IBON4IT

Hi Bill, we just bought a '98 3023 and are big time newbies. I've been enjoying your posts for some weeks from afar and since, I live in San Diego, thought I could be of some help regarding good places to beach camp. Beach camping is VERY popular here and reservations in April, especially for weekends, are a must. I've noticed that a couple of folks have recommended Santee Lakes. I've never camped there so can't comment about the campground but I can tell you that when I was a kid there was a dump there. There's a lot of hidden pollution. You can't eat the fish you pull from the lake. There is still lots of heavy industry in the area. More importantly, it's in the boondocks. The city of Santee is about 25-30 miles from the coast or most anything else that San Diego is famous for (SD Zoo, Wild Animal Park, Seaworld, La Jolla).

Go to reserveamerica.com. Do "RV sites" near "San diego" from the homepage. This will pull up a complete list of State and Federal campgrounds in San Diego. The ones that are beach campgrounds are: Silver Strand, San Elijo, South Carlsbad, San Onofre, San Clemente and Doheny (practically in LA). Silver Strand in Coronado is your best bet by far for proximity to attractions, scenery, dining and actual beach access. Coronado is technically in SD's South Bay, which you mentioned you did not like before, but it is definitely one of the more upscale areas in town. All the other beach campgrounds are quite far to the north of the city. I don't know if there are any privately operated campgrounds near the beach. I asked my husband and son, who are real beach hounds, and they say no but I wouldn't take that as gospel.

All other campgrounds are well east of the coast. You may enjoy camping in our local mountains (don't camp anywhere in Cuyamaca though, the whole forest burned to the ground a few years back - UGLY) or the desert will be especially nice in April. Anza Borrego State Park has several well located campgrounds.

Enjoy your trip!