Can't beat the views in this BLM area! Not only can you off-road and explore all it has to offer you can hike or go into town with a quick drive. Love the dispersed camping and exploring you can do here. Nobody to bother you. This is our most favorite camping spot to date. The weather is fun to watch and the views of mt Whitney are incredible.
Crystal cove campground is immaculate, clean, and amongst the best ocean views you can get in the OC without having millions to spend on a ritzy house on the water. BUT, the camp hosts and rangers are not friendly. Instead of saying things like "have a nice day" they say to you "drive slow" or "check out at 1pm not a minute later" it's like, yes we are all aware of the rules and we are made to sign a little list of rules upon check in. But come on, just some sign of happiness or friendliness never killed anybody… No fire pits allowed unless they are propane and you bring it yourself. The walk down to the beach is steep but worth it. The lines in and out of the gate is long and annoying because even if you're already checked in and just wanting to get back to your site you gotta wait in a line of cars paying and checking in… So yea amazing camping but weird experiences otherwise.
O'Neill Regional Park is amazing. Weekends fill up fast since it's a small drive from the hustle and bustle of Orange county life. It's a fun place to escape and feel a little more "wild…" The rangers and the attendants at the front gate are super nice and friendly. The campground is super clean and we'll maintained. Bathrooms and showers are clean and lots of hiking trails to choose from. After the holy jim fire you cant get up to the waterfall but there are other options around.
Crater lake campground, not to be mistaken by Crater lake NP, this campground has a a small amount of small spaces only available on a first come first serve basis. We had no knowledge that all the spaces would be on an incline or so teenie that one car would fit in the spot. We did find a spot way away from the lake that when I got out of the car was swarmed by pterodactyl mosquitos, I'm not talking 2 or 3 I'm talking a SWARM people, 30-50 blood suckers around us. That's when we decided this campground sucks. The lake is pretty but we've seen better. It's an 8 mile Forest service road that's well maintained so that was no issue but it's a long way out of the way to maybe get a spot that's semi flat that could fit a tent and a car… I didn't have enough time to take photos because I was busy fighting to keep my blood to myself… we visited in June and the temp was about 77 during the day and 42 at night. Perfect camping weather 😎