Looking for San Diego campgrounds

[Bill]

We're looking to spend 2 or 3 weekdays in April in San Diego, and are wondering where to set up the TM. Any recommendations? We'd like to be near the beach, of course. I seem to recall that there are some nice gov't strip-campgrounds near the beach. They may have been first-come first-serve. How would they work out in April? Commercial campgrounds would be OK, too - we won't be spending much time in the camper.

A few years ago we relied on a campground guide, and ended up in one of the seedier parts of San Diego. We'd like to avoid that this time.

Thanks

Bill

Bill,

We are heading to the San Diego area come May, and decided to stay at Santee Lakes Campground. It is owned by the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, and although quite large (campsites) it is 190 acres with a number of lakes right by your campsite. We were originally going to camp at a place on the beach but couldn't get the necessary reservations for the days we wanted. In talking to the folks at Santee they said some of those ocean front places are party city.
Now I don't know one way or another but the lake side sounded real good to us. It is also close to all the major attractions (or so they said)....

www.santeelakes.com

Mike Anderson
2007 2720SL (maybe NEXT week)
2005 Toyota Tacoma

Bill,
RE Sante Lakes: We camped there for the first time a couple of weeks ago and really liked the place...see our last album for a few pictures...

http://community.webshots.com/user/jerwenhov

Have a good trip!

Jerry

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!

Silver Strand State Beach. You can't get any closer to the water.

[shunter917]

You can also try Lake Jennings. It's about 15 mins or so outside of San Diego, but the campground is nice and not very expensive. I think it's a City or County park.

Originally Posted by 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'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).

When I lived in Santee, I remember Santee Lakes being a nice place to go for a picnic (no camping then). Check out the history on their website (http://www.santeelakes.com/index.htm)
- it's a remarkable story of reclaiming wastewater for recreational use. According to their website, the fish were declared safe to eat in 1964.

Mapquest mileage from Santee Lakes indicates 16.95 miles to the zoo and 19.26 miles to Sea World. IMHO, sounds like a decent camping option.

"Mapquest mileage from Santee Lakes indicates 16.95 miles to the zoo and 19.26 miles to Sea World. IMHO, sounds like a decent camping option."
(I'm too lazy to figure out how to cut out a quote right now)

I didn't realize Santee's that geographically close to downtown. It's one of the most easterly suburbs of San Diego so maybe my perception makes it seem farther than it really is. My parents lived in Santee for years and I live about 8 miles from the ocean. Actual driving time from my house to theirs was about a 30 minutes in light traffic. Getting from my house to the beach is another 15 minutes on back roads. Now, I'm not knocking Santee Lakes for camping but just bear in mind that it hasn't always looked or smelled as nice as it does now. When I was a kid nobody was allowed to play there because it was so nasty. Of course we did anyway and didn't grow two heads but...'nuff said.

I think Bill mentioned he was interested in beach camping. There are suprisingly few camp sites available in SD but, if you can get a reservation, the big advantage is you will be able to enjoy access to the water and, more importantly, will have a parking space at the beach for your truck.

HELPFUL HINTS FOR SD BEACH DAY USE:
If you decide to camp away from the water with the idea of just day camping at the beach, you'll want to find out in advance where you can legally park and open your trailer near the sand. Good places to day camp on the Bay are: Vacation Village, Mission Bay, Fiesta Island, Mariner's Point, Crown Point. You may want to ask around about the safer places to swim in the bay. People do waterski and windsurf but I also know people have gotten sick. If you don't plan to get in the water at all there are places on San Diego Bay too. Try Shelter Island. If you want to be by the open ocean where it's safe and legal to swim, the best non-reservation place to try is Torrey Pines. There's a State Beach RV parking lot there for day use. There's also a long strip of spaces for *free* right on the water. Of course, they're full early. South Mission Jetty is bay on one side and ocean on the other. There's also a great off-leash dog beach called, strangely enough, Dog Beach, in Ocean Beach. There's a big parking lot where you are allowed to open your trailer. If you get there before 8:00am on an April weekend you'd be okay as long as it's not during spring break. Caveat: Ocean Beach is very laid back and cool but it's also famous for it's "colorful" characters and "unique" businesses. It may not be for everyone.

If you've never been to San Diego you really shouldn't miss a visit to La Jolla. You will find the most beautiful beaches I've seen in California there. Parking is a total nightmare and forget about bringing your trailer but it's worth at least a half day visit. Early in the morning you won't have trouble finding a parking spot near The Cove. Sadly, I think their all time limited now and are about to become metered.

Hope this helps out all the folks looking to visit San Diego this summer.