My family owns a 1987 VW Vanagon Westfalia since 2020 and use The Dyrt to find hidden gems near our home for weekend camping.

Woods Valley came up and there wasn’t much in reviews or pictures but enough to give it a go.

We stayed for two nights at site 30 with partial hookups. We loved the site and the campground. It is a HUGE property buried in forest with tons of sites and plenty to do.

The grounds were well kept. Staff was sweet and the amenities were great.

We fished in the pond, took walks, pet the cow, swam in the pool and used the store for last minute items.

We will most definitely go back.

We aren’t used to staying at RV resorts like the Newport Dunes, but it was a fun change of pace.

We typically camp in our 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia, but it broke down on our drive to Death Valley National Park so renting a cottage here at the Dunes was a great plan B while the Van was with the mechanic.

We rented the Large Cottage in the back because we needed a kitchen for cooking all the food we’d packed. The small cottage would’ve been fine if we didn’t need to a oven, stove and large refrigerator. Beach front cottage was almost twice the price so staying in the back was great.

The resort was well run. A great pool. Fun beach. Nice market. Worth the stay.

My family joined our extended family for a weekend away at Blue Jay campground. It is only an hour drive from our home in Newport Beach, but felt like we were a million miles away.

Getting to the campground is fun and gorgeous. Ortega Highway is a pretty drive and the final two miles up the mountain was steep and felt like I was driving in another country.

Campground has 50 sites that are first-come-first-serve. We got there on Saturday morning around 11:00am and there were roughly 3 sites open. We stayed at site 3 - the first site we saw - and loved.

Went on two great hikes, both to the nearby waterfalls. Each hike was beautiful.

Stopped off at a small Candy Store & Deli on Ortega Highway on the way that we loved!!

It was a fun trip we’ll do again.

What a great trip for our family or three (plus our golden retriever)! Because of COVID and National Parks/Forests being closed The Dyrt helped me find GEMS like this to stay at.

Bierbaum Pepper Farms was a wonderful find. We booked online with HipCamp and added Goat Milk, Goat Cheese, Eggs, and Firewood to our reservation. SO COOL!

We arrived at 3:00 with everything ready. We stayed at site #1, which we loved. All sites were available and after driving through each Site #1 was our favorite. It felt the most private and on flat ground.

The cheese, eggs, and milk were amazing. We also added on yogurt for breakfast and Frozen Yogurt for dessert.

The owner was THE BEST and was so sweet to our daughter and dog!! We watched her milk the goats and even were able to hold the babies.

This was a great experience we will do again.

El Cariso, Cleveland National Forest, was a last minute stop on our way home from Bierbaum Pepper Farms.

The campground was right off the highway, cost affective ($15/night), and there were no reservations needed. There were 24 sites tucked in the woods. A few water faucets & bathrooms throughout.

Across the street was a Fire Station and Visitor Center. Directly behind the visitor center was a 1.4 mile looped trail we took our six year old and dog on around 3:00pm. The firefighter was helpful and guided us in the right direction. The trail ended at the Firefight Memorial. Pretty cool.

The campground was empty on the Friday afternoon in February - when we arrived. We stayed in site 10 after my 6 year old reviewed all 24 sites!

Fires were allowed. It was a good stop. Nothing special but worth it too.

This was the first campground my family and I visited back in September of 2019 when we started testing out the whole camping thing!

We borrowed a 1985 VW Vanagon from a friend and wanted to pick a spot we knew would be an easy WIN. This campground was exactly that.

We found a campsite online last minute. It was a beach front site for $60 a night, which was more than I wanted to pay but was worth it.

We met great people, took a fun bike ride, and spent lots of time on the beach and in the ocean.

We’d go back for sure.

I researched this spot a ton and was hesitant to go - mostly because my 1987 VW Westfalia isn’t 4WD, and everything I read said you must have an off road vehicle, but the area looked beautiful and we didn’t have lots of campground options based on COVID park closures so we went.

I’m glad we did.

Box Canyon Road - the main road that goes right through Mecca Hills is paved and that drive alone was worth it. Beautiful.

The reviews were right that my car couldn’t make it to Painted Canyon or Mecca Wilderness Campground (a bit past Painted Canyon), but because it’s BLM land there’s dispersed camping anywhere off Box Canyon Road, which was amazing.

We saw old campfire pits all over and we pulled off on a dirt road that didn’t need 4WD, found a man made rock pit and setup shop. It was around a mountain so we felt totally isolated.

I had to be careful where to drive as there’s lots of sand but it was great. Glad we went. There were two other cars within site of us doing the same thing.

We had a great fire that night and enjoyed the stars and solitude.

This is an easy, safe, and fun stop with the family. It’s right on top of Pacific Coast Highway and has a beautiful view of the ocean!

Bummer is that no campfires are ever allowed, unless it’s a propane fire pit, and no dogs on the beach or trails (even if leashed).

We went twice in October and got day of spots each time. Rangers were friendly and helpful.

Met great people and walked the beach a mile down to the Shake Shack. Very fun.

This was one of our first camping spots as a family back in September 2020. We borrowed a 1985 VW Westfalia (now we own one). My sister and her family of four came in their suburban & tent. We shared a $20 camping spot.

We drove in from Orange County CA and reserved our spot online. The campground was 85% full and was a little loud with larger groups next to us, but was beautiful.

We brought our large golden retriever, which was great but they don’t allow dogs on trails so that was a bummer while we nicked during the days.

It was hot and there were lots of bee’s and no campfires but still worth it. Skull Rock trail was worth it with our five year old. Totally kid friendly.

We’ll come back for sure. Was a good intro to camping for us.

We were heading from Newport Beach CA to Lake Havasu AZ and were wanting to split up the drive by camping with our 1987 VW Westfalia somewhere in Barstow.

Did lots of research and landed here at Owl Canyon on BLM land. We weren’t disappointed. It was perfect. We went in late December so spots were easy to come by. Weather was great. Woke up with mild snow on the car.

Campgrounds about 12 miles off interstate 15 and is about 5+ miles is on dirt roads but roads are well kept and easy to drive. Campground is in the middle of nowhere but AMAZING.

We did the main hike at the end of the site. It’s about 3.3 miles there and back.

This place will stay on our GO BACK list.

Great, clean, campground for the family. My daughter, dog, wife and I enjoyed two nights here in November 2020 for my birthday. We didn’t have a reservation but they do a lottery at 11am each day and we got spots for two nights.

Really easy to get to. We’ll go back a few times a year.

Every “Van-Life” camper must go. So beautiful. FREE. Easy to get to. We loved our one night stay and plan on going back.

My buddies and I stopped here on our way to the Sierra’s. It was the perfect stop. Quiet. Peaceful. Beautiful.

The owner, Levi, was great. He communicated well and even helped me with places to stay and hike in the Sierra’s.