California Camping – 10 Camps to Check Out

We recently did a whirlwind trip around California and photographed 10 campgrounds in San Diego, Napa and on the Sonoma Coast.  California Camping – 10 Camps To Check Out will be one of a few articles we post throughout the year as we continue to add or update photos of campgrounds throughout the state.

San Diego County Camps

While visiting Anza Borrego Desert State Park we photographed a few more of its remote campgrounds including Fish Creek Primitive, Blair Valley Primitive and Vern Whitaker Horse Camp.  We now have campsite photos for all of the developed and most of the primitive campgrounds in the park.

Fish Creek Primitive

Fish Creek Primitive Campground has about 10 primitive campsites for tent camping and is located above Fish Creek Wash.  Vault toilets are provided but potable (drinking) water is not available. A few sites have fire rings but none of the campsites have tables. Cell service is fair at the campground.

The area is very popular with OHV enthusiasts and offers miles of 4×4 roads through narrow canyons and open desert. The campground is also about 2.5 miles from the Wind Caves trailhead (a popular 1 mile RT hike), and 11 miles to the spectacular Sandstone Canyon. Sandstone Canyon is the only slot canyon you can drive through with high-clearance 4×4 vehicles.

Fish Creek – Campsite #3

Ain’t no fish in Fish Creek though . . . 

Blair Valley Primitive

Blair Valley Primitive Campground has several primitive (free) campsites in a remote area of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The free camping area is open year round and encompasses several square miles. Roads are dirt and usually accessible by two-wheel drive vehicles.   Amenities include vault toilets. Potable (drinking) water or trash collection are not provided. There are also some cool hiking trails in the area.

Blair Valley – Typical Primitive Campsite

Vern Whitaker Horse Camp

Vern Whitaker Horse Camp has 10 equestrian campsites and is located about 8 miles from Borrego Springs in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The campground is popular on weekends from late October through early April. Amenities include 33 horse corrals, drinking water, flush toilets and warm-water (solar) showers. Each campsite also has a large parking area, table, fire ring and grill. You can also purchase firewood from the camp host (during season).

Dos Picos County Park

Dos Picos County Park was the last campground we checked out in San Diego County. The campground has 72 campsites (57 with water/electric hookups) and is set in a forested area 30 miles east of downtown San Diego.  There are also six rustic cabins to rent and one (youth) group campsite. The quiet family campground is open year-round. Amenities include potable (drinking) water, flush toilets, showers, trash collection and an RV dump station. There’s also a playground, 3 picnic areas, fishing pond, soccer field, nature trails and a gazebo.

Dos Picos County Park – Picnic Area

Fishing Pond – Dos Picos County Park

Napa Valley Area Camping

We timed our trip to Napa County to (hopefully) get some drone video and pics of Lake Berryessa’s Glory Hole Spillway (aka ‘Morning Glory Spillway’). Unfortunately the water had not quite reached the drain so we missed out this time.

The Glory Hole (pictured below), is a circular concrete drain that’s 72 feet across and is used when the lake’s surface level reaches a certain level. The water is then sucked down the giant drain 200 feet down near the Monticello Dam and into Putah Creek.

Lake Solano Park

Before making it to Napa, we swung into Lake Solano Park to check out the campground.  It has 58 campsites and is located on the western edge of the Sacramento Valley about 4 miles west of Winters, just off Highway 128. The campsites are fairly large and many are next to Putah Creek / Lake Solano. Several sites also have water & electric hookups. Amenities include drinking water, restrooms with flush toilets and hot-water showers, trash collection and 2 RV dump stations. There’s also a picnic / day use area across the street that has a small boat ramp for paddle boats. Be sure to also check out the nice Nature / Visitor Center located next to the campground.

Lake Solano Park – Campsite #26

Lake Solano Park – Campsite Boat Launch

Nature Center – Lake Solano Park

Putah Canyon

Putah Canyon Campground has 160 campsites next to Lake Berryessa and is also just a 45 minute drive to Napa Valley attractions. About 75% of the campsites are waterfront, giving campers the option to moor their watercraft below their site.

The campground is open year-round. Campsites can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs up to 40 feet. About 1/2 of the sites are tent only. Group camping is also available. Each site also has a gravel parking area, table, fire ring and grill. Campground amenities include drinking water, vault toilets, trash collection and a dump station.

Putah Canyon – Camp Store

Lake Berryessa View

Day Use Area

Steele Canyon

Steele Canyon Campground has 85 campsites and is also located next to Lake Berryessa. Most campsites have views of the water and several are waterfront. Campsites can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs (no hookups).  The campground also has one of the biggest concrete launch ramps on the lake; so it’s got that going for it.

Steele Canyon – Campsite #56

Boat Ramp – Steele Canyon

Lake Berryessa View – Steele Canyon

Sonoma Coast Camping

After visiting the Napa Valley area we headed over to the beautiful Sonoma Coast to update our photos of Doran Regional Park, including the tent campsites.  After that, we meandered up the coast and photographed scenic Fort Ross State Historic Park and Stillwater Cove Regional Park.

Doran Park

Doran Park Campground has 143 campsites and is located on a peninsula between Bodega Bay and the Pacific Ocean.  A 2-mile long sandy beach is also just across the street. Some campsites also have great views of the water. Campsites 1 to 128 can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs. The Miwok tent camping area is for tent camping only. Amenities include drinking water, flush toilets, hot showers ($) and an RV dump station.

Bodega Bay – Doran Park

Doran Park – Day Use Area

Doran Park – Beach

Fort Ross State Historic Park

Fort Ross State Historic Park features an historic Russian-era fort compound set above Fort Ross Cove on the scenic Northern California coast. The fort is also surrounded by sandy beaches, panoramic coves and redwood forests.

Reef Campground (Fort Ross SHP) has 20 first-come, first-serve campsites for tent camping set in an enchanted forest of old-growth redwoods. It’s also about 3/4 of a mile from the beach. Most sites have decent shade but a few have mid-day sun exposures. Trailers and RVs are not permitted at this time. There are no hookups, but each site has a table, fire ring and grill. Campground amenities include vault toilets and trash collection. You can purchase drinking water at the Fort Ross Visitor Center (about 2.5 miles away).

Stillwater Cove Regional Park

Stillwater Cove Regional Park has 23 campsites less than 500 feet from a beautiful crescent beach on California’s Sonoma Coast. There are 21 campsites for tents, trailers and RVs (up to 31 feet). Two hike/bike campsites are also available.

Campsites 3 to 5 and 8 to 10 have electric hookups. Sites 20 to 23 are tent only. All of the sites (except hike/bike) also have a paved parking spur, table, fire ring and grill. Campground amenities include flush toilets, coin-operated showers, trash collection and a dump station.

Stillwater Cove

Campsite #8

Trail to the beach (about 3/4 of a mile).

And that’s a wrap for California Camping – 10 Camps To Check Out. To date, we’ve visited and photographed over 770 campgrounds just in California (over 3,200 in the USA).