Best Glamping in California

Glamping Reviews in California

4902 Reviews of 522 California Campgrounds

• 

  Lisa C.

  Ranger

  Sep. 16, 2021

  Curry Village — Yosemite National Park

  Lovely Rustic City

  aka Curry Village

  My daughters and I have now stayed in both the canvas tent/cabin and a hard-sided cabin. Both provide comfortable beds with sheets and a warm blanket on each. (If you like fluffy pillows, bring one from home.) 

  We stayed in the heated tent/cabin during a major snowfall and stayed toasty-warm. I’d give this place an extra star if we were able to boil water in the tents, so we could make our own warm food and coffee, but it’s not allowed. There are bear boxes to lock up any food you do bring. There are places in the valley to buy warm meals, but they really weren’t very good, especially for the price. 

  The showers are warm and have good water pressure. They always had clean towels available, too.

  However, Curry Village is packed with wall-to-wall people. Despite quiet hours, there seems to always be That One Guy who gets drunk, loud and obnoxious. On our last trip, That One Guy decided to yell obscenities in my daughters’ faces when they asked him politely to keep the noise down. It was 15min before quiet hours and it was obvious that most of the other guests (many with small kids) had gone to bed. Other than calling the front desk, there really wasn’t another option for “crowd control.” 

  When I camp, I do prefer remote, quiet places away from crowds, but I did appreciate the convenience of Curry Village’s location. We really were in the heart of the valley with great access to the best hikes. All in all, we enjoyed our stays.

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• 

  Ron G.

  Guide

  Jul. 11, 2024

  Curry Village — Yosemite National Park

  Location, Location, Location! But Pricey!

  Overall, the proximity to being in The Valley outweighed the negatives of our stay. 

  While pricey for what it is, it IS at the far east end of Yosemite Valley with easy access to the Mist Trail. The tent-cabins are close to each other (3-8 feet), and we were woken by our neighbors our first morning (they were checking out early, and while quiet hours were 'officially' over, it was still 0730...and since it was during the heat wave, we hadn't gotten to sleep til well after midnight).

  That said...we were expecting foam rubber mattresses on wooden plywood shelves for beds, but the bed frame, mattresses, pillows and Rumpl blankets were a nice surprise (the website stated there would be wool blankets). The towels and sheets were in need of some fabric softener though.

   It was HOT. Having camped in tent-cabins before (not Curry Village), we brought fans with us that helped cool things down in the evenings, but having fans [battery operated/ rechargeable (we had Ryobi rechargeable fans)] helped us out.

  We couldn't figure out how to make the tent-cabin canvas window 'shades' to stay open- which was necessary because we needed the ventilation - we had brought along some binder clips that we were able to jury-rig to keep the canvas flaps over the screens open,  though. 

  Showers and restrooms were adequately clean, and showers were hot…but nothing to write home about. 

  We were surprised by the trash on the grounds near the cabins (where our nearest showerhouse was)-  in fact, a zip-lock baggie sat on the ground in the same spot for the three days we were there, before I picked it up on our way out. Additionally, on the grounds of the tent-cabins, we found several nails and other hardware on the ground.

   We were also surprised by the size of Curry Village, which isn't really discussed on the website. We were in tent-cabin 749 on the far east end, which was great until we had to walk to Camp Curry and/or the parking lot. We brought a wagon to carry our gear from the car to the tent-cabin, but once again, we've done this before, and we felt really bad for the folks lugging all their stuff without the benefit of a cart. Next time we'd bring bikes to help with the longish walk (400 meters? Maybe longer?) 

  The food options were great! The pizza is fantastic, and it was nice having the ability to grab pizza/tacos/burgers as an option at the end of the day (cooking is not allowed in the camp, but we 'tailgated' with backpacking stoves and meals a couple of the days).

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• 

  Sherrie R.

  Ranger

  Jun. 15, 2021

  Yosemite RV Resort

  Great staff and location. Many rental options.

  Many options to stay! Rv, bring your own tent, yurts, safari tents,, cabins. RV spaces have many different location styles, secluded, views, groups etc.

  Large clean pool with a shallow lounging section. Playground. Bathrooms/showers were freshly renovated and clean. Laundry on site. Clubhouse and small provisions.

  Easy access to Bass Lake and Yosemite entrance as well as local Town food and markets.

• 

  Stephanie M.

  Guide

  Nov. 29, 2022

  Flying Flags RV Resort

  Buellton hidden gem

  We had the best time renting an air stream from tgis location. It was retro and such a great experience. We had air conditioning, running water, and perfect amenities available. The site was so accommodating. There was coffee available at the front. Little shops and markets. Outdoor activities scattered around the park. Food venue available. The pool and spa were a nice addition. It was a little crowded. Close to solvang .

• 

  Brian N.

  Traveler

  Apr. 25, 2015

  South Carlsbad State Beach Campground

  Carlsbad culvert

  South Carlsbad is another Cali jem set up on a bluff overlooking the pacific. It is long and thin so it has a nice thinly populated feel. All bathrooms are clean. I was here during week of 4/20/15 and it was as nice as always. Like San Elijo it has a private feel at your site with the mature growh btw each site. You are along the rr tracks but that's a small price to access the sick beach and the incredible view. There is a nice hilton with a pool across the street. In. Are your kiddies need some creature comforts(I didn't say pool 'hopping' just using facilities as a client of the restaurant...), or daddy wants a bottle of red and a crisp flatbread without driving anywhere. There are nice a frames north and south, plenty of waves for all.

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• 

  Christina S.

  Guide

  Nov. 15, 2019

  Ventura Ranch KOA

  Fun place for young kids!

  We recently stayed here, for the 1st time, last week. We decided to leave the travel trailer at home, and change it up! We stayed the 1st in a large teepee. It had beds for a total of six people. It was hot in the daytime, and got really cold at night, so we switched to a Glamping tent. The Glamping tent was nice! It had a very confortable queen bed, 2 lamps, a fan, a heater, a mini fridge and a microwave. It also had a futon type couch that made into a bed. Loved the Glamping tent.

  Only downfall was, that the place does not enforce it quiet time rules. 10pm to 8 am. Late night loud groups, carrying on until 2 in the morning, loud obnoxious kids screaming at 6:15 in the morning...😩they have many beautiful Peafowl, and they can be loud too, but I only heard them once. The place has very nice tiled showers, with good water pressure, clean bathrooms, a big beautiful pool, but it was closed for the season.

  There are fire pits throughout the 76 acre park, it was nice having a campfire, since so many places don’t allow them anymore...they have a very large jumping pillow for kiddos, my 6 year had a blast playing on it. They also have a zip line, but it was damaged in the large fire last year, and is being fixed currently. There is a stream that runs thru the property, it was fun to explore. They have a rock climbing wall, that is brought out on holiday weekends.

  Lots of fun activities for kids, like crafts, making your own rocket to launch, etc. It is not the place to come, if you want a quiet, mellow place to read a book! It is busy, and loud. They do not have any laundry facilities, nor do they have a little store. The prices on everything are going up 10% on everything, next year. This means that most campsites with full hook-ups with be $ 71 a night, ( not bad ) but the large teepees will cost about $ 200 a night, and the Glamping tents, about $ 180 a night.

  You can buy a KOA discount card, for just $ 30 bucks, and it gets you 10% off, each stay for a year. Valid at all KOAs in America, and some in Australia! We had a good time, and plan to go back in the summer next year. Hopefully, with our travel trailer, it will be less loud 😉

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• 

  Elliott B.

  Legend

  Oct. 18, 2018

  Curry Village — Yosemite National Park

  Way overpriced, dirty and full of people that have never camped...

  ***I start off by saying that the staff I did interact with were all very nice and it have a great mountaineering school with excellent staff and a nice camp store.

  Also, this campground is definitely in a great location within the valley. However, for the cost you'd think they could do a lot more maintenance to these "tents". Similarly, not sure why they aren't all heated as they include a simple cheap heater that they could easily put in all of them.

  When the campground is making about ~70K per night on the weekend you'd think they could easily afford to maintain the grounds. The tents are filthy, the bathrooms have graffiti in the stalls and there's no area for picnicking, fires, seating, etc. (things that you always get included at a standard campsite). My personal tent is way cleaner than these "tents" as it appears that they haven't cleaned out the dirt in quite some time...They simply (hopefully) just come in and change the sheets in between people and that seems to be about it.

  Also, I can understand not having people cook/eat in their tents, but they should then provide a picnic area so you don't have to bus/drive to a different area of the park or eat all your meals in the restaurant (Another way they're making money) if you'd like to bring in some of your own food or sit around a fire and have a S'more. They do have a lounge with a fire place, so why can't they have an outdoor fire pit so you can actually be closer to nature? 

  Stayed October 11-14th 2018 like another reviewer and couldn't believe how disrespectful so many of the other "campers" were during the quiet hours. People (not just the kids) were not only running through and disrespecting people personal space/belonging but they were up and extremely loud late into the night (at least 3am). Although isn't part of the reason to come to this incredible National park to get up early and explore the park? May people seemed to treat this "campground" as a party spot. People in true campgrounds are much more respectful of the others around them.

  While, I'll definitely be back to Yosemite, I won't be staying here again.

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• H

  Hayley K.

  Scout

  Sep. 27, 2023

  Diamond Gulch

  Cozy little spot

  We stayed here for the night prior to a Hetch Hetchy backpacking trip. We arrived in the dark. We had reserved a site with a small two person tent already set up for us. It was a bit hard to find in the dark, but the camping area is fenced in under an oak grove so eventually we found the stump with our name on it next to the tent. In the future, I think I’ll just bring my own tent and deal with the small hassle of setting it up—the tent provided was fine, but definitely would not have been a good choice if there had been rain. And you could tell it is essentially set up 24/7—some tiny insects living inside etc. The campsites themselves were sufficiently spacious and the host has nice fire pits with fire wood provided for each site, plus picnic tables. Basic portapotties plus some running water for bathrooms. Fellow campers were an interesting mix of folks from all over, though I wish the owner had quiet hours posted and communicated—our immediate tent neighbors sat out chatting and laughing until nearly 1am which was annoying. The coyotes and owls at night were lovely.

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• S

  Susan V.

  Ranger

  May. 29, 2019

  Tuolumne Meadows Lodge — Yosemite National Park

  Glamping in Yosemite's High Country

  The Tuolumne Meadows Lodge isn't the kind of lodge you think of when you think of a lodge.  It consists of a main building where there is a small store and an assigned-by-time food service, plus a bunch of platform tent cabins, each with its own stove for heat.  (Nights get cold up here, even in the summer!)

  The large parking lot is lined on one side with bear boxes where you can store food, if you prefer to bring some cereal for breakfast and sandwich fixings for lunch.  (There are not many food options up this way. You have the lodge, plus a grill down the way, but that's about it.)

  Free firewood is provided for guests, along with a communal campfire in the evenings.  The tents have cot beds and bedding.  Towels are also provided.  (There are bear boxes by the showers to hold your showering stuff.)

  If you can get a cell signal, you are lucky.  I'm told that if you walk to the top of the nearby waterfall/river that runs by camp, there sometimes is service there.  I was able to make a phone call out, but no data available.

  Lots of great hiking around.  This place reminded me of summer camp, but a bit more pricey!

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