Camping near Disneyland?

[mum2princesses]

I have been looking longingly at the Camping thread for Fort Wilderness, but would need about a month off (and way too much $$) to do a driving/camping trip there. Which got me thinking....does anyone have any recommendations for a camping spot near Disneyland? I have googled but thought if anyone has done it would love to hear opinions. We would be tent camping. TIA.

 

[sonnyjane]

There is nothing like Fort Wilderness, that's for sure, nothing within easy daily driving distance at least! Disneyland is in a MUCH more urban area than Walt Disney World. There are some RV parks that allow tent camping, but they typically get negative reviews. Maybe someone has used them though...

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

How far are you willing to drive? There's no really good camping near DL itself - it's surrounded by miles and miles of "city." However, there is beach camping at Newport Dunes (do they even have tents there anymore? It's been years since I camped there) and tent camping at Dayna Point. Other than that, I'd have to recommend the local mountains. Hopefully, someone else here has some experience with camping nearby.

 

[skiingfast]

There are some RV parks that allow tent camping, but they typically get negative reviews. Maybe someone has used them though...

I'd agree but last Spring I spoke to a family staying in the one that is east of the gates across I-5 and they seemed to really like it.

 

[cyclenut]

If you don't mind a little bit of a drive (about 20 minutes if you leave early) then you could choose Featherly Park.

http://www.ocparks.com/featherly/

Here is a link to the RV park.
http://canyonrvpark.com/

Newport Dunes still has space for tent camping and there are some RV spaces for camping right at the beach in Huntington Beach, but they are sometimes hard to get.

I haven't actually camped any of these places personally, but my kids have and I see campers and tents there all the time when riding by on my bike.

If you don't mind a longer drive, you can try and get a spot at the San Mateo campground. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=647. I have stayed at that one a few times and it is actually fairly nice. They allow both Tent and RV camping and it is walking distance (couple of miles) to the famous Trestles area of the beach. Here is a link to the PDF about San Mateo.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/647/files/SanMateo082609.pdf

Keep in mind though that you will be about 30-45 minutes to DLR (maybe longer with traffic or shorter if the roads are clear). San Clemente is getting pretty near San Diego County (although still a good distance from San Diego itself.

There really are not too many public camping areas in and around Orange County.

 

[disneydenisel]

We like to camp, too, but haven't found anything near DLR that suits us. Friends of ours stayed at the Orangeland RV park and liked it, but I don't know how it is for tenting.

The whole Anaheim area looks to me like city after city after city, and freeways everywhere. When we think of camping, we try to get away from the cities, so we stay at the coast or in the mountains. Still, we would consider one of the RV parks if we really wanted to go to DLR and not stay in a hotel.

 

[mum2princesses]

Thanks for everyone's input. I'll look into a couple of those spots mentioned but may possibly have to give up that thought. Bummer!

 

[cyclenut]

Thanks for everyone's input. I'll look into a couple of those spots mentioned but may possibly have to give up that thought. Bummer!

There are a few in-city RV parks around that I had forgotten about, but I never think of those as "camping". If you have an RV, there are a few options open to you.

Check out this web site. It reminded me of a couple places I forgot to mention.

http://www.orangecounty.net/html/camping.html

O'Neil. I've been there and it is great. It is about 20-30 minutes from Disneyland and north of the San Mateo campground I mentioned earlier. I have camped at Crystal Cove but it is more of a backpack trip as you've got to hike about 3 miles to set up camp.

I didn't realize Caspers allowed camping of any kind.

As far as RV parks go, I would suggest Orangeland (http://www.orangeland.com/). It is a little more run down than some of the pictures indicate but it has been there for ages. I've never stayed there but people I have talked to that have say it is pretty good. This one is very close to Disneyland. It is right off of Katella. It isn't walking distance but it really isn't far. You just hop onto Katella, go past Anaheim stadium and then under the freeway and you're right there.

 

[cyclenut]

Something I forgot to mention about the wilderness parks. Coyotes and mountain lions. They are a real threat but as long as you take basic precautions your camping trip should be incident free. Caspers and O'Neil in particular have had sightings of Mountain Lions. These really are out of the city places.

 

[oumagic]

. I have camped at Crystal Cove but it is more of a backpack trip as you've got to hike about 3 miles to set up camp.

Just a quick note: they have opened the Moro Campground at Crystal Cove. It is campground for RV's and tents that is fairly close to the cottages and is definitely not the campground you need to hike to. Some sites are full hookups and others are for tents. You cannot use tent stakes and there is no shade, so plan accordingly. It is not too close to DL, but it would be a nice beachfront place if you were doing a beach/DL trip. It just opened 4th of July weekend and you can walk to the beach.

I know this because we got a cottage for a Sun and Mon night in January. Saturday was full so we are going to stay at the campground one night (if we don't change our minds and just get a hotel near DL). Try a search, it looks great and they have pics on Youtube etc.

 

[endy]

There are 2 rv parks just up Harbor and over the 5.
We've stayed at both in a tent and prefer the bigger place. One is Anaheim Harbor RV and the bigger one has a similar name. They're directly across from each other. The one only has 3 or 4 tent sites or did last time we were there which is 3-4 years ago. Last year we stayed at the bigger one and they have maybe 15-20 tent sites. No trees, clean bathrooms and showers, laudry, pool & hot tub. You can see the fireworks from both places.
We are in SD camping right now and planning 1 or 2 nights in Anaheim next week.
With the beatuiful weather here I would rather sleep in a tent and have extra money for going places.
Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[disneydenisel]

Just a quick note: they have opened the Moro Campground at Crystal Cove. It is campground for RV's and tents that is fairly close to the cottages and is definitely not the campground you need to hike to. Some sites are full hookups and others are for tents. You cannot use tent stakes and there is no shade, so plan accordingly. It is not too close to DL, but it would be a nice beachfront place if you were doing a beach/DL trip. It just opened 4th of July weekend and you can walk to the beach.

I know this because we got a cottage for a Sun and Mon night in January. Saturday was full so we are going to stay at the campground one night (if we don't change our minds and just get a hotel near DL). Try a search, it looks great and they have pics on Youtube etc.

I was researching this new campground the other night when I was reading the OP's post. Rates are $65 for an RV spot (electricity and water). That seems SUPER high for a state park ! Wow! Years ago we paid $20 for Big Sur sites (no hookups), now it is $35, but $65 even with hookups seems like a lot per night. I hope it's less for tents only?! Morro Bay and New Brighton in California are $50 for hookups, I think. I guess the Laguna Beach location is why they can charge so much!?

 

[oumagic]

I was researching this new campground the other night when I was reading the OP's post. Rates are $65 for an RV spot (electricity and water). That seems SUPER high for a state park ! Wow! Years ago we paid $20 for Big Sur sites (no hookups), now it is $35, but $65 even with hookups seems like a lot per night. I hope it's less for tents only?! Morro Bay and New Brighton in California are $50 for hookups, I think. I guess the Laguna Beach location is why they can charge so much!?

$65 for hookups is high. A place with hookups in the forest here in AZ is @ $35. That said, it is much cheaper than the beachfront hotels in the area. The RV sites in Anaheim are $50-70 at one spot I looked at.

The tent sites at Moro are $50 and that is why we might just stay in Anaheim via Hotwire for that price. The tent site in the forest last weekend was $18 but we didn't have a million dollar view either.

 

[endy]

http://www.anaheimharborrvpark.com/

Both of these have tent sites. I prefer the one below.


http://www.anaheimrvvillage.com/facilities-map.asp

 

[jlmarr]

Not near DL, but my brother just got back from Carpenteria State Beach, near Santa Barbara, and gave it high marks. If the OP is driving down from BC they might like to swing by this place. That stretch between Ventura and Santa Barbara is quite scenic and has several campgrounds.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

The state of California is broke. State parks are extremely low on the list of things to fund, so yes, your state park fees are going to be higher than other states. It sucks, but I'm just happy they're still state parks. There's been a lot of talk about privatizing them to for-profit companies, which would suck even harder.