Hurkey Creek is great, just a two hour drive from San Diego and you're in the mountains. The elevation is around 4,000 and it gets pretty chilly at night. FYI, the creek is dry, but Lake Hemet is a quick walk down the way. The campground is large, with 130 campsites and several group camp areas. We hiked around and explored and wished we brought our mountain bikes, lots of good riding around the area.

We camped at site 100, then found out we actually set up in 99…the sites aren't exactly clearly marked. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, although they are rather close. There are restrooms with soap and hand towels, bonus. There are showers as well, which is nice when you're a tent camper. Quiet and serene are how I would describe the grounds, lots of birds and squirrels, a little coyote came to check us out too.

What a pleasant surprise we had last weekend when we discovered this wide open campground operated by the National Forest Service. Located right off the 79 in Warner Springs, there are several wineries along the way if you're into doing some wine tasting before settling into camp life.

There are no reservations at this location, it's $15/night and the camp host is not seen very often. Most sites have decent space between them, some are more private than others. We chose site 49 which had a bunch of creepy trees that created nice shade. After checking out the whole place, I would say site 57 is pretty ideal in size, privacy and has a great view of the mountain ridge.

There are plenty of basic bathrooms and vault toilets, but no showers. There are spigots to wash your hands and rinse dishes. There are also dumpsters so trash is not a huge issue. Biggest issue for me was the bugs…lots and lots of flies even with citronella candles pumping and a fire.

Would definitely camp here again, met some awesome folks and had a really memorable experience….we may have actually had a little too much fun.

I live in the area, but since we love camping, we will sometimes camp down the street because it's fun. This isn't the type of experience where you get away from it all…the campground is on coast highway, there's a taco stand within the grounds and a strip mall across the street. However, if you love the ocean and want to hang at the beach all day, you'll love it here.

Our camp site was on the street side, the beach side is better, but we took what we could get in the summer. There are rings and a table, the bathrooms and showers are nearby and well maintained. Be advised that there is a lot of concrete so you won't be tenting it on the sand. This campground is always full and crowded, but you can't beat being right on the beach.

We drove up for an impromptu camp trip, it was only about an hour drive. I've never been up to Palomar Mountain although I've lived here for 30 years! It's a very picturesque drive with lots of twists and turns and watch out for those motorcycles.

The campground is situated within lots of trees so there is shade. We stayed at Doane Valley Family Camp loop. There are trails and a pond very close by, it's stocked with fish, but it's tiny.

The sites are really cool and private, lots of tall trees and shade. Only downside was the bugs. There were a lot of flies, but we went in July so go figure. Will definitely camp here again, but will likely wait for it to cool off a bit. There is snow up here in the winter months so I would recommend camping in the fall.

The drive up here from San Diego is quick and picturesque. You'll pass through a couple quaint and historic little mountain towns, but Julian is the best stop. Make sure to grab some pie and hard cider before you leave, apples grow everywhere in Julian. As for the campgrounds, they are located at an elevation of 4,200 ft and feature rolling hills with deer and wild turkeys! We were able to see both, as well as a pack of 20 raccoons when we were about to go to sleep. Most sites have trees, but you can't tie anything to them FYI. Bathrooms and showers were close and very clean…bring quarters for the showers.

Loved staying here at serrano, it was our first visit. Stayed for two nights and had a great time. Lots of trees everywhere and each site has a huge picnic table and a fire ring. Bathrooms/showers are legit for a campground, but you have to bring your own soap to wash your hands. Our site was right by the bathrooms which was super convenient. There are bike trails, hiking trails and of course the lake is right there across from the campground. A cute little shop is 500 yards away where you can buy firewood, etc. The only negative part was the fact that some sites (like ours) were closer to the road so you could hear traffic during the day, but hardly any at night. Will definitely come back again and try another part of the grounds. Yay for camping.