San Diego Camping

Hey, Ive been looking into some camping/surf trips.. and I was thinking it might be a fun little couple days to drive down to San Diego, camp out, and surf..

Anyone have any suggestions on good campgrounds at the beach down there? Anyone have any knowledge of how much the campgrounds cost for a weekend?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Not sure WHEN I want to do this.. but just trying to get some ducks in a row so I can figured it out.

I've stayed at Carlsbad campgrounds a few times. It's pretty nice and there's plenty of surf spots around. You used to have to go through an outside company to book time. I think it was called Mystic or something like that.

surfed carlsbad camp grounds this am it was so fun.
check the link for info on campground
http://www.sandiegocoastlife.com/attrac ... lsbad.html

Cool.. thanks for the tips guys. I'll check it out.

Not sure if these stoopid price hikes apply to the sites your considering but might want to check out this article over at the OC Beach Blog.

Hey, Ive been looking into some camping/surf trips.. and I was thinking it might be a fun little couple days to drive down to San Diego, camp out, and surf..

Anyone have any suggestions on good campgrounds at the beach down there? Anyone have any knowledge of how much the campgrounds cost for a weekend?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Not sure WHEN I want to do this.. but just trying to get some ducks in a row so I can figured it out.

Hi BoarderDave! My family and I love to camp in San Diego and in South OC. We often camp at:

- San Elijo State Beach: This is our favorite campground because of its great location and good surf. You can usually surf in front of the campground or walk/drive a short distance to Cardiff and Swami's. If you forget any staples, there's a market right across Coast Hwy as well as a buncha restaurants in case you don't feel like BBQ-ing. We call this type of camping "city camping".
- Doheny SB: This is our 2nd favorite because it, too, is considered "city camping". As you probably know, the surf is not very consistent or big, but it's close to San O' and Trestles.
- San Clemente SB: We like this campground because it has lots of pull-through/hook-up sites for our RV. The walk to the beach, though, is kinda long and tiresome if you have kids, coolers, and misc. beach gear. I've never surfed here.
- San Onofre Bluffs: We call camping at the San O Bluffs "asphalt camping" because the sites are small, not very scenic and visible from the 5 fwy. It's our last resort when all other campgrounds are booked. The good thing about camping at the bluffs is that you can just hike down any of the 6 Trails to surf rather than drive somewhere else.
- San Mateo: Another last-resort option. At least it has hook-up sites, but has no access to the beach.
- Carlsbad SB: I've never camped here, but we have reservations in November. I'll have to report back on the camping/surfing experience in a couple of months....

The nightly cost for camping at the state beaches depends on whether your site is a dirt site, beachfront site or has hook-ups. As you are aware, camping fees recently went up due to the CA budget crisis, but generally speaking, the fees range from $25 to $65 per night.

Reservations can be made over the phone or online at http://www.reserveamerica.com. It's fairly easy to get sites during the winter months. During all other times, the more popular campgrounds sell out pretty quickly so you have to book your sites six months in advance.

If you want to organize a surf camping trip for the group, let me know and I'd be happy to help out.

Hope this helps! :)

Jen O.

Wow great info, Jen!! Thanks for sharing.

We camped out in Baja just south of Salsipuedes but the surf was flat. We've been meaning to camp out this side of the border but just never got around to it.

Ooh sweet grip of info. Thank you very much.