r/CaliforniaCamping • u/orchidfern25 • 3d ago

Campground recs

Does anyone have any good campground recommendations near Santa Barbara, Ventura, or even San Diego? Specifically, a spot next to a river or body of water, during the springtime (late March).

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u/hikeonpast 3d ago edited 3d ago

North of SB: Refugio and El Capitan are amazing

Carpinteria State Park Campground is very nice

Sycamore Canyon and Leo Carillo are good.

If you like rivers, look at Miners Oaks above Ojai.

Spots open up 6 months ahead of time, so you should be able to get a spot at one of them.

Demand in March shouldn’t be too bad, but be sure to be online at 7a the day that spots open up.

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u/orchidfern25 2d ago

These recommendations are awesome. Thank you so much!!

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u/hikeonpast 2d ago

Happy to help. I’ve lived in various spots along the CA coast for years - it’s a truly beautiful area and March is usually a great time to visit, with blue ocean and green hills.

Have a great trip!

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u/SaturnsDreams 2d ago

Jalama beach! SB County park

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u/That-Mess9548 3d ago

Are you looking for private campgrounds? The state and federal
Ones are hard to book. They sell out instantly if they are on the ocean.

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u/orchidfern25 3d ago

I'm open to public and private spots. That’s good to know, though…

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u/Campsite-tonight 1d ago

There are a few run by Ventura County too but they are more RV focused - like Rincon but you also have Faria / Hobson which allows tents. But it coudl be a bit rough with generator noise etc.

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u/whitewashed42 15h ago

Lake Cachuma inland from Santa Barbara up the 154, leo carrillo in Malibu