side of our trailer. Really no other way we could have configured it. For such a large park with so many amenities I cannot believe the dog park is downright tiny. But park during week is largely vacant so a lot of space to let your dog run (which is against policy). Sure the place is a muddy mess is the rain. Ground squirrels got the place all torn up but hey they were there first. Generally this is a great destination resort! Go see the monarch butterflies in Goleta in winter months. They overwinter there!

• 

  Emily B.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 9, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Clean campsite and facilities

  Okay so spot 289 has an amazing view - but somehow that gives your fellow camper the green light to just confidently stroll through your campsite without saying a word? I’m a small woman - was sitting alone in my site. A man just strolled up to take in the view right next to my tent. My dudes - please be aware of how eerie it can feel for a woman to have a man just assert his dominance and presence without permission!! I would never in a millions years just go hang out at another person’s campsite.

• l

  luis

  Scout

  

  Aug. 9, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Our first raid trip

  It was pretty clean. Everything was nice. Even the market was good. The only disappointing things was not be able rent a boat . There not strict with policy of 2 hours and return the boat back. That just the disappointing part of our trip. Rather then that it was pretty good.

• J

  Jay T.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 20, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Father’s Day weekend

  Nice camping. Plenty of spots and not very expensive $30 for a site.

• J

  Jon S.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 19, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Lake Cachuma Campground

  What a beautiful lake campground. Facilities clean, campground well maintained. Choose site well some have no shade.

• e

  eva

  Guide

  

  Jun. 15, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Nice campsite!

  It’s a Quite campsite near Santa Barbara if you don’t want to spend the night in the city! We booked the day before and as we arrived a few other sites were free. Showers are a bit expensive with 4x25ct per 3 minutes and the water can’t be stoped!

• 

  Jan G.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 18, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Loved this place!

  First: the bad… it was so windy and cold. Make sure you bring warm clothes!

  The good: nice level site, full hookup, picnic table, trees.. (hookup sites don’t have fire pits) Biking/hiking trail was nice:) And can bike and walk around campground! It’s a very big place to explore:) Great disc golf course!! Free to play! The store has camping items, some food (overpriced but that’s expected) , souvenirs, gas… We wanted to get propane when checking out, but nobody in the store knew how to do it, so we were told to come back in 1.5 hours, but we were leaving. It was too windy and cold to fish, which is why we went there:( check the forecast and any wind advisories!! Great restaurant, lots of space to explore. No human contact with the water. Don’t expect to swim.

• 

  Marie K.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 17, 2022

  KCL Campground

  Peaceful retreat in beautiful desolate Carrizo Plains

  Great little spot! I pulled in late at 10pm with my camper van. All the spots were taken except one tent camping spot - but it was super chill so im sure I could have parked in the large pullout just before the designated campground area. Just parked in the parking area of the camp area and slept in van. It was lightly drizzling when I woke up- absolutely beautiful! It was quite and everyone was very respectful. No water on site, people had campfires. Heads up - the road getting there is long and pretty rough, took a star for that - definitely washboard sections- so watch out for that. Happy camping

• 

  Michelle M.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 10, 2022

  KCL Campground

  Serene, simple and lots of wildlife

  This rustic campground offers an arid natural beauty with endless walking. It's a popular place for birdwatchers –the resident owls who roost in the eucalyptus trees above the campsites are very vocal and they inspire daily gazers donning binoculars.

  During spring there are poppy runs blooming in a couple places close to the campground. Venturing up on the ridges will yield a spare bit more floral variety if you watch the ground.

  It's BLM, so amenities are basic – be prepared to bring your own water, the single spigot isn't potable due to agricultural nitrate impact on the water table. Vault toilets are kept clean, but bring your own tp if you arrive after the weekend. Not smelly, the rooms are airy, fairly large and free of flying bugs.

  Surprisingly, my TMobile was fairly consistent 90% of the time and I was able to tether my laptop/kindle to my phone on occasion. This allowed me to extend my stay and upload my artwork.

  It's an inspiring place for creativity. And I was so happily surprised to hear a group of really excellent blue grass musicians playing from the campsite across from mine during the first few days when I arrived.

  Most sites are back-in. There are a few sites that could accommodate RVs-dry camping only, all sites include a gravel tent pad, concrete table, post for hooking up things, and a fire ring. And there is an adjacent lot for the four walk-in sites behind the barn. No fires permitted in the walk-in area.

  The 19mile access road from highway 33 can be grueling in places with heavy washboard.

  But for the walks, stargazing, creative inspiration and abundant wildlife, the payoff is well worth the driving effort. And there are more remote opportunities in the nearby hills for folks with good tires, who prefer a quieter boondock place to camp.

• 

  Stephanie M.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 1, 2022

  Cachuma Lake Recreation Area

  Recreational Hot Spot

  This campground has everything! The site are large with fire pit and picnic tables. There is a general store, restaurant with live music, disc golf, water sports, and hiking trails. Love coming here annually to enjoy being tucked away in Santa Barbra.

• C

  Cliff K.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 21, 2022

  KCL Campground

  Standard spot

  Bathrooms, vaulted tent spots, fire pits. Has a water spigot but doesn’t work (maybe off during winter?) trail to hill top. Equestrian site for sure.

• J

  Jaime E.

  Traveler

  

  Jan. 18, 2022

  Reyes Creek Campground

  Perfect little spot

  First off, Jade the camp host, has to be one of the nicest people We’ve ever met! Super helpful and informative! We stumbled across this place as our original plan fell apart. Lucked out on a site and enjoyed a quiet, relaxing overnight trip. Sites were clean and kept up, bathrooms were clean and there was a nice little creek, perfect for a stroll.

• K

  Katie H.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 17, 2022

  KCL Campground

  Boondocking (not in KOA campground)

  Carrizo plain in the “off season” is great! Cast open spaces and views. Not a lot of people, but tons of beauty.