Looking to get away and reconnect with nature? Glamping near Ventura is the perfect choice. The Dyrt can help find the best glamping in and around Ventura, CA. Search nearby glamping or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Twelve miles south of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria camping offers a mile of beach for swimming, surf fishing, tidepool exploring and camping. Although dogs are not allowed on beach, we have a great picnic area where they are allowed to enjoy the outdoors as well. Lifeguards patrol the beach year round and lifeguard towers are staffed roughly from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. The Spanish named the area Carpinteria because the Chumash tribe, which lived in the area, had a large seagoing canoe-building enterprise, or "carpentry shop" here. This was because of naturally-occurring surface tar, which was used to waterproof the canoes.
Seals and sea lions can be seen in the area December through May, as well as an occasional gray whale. Tidepools contain starfish, sea anemones, crabs, snails, octopi and sea urchins.
$45 - $180 / 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
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.
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
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.
$225 / night
Set amidst acres of wilderness flanked by the picturesque Santa Ynez and San Rafael Mountains, lies glimmering Cachuma Lake. Here you will find practically everything you need for a relaxing getaway in the great outdoors. Mild temperatures, typically sunny skies, and celebrated fishing conditions make camping here during winter months exceptionally rewarding. The County entered into a long-term lease with the Federal Bureau of Reclamation in 1953 to manage the 9,000 acre Cachuma Lake Recreation Area. Cachuma Lake was formed by the construction of Bradbury Dam in that same year. Located off scenic Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley, Cachuma Lake is midway between the beaches and bustle of Santa Barbara and the Danish Community of Solvang. At any age... in any season... you'll find that the Cachuma Lake Recreation Area offers a fun and relaxing getaway.
Hammock spots, dipping holes and a fishing stream make Reyes Creek Campground an ideal hideaway. Located near the Sespe Wilderness alongside Reyes Creek you will find renewal and replenishment, Reyes Creek-style.
Trail hiking, fishing, swimming, group camping, mountain biking, hunting, horseback riding, nature viewing, and recreational mining are favored activities. Day trips to higher elevation snow play in the winter is also enjoyed.
This shaded streamside campground located at 3,500 feet elevation boasts an ample supply of riparian oak and cottonwood trees. The creek area is well shaded and runs year-round. Overhead you may catch a glimpse of red-tailed hawks soaring above the trees. If you are lucky, you may see a California condor!
Located south of Ozena Valley, this campground provides access to the Sespe Wilderness via the Reyes Creek Trail linking to the Piedra Blanc National Recreation Trail. This site is the trailhead for Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca National Recreation Area ideal for hiking or mountain biking.
$150 - $154 / night
Scout
Rude and not pleasant employee no compassion, whatsoever noisy, and a lot more never coming back
Guide
First, I imagine this place was so cool in the 80’s. You can see the bones that it was built around. It’s just a touch run down. That said, the bathrooms were really clean. The showers were quarter showers, but seemed fine. For December it was pretty quiet. The spaces are different, some shade some not. I wouldn’t suggest for really large campers. But for a van, we had power, water, bathrooms and off season prices.
Legend
Three miles from a the grocery and only minutes from north LA, you'll find a basic campground with flush toilets, coin showers, and easily accessible hiking trails. The sites are basic with campfire pit and grill, open space for a tent or rv, and picnic table. The inner circle of sites abuts the bathrooms and is better for groups. The outer rings on three sides have nice views, but some sites on the south side are shorter and abut a fence.
We stayed in site 59 which had a really nice shade tree and great views of a meadow and the cliffs out the back of the site. The sites are fairly open and close to each other, so be prepared to hear everything, and because the campground is close to the city it is popular with groups and families.
The campground was under fire warning all weekend, but faux wood (javalog or duraflame) and charcoal was still allowed. The camphost sold Javalogs, and there were plenty of options at the nearby Albertson's.
The state park is a former movie set and is filled with easily accessible trails for hiking and some for mountain biking. The primary trails were open fire roads with off-shoots to lakes, pools, meadows, and more. It was easy to imagine you weren't anywhere close to the city. During a holiday weekend the trails were fairly busy with day-use hikers, but even then, it was easy to get away and be on trails alone if you wanted. There is also a visitor center in the park, but it has limited hours.
The wildlife is abundant. There is plenty of birdwatching, and coyotes were wandering through the park and campground without fear. If you have a dog with you make sure they don't try join the pack. On a hike right out of the park a few hundred yards, I came across a pair of bobcats—mom and cub—making their way to a running creek.
I'd recommend a visit if you're looking for a close to town escape.
ScoutDitto what others say…clean, great noise, pricey $142/night for Sprinter, laundry is being remodeled right now
Scout
Not a bad campground, but driving in, the owner has large political flags flying. In these highly divisive times, I don't want to stay at places that divide our country, I want to get away from that. Not recommended.
Guide
Facilities are run down. This places needs a major make over! Bathrooms are dirty, showers are gross. Sinks to wash dishes are disgusting & right next to dumpsters. You have no privacy and sites are right on top of each other…you’re basically in a parking lot. Barking dogs right next to you can get pretty annoying pretty fast. NOT WORTH the $70 a night fee. I would only stay here here as a LAST resort
Guide
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.
Traveler
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.
Legend
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.
ScoutCrowded sites, horrible check in, rude people, owner is extremely unpleasant
GuideGreat 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...
Traveler
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.
ScoutJust 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.
Scout
Great spot! Been here 2 times already!
ScoutI stayed for a quick stop overnight and found the site as described. Just a table, fire pit, and water spigot. The hosts are very accommodating and made sure I was able to find my site after dark and were very responsive to my texts! Cell service was fine and I felt perfectly safe as a solo female! I really enjoyed the ranch dogs coming to hang out with me! I'll be back to try one of the other sites with more amazing views!
Guide
Great weekend experience
TravelerMy family camps here everyone year for as long as I can remember. The beaches are always nice. The trail that goes to the end of the campground is always fun bike ride. Carp itself is one of my favorite little towns. When camping, we also stop at Robitaille's Fine Candy shop.
Traveler
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!
Legend
This was another trip here. We needed a quick getaway, and this is always a good choice for us. Check in was easy, they even changed our site after showing all that were available. The was February, so lots of available sites. We will be back!
ScoutGood campground, convenient location, nice WiFi. Sites are pretty close together, some sites had limited sun in December.
LegendEconomical 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.
LegendThe 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.
GuideGreat location, spots are so close to the beach with no bluff and stairs. Spots are very snug. You can get stuck waiting for a while if your neighbors don’t know how to park their unit. Only downside is the neighbors sewer is in your site. Also we had some grumpy neighbors which sucks with the smaller sites. Seals and dolphins all around while you swim or surf
GuideNice 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
LegendGeneral: 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.
ScoutWe loved the atmosphere. Small well maintained and cute, outdoor shower was a highlight!
Scout$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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Ventura, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Ventura, CA is Santa Cruz Campground — Carpinteria State Beach with a 4.2-star rating from 47 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Ventura, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 20 glamping camping locations near Ventura, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
