Stopped by Butterfield to check it out on a day trip from San Diego. From my visit, it seemed like a great place to live! This spacious property has lots of options, from sites to park your own RV to mobile homes and single family homes. You can even camp if you'd like! It's the perfect place to get away from the bustle of the city and enjoy some peace and quiet out in the California desert. The on site manager, Kyle, is great. He was available to show us around and was quick to address the needs of the community members. The community members we interacted with seemed really happy to be living there. There is a well stocked general store, numerous pools, and even a few farm animals on site. Check it out! read more

My writing partner and I stayed in a Rustic Cabin (horse shed/tool shed with bunk beds) for three weeks in December. Doug, the caretaker, was more than accommodating. Hell of a nice guy. Helped us out with whatever we needed. The weather was cold and windy. We were allowed to bring a space heater along with a 100' extension cord, which reached across the way to an RV spot. If you're going to do that, buy a good quality, low gauge cord. There's not much out there in the desert, which was perfect for writing. It was 45 minutes into town-- either Julian or Borrego Springs. You'll find some hiking trails, a pool, clean bathrooms, a little store and visitor lounge, and very slow wi-fi. AT&T mobile & data works, but neither for Verizon. read more

See all

I am currently living here and what can I say the peacefulness that you get living here cannot be compared, I have always been a city gal but happily treated it for this. This is especially true now with all the craziness in the city I feel safer here than anywhere. Also props to the management and everyone that works here super friendly always with a smile and happy to help. The improvements that are seen in the exterior each week is impressive, great crew, always working hard. This place feels like a community that you don't experience in the city anymore, you actually know tour neighbors and wave to everyone, that was something that I missed. Really glad to be living here, and can't wait for summer to enjoy those pools, 3 in the property so never gets too crowded!!! read more

Pulled in to check this place out for possible future RV trip. As soon as we pulled in we both thought to ourselves and then out loud this place looks pretty sketchy. Dirty and trashy Mobile homes near the entrance didn't make a great first impression shady looking pepple hanging around the front of the store was enough for us just to U turn out of the parking lot and keep going. No thanks read more

Purchased my first home here, suppose to be a brand new manufactured home. I wish now that I hadn't. There is no foundation where my home was placed. Everything is off center my bathrooms toilet is slanted due to it being uneven, just sloppily put together. We also had a leak under the bathroom sink that leaked and caused floor damage which I will have to replace. Again this is a brand new manufactured home and it started having all these issues as soon as we moved in. My very first visit and we had 4 posts missing from our home, they were present when the realtor sent a walkthrough video. When I brought it up to the older man working at the store he said it's your problem now you bought the place. Very rude. One thing I know is somewhat my fault and should have questioned is the home that is in the desert didn't come with central cooling.. but it came with central heating. Also the power is constantly going out - so my food goes bad. This is another thing how is my bill for 2 months in a row 180 dollars and than all of a sudden it shoots to 352 also they use solar to power these homes. And I did not use any more power than the month before. I am very disappointed in this place. So before you purchase here make sure it is on a foundation and that it is not off center and there are no leaks!! read more

I lived at Butterfield for a month and I found it very disappointing. The new owner is in the process of turning it into a mobile home park for the homeless and disabled. I'm sure at o ne point in its history it was a great place, but as of right now, it leaves a lot to be desired. read more

I really enjoy the relaxing atmosphere here. Its a greenish Oasis in the middle of the SD country desert. Love the place been coming here since the mid 80's it's had quite a number of changes over the years. It once had a cool little sports bar and restaurant a kids petting zoo, video arcade and even gas pumps. It still has a convenience store, several pools and Jacuzzi's and plenty of shady areas. Check the weather before coming if you have a tent...this desert valley can get extremely windy at times. I've even seen trees knocked down during my occasional camping visits. read more

What a wonderful place to live. Surrounded by majestic mountains. This high desert resort is a place where everybody is friendly and yet so peaceful. I would of had loved to come camping here in my younger years so I would of know that I would of ended up here. Destiny had me here anyway. Live, Love, Laugh here at Butterfield. Much to see. An exciting place to live indeed. The clubhouse always open for gatherings. Especially during the holidays when everyone gets together for a festive time. read more

One star is for the donkey, who is very friendly and loves the attention. One is for the guy running the store; he was very pleasant, helpful and friendly. One star is for the wi-fi, which is scarce in this area. (No cell service.) I'll have to stop there, though. I went there to go swimming, and only one of the 3 pools was open. The pool seemed very clean and well maintained, but the water was very cold and I could only stay in it for 1 minute. There was a jacuzzi, which was warm, but it was completely filled by a large family with about 8 screaming kids. I could do nothing but put my feet in it, because of this one family occupying the entire tub. The rest rooms seemed old and lacked maintenance. A group of campers were playing loud music, which gave the area a ghetto feel. I gave up and drove down to Agua Caliente down the road to go swimming, which was very crowded but at least they have the room and maintenance. But this place is worth stopping at to pet the donkey! read more

Tent camping $20 a night with use of pool and spa. Grounds have use of laundry if needed with quarters. Also can ask to use the gas BBQs at the pool areas. Staff that runs campground exceeds most businesses examples of good customer service. They stopped once in our campsite to make sure everything was ok. They turned on a spa to heat up water thats not used often rather than tell me use the one thats all ready heated up just so I could use spa that was not near the YMCA campers (I wanted to hear no kids). We werent able to get water to come out of our campsite and they were there within 15 minutes to let us know it was an issue with the well. Really good customer service and they will have me as a camper for many years. read more

See all

This place is Not the nice, beautiful, relaxing, camp ground it use to be. To much trash everywhere, un- clean, pool is dirty, fence is down, on the ground, I'M not sure if they are putting a new fence or what but, for sure this place is not what it use to be. Main entrance is not representable. To many trailers everywhere you get lost, you are not sure if are for rent, or for camping, or people live there. So No not my place any more. read more

Douglas is such a sweet and friendly guy. He gave me a hand drawn trail map to find the Indian kitchen, Rock House and an amazing abandoned gold mine. The kids all loved that hike. I've often stayed at Agua Caliente, just down the road - but the weather at Butterfield makes it a much better base camp. Agua Caliente is crowded, loud and the rangers are sometimes unfriendly. Bring carrots for Donkeyodey, and the two horses, they will love you! My son's bike didn't suffer any blowouts - but a friend of mine also had problems with burs - so leave the bikes at home. After a day of hiking, the cold pool is refreshing. If you want a warm pool, take a short drive to Agua Caliente and enjoy their mineral pools. read more

See all

My family was excited to head out for a camping trip. We loaded up the car and drove the two hours to Butterfield. We had contacted the site the night before via telephone and said we were looking for a place to tent camp. They told us just to show up the next day and there would be a spot for us. When we showed up three people quickly ran up to the car to take our payment. We found a spot, unloaded and set up. Shortly afterwards we found out that everything is closed. No trails, no bathrooms, nothing! We specifically told them we were tent camping the day before when we called. It should've been mentioned at that time that everything was closed. When we went to leave of course there was no one around to get our money back. A lot of work setting up and driving home with a car load of disappointed kids. read more

Love this place so much this is a community in transition so people here should be patient and be polite to the staff it goes a long way when you are respectful. Every resident here need to work together in keeping this place a lovely place to live. Come check out the best sunrise in ca. read more

This was a pretty fun camping trip. We stayed in Tents and the owner was super friendly and even addressed us by name. On a customer friendliness level they get a 5. I'm giving it a 3 overall on quality. The place is pretty run down. Red & Black Ant hills everywhere throughout the campground. Playground is old. The pool & hot tub are in decent condition. Bathrooms are fairly reasonable all things considered. Shower pressure not that great. Small Thorns everywhere as well. Both of our kids tires were popped because of them and we saw 2 other campers with flat tires. Best advice don't bring bikes. This area of the desert sits in a bit of a valley so there are frequent moderate to strong wind breezes. If it weren't for the thorns and ants everything else would be tolerable. It is after all camping. There are hiking trails nearby and a reasonably priced general store for necessities I.e. ice, mini Coleman propane tanks, beer etc. read more

Butterfield Community - Hiking trails - Mobile Home Parks Near Me - Julian, California

If you want to stay in the area go to Aqua Caliente. My wife told Douglas we were leaving a day early because the mattress in cabin #12 is rock hard. He says he has the same one and had to put a foam topper on it. One would think that would warrant the same thing for paying guests:( we had to put the sofa mattress on top of ours to make it half way bearable. Only 1 out of 3 pools were open and that one was freezing! The playground looks post apocalyptic. They advertise free wi fi, but it's only if you hang out in front of the store. read more

WOW!!!! This place is changing for the better every day. The old owners ran it into the ground for over a decade and a half if not more. Improvements galore!!!! The new owners and management are constantly hard at work 24/7. They truly care about their community and the work they are putting into it. Their customer service is phenomenal and go above and beyond to make it feel like home. The scenery is beyond beautiful especially the hiking trails and the view of the stars at night. I can't wait to see what they will do in the next year. I will be back again and again. read more

A nice quiet place to enjoy the surrounding area. I was in an RV, with full hookups and loved the convenience. I didn't get much time to walk the ranch and see all the sites and sights, but what I did see was great. We were able to park two 36' motorhomes with 20' trailers no problem! Park people were great, as well as my (camping) neighbors. We'll be back for sure!! read more

Butterfield Ranch campground is one of the better campgrounds in the area. With a general store, pool, showers and hookups, it is a great place for easy camping. I plan on coming here often with my kids. They have a playground and there are some great native American ruins a short hike away. It is also a good place for group camping and staging for longer outings. read more

We stayed in a 2 story "cabin" (which was actually a trailer with a license plate on the back-but from the front it did look like a cabin). The cabin was nice and clean, and I loved that it had AC and pots/pans, utensils, dishes/cups stocked in the kitchen. The bathroom had a shower/bath (but no bath plug so bring a plug if you want to use the bath). The cabin had an upstairs loft which my two kiddos LOVED. I was a little leery though because the staircase going up to the loft was very steep so beware with little ones. The atmosphere was charming but calling it a "Resort" is a HUUUGE stretch. However, even though the place wasn't as advertised on their website, my family had a GREAT time and will likely come back. Its quiet, peaceful, and the nature in the area is beautiful. Its a great place to come to to unplug from the craziness of day to day life. Its a 10 minute drive to Agua Caliente, which is a state park that has 3 hot spring infused pools and hiking trails; a really fun place to visit. TIP: Make sure to bring all the food, drinks, and etc that you will need because there is NOTHING in the area. No gas stations, restaurants, or stores with the exception of the general stores at Butterfield (not open Mon-Tues and a general store at Stagecoach, an RV park down the road from Butterfield (closed on Mondays). PROS: *The resident donkey and horse were a HUGE hit with my kids who loved feeding them carrots and saying hi to them every morning. *The lounge (next to the general store) is beautiful and very comfortable but was LOCKED the entire 3 days we were there with the exception of 1 morning when we had to ask for them to unlock it so we could check it out. *The General Store sells wine and beer which is awesome because there are no liquor stores in the area *The Cabin has a bathroom, kitchen (stocked), living room (with TV/DVD player), 2 bedrooms, and lots of storage space (pantry, storage area under stairs). The AC worked great and the cabin was very clean. The cabin had a beautiful porch with a table and chairs and it was so nice to eat outside and enjoy coffee in the mornings with a beautiful view. *There was a basketball court which was nice. *The property is huge so there is lots of space for kids to run and play. *There are dirt paths throughout the property which is great for bikers. CONS: *They advertise 3 pools and 2 spas; there are only 2 pools and 1 spa. Neither pools were heated-thus freezing and unusable. The hot tub was always full of teenagers that lived at the trailer park which is part of the property so we never used it. The pools and tub though were clean and well maintained. *They advertise a Clubhouse-nope, locked the entire time we were there. *They advertise free wifi-nope, Wifi only turned on when someone is working in the general store and you have to be IN the store or lounge to use it. *They advertise BBQ facilities: only in the pool areas-no grills at the cabins or on the fire rings *The general store is closed Mondays AND Tuesdays, we arrived on Monday so were stranded without ice and firewood for 2 days! *The "playground" is flat out dangerous aside from the swing set which is nice; there is literally a scrap pile, a dilapidated rickety slide structure that I wouldn't let my kids go near, and one of those old school jungle gyms that were outlawed by schools in the 90's. read more

If quiet and majestic is what your looking for go no further. Butterfield Community is the best of both worlds. Surrounded by mountains and desert there's always something to do and see. But if your looking to lay back and not do anything then do it here. The management here are always helpful to everyone's needs from the store empoyees to the owner of Butterfield nobody here is above reproach. They are always willing to help. Three pools. Two Jacuzzi and a clubhouse makes sure that there is plenty to keep yourself occupied during the long summer days and nights. Not to mention how affordable it is to live here. Your not going to find a better deal anywhere in San Diego. Great deals on all rentals or rent to own. All this and I didn't mention that dogs and cats are welcome along with other animals. A couple horses a donkey, some goats and chickens there's even a pot bellied pig! So come to Butterfield Community and check us out you won't regret it. read more

My Family and I had a great time hiking and exploring. The staff was friendly and helpful. The store sells beer and wine which was nice. Since there is no one else that does for a long distance. There is a hand drawn map that has been copied too many times to some cool stuff. It is off the beaten path and very relaxing. For how far removed from civilization it is a resort. True it could use better wifi, heated pools, BBQs, and 7 day general store hours, but that is part of being out in the middle of the desert. read more