Best Campgrounds Near Huntington Beach
20 hand-picked camping destinations curated for families visiting REI Huntington Beach. Each campground selected for quality, scenery diversity, and memorable experiences.
Showing 20 campgrounds
Featured Picks
Upper Moro Campground
Top choice for quick, easy beach camping from Huntington Beach, with ocean-view sites, tunnel access to Crystal Cove, and a big network of family-friendly hiking and biking trails.
Dogwood
High-rated San Bernardino mountain favorite with shady pine forest camping and easy access to Lake Arrowhead and Lake Gregory for boating, fishing, swimming, and biking.
Santa Cruz Scorpion
Boat-in Channel Islands adventure that feels truly wild yet structured, offering uncrowded coastal hikes, protected coves for snorkeling or swimming, and outstanding wildlife and night skies.
Canyon Campground
Leo Carrillo’s canyon campground pairs shady sycamore-lined sites with a short walk to the beach, tide pools, and sea caves, giving families both cool inland shade and classic Malibu shoreline.
Borrego Palm Canyon Campground
Standout Anza-Borrego desert campground with a palm-oasis hike right from camp, dramatic mountain backdrops, spring wildflowers, and dark skies that are great for stargazing with kids.
Deer Canyon Campground
Very close-in backcountry-style option in Crystal Cove’s inland canyons, offering a quiet chaparral setting, great views, and excellent hiking and mountain biking without a long drive.
More to Explore
Rv Campground
Extremely popular bluff-top beach campground with ocean views, surf access, and full RV/towable support, ideal for families who want maximum beach time with more amenities.
Green Valley
Cozy pine-forest campground about a mile from Green Valley Lake, giving families easy access to trout fishing, designated swim areas, and mellow mountain hikes.
Barton Flats
Classic San Bernardino NF hub with big shady sites, access to Jenks Lake and the Santa Ana River, and great trail access toward San Gorgonio for families stretching into longer hikes.
Palomar Mountain State Park Campground
Palomar’s cool, dense forest feels like a mini-Sierra with loop hikes and trout fishing at nearby Doane Pond, making it a great summer escape without driving all the way north.
Paso Picacho & Cabins
Cuyamaca Rancho’s flagship campground with both tent sites and basic cabins, close to Lake Cuyamaca and excellent summit hikes, ideal for families wanting a mountain feel plus some comfort.
San Elijo State Beach Campground
Bluff-top Encinitas campground with stair access to the sand, good surf breaks, and a nearby reef for tidepooling, offering a lively but compact beach-camping experience.
Carpinteria State Beach Campground
Family-friendly beach town campground with gentle surf, tidepools, a seal rookery, and nearby estuary trails, combining easy sand play with lots of wildlife viewing.
Quail Campground
Lake Perris option with warm-water swimming, shoreline fishing, and bike paths, giving families a straightforward lake-weekend alternative to the higher, cooler mountain lakes.
Mountain Oak
Small, wooded campground directly across from Jackson Lake, ideal for families who want quick access to canoeing, shoreline fishing, and cooler mountain air without a very long drive.
South Fork Family Campground
Santa Ana River–side sites in thick conifer forest give kids room to explore the water’s edge, while nearby trails and forest roads make it easy to add day hikes or family bike rides.
Council
Quiet pine-forest campground near Jenks Lake and the Santa Ana River, offering a slightly more low-key alternative to Barton Flats with similar access to fishing and hiking.
Burnt Rancheria
High-elevation Laguna Mountains base with big views and access to the Pacific Crest Trail, great for families who enjoy cooler temps and longer day hikes in a pine-oak forest.
Sawtooth Canyon Campground
Free, primitive desert campground in a dramatic boulder canyon that feels like a quieter, darker alternative to Joshua Tree, ideal for scrambling and stargazing with experienced families.
Little Round Valley Campground
Five-star-rated, high-elevation hike-in camp near San Jacinto’s granite peaks, best for strong, experienced families looking to turn a backpack or tram-assisted hike into a memorable alpine overnight.
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