Camping at Carlsbad State Beach is unmatched. This campsite offers the best of both worlds: city life + beach life. It sits right on the ocean bluff with two sides, bluff-side (oceanfront) and streetside. Obviously bluff-side is preferred, but staying on the streetside is still a treat. A few things I love about this camping experience: - They allow all forms of camping. Tent, RV, van, etc. - The site has clean bathrooms and warm showers. Just be sure to purchase tokens at the front for the shower. - Dog friendly! You can bring your pet along but they must be on leash and aren't allowed on the beach. - Carlsbad has the most captivating sunsets, and if you're lucky, you'll even see a few dolphins. Truly the most memorable 32nd birthday activity with all my favorite people. read more

Such a cool spot to beach camp. Also, live music, a store, a pizza and wing spot, and decent shower and bathroom for a state beach. It's a great place to catch the sunset on a Friday evening. We were lucky to book a bon fire pit near the music and lots of bench seating for the show. It does get crowded so glad we had our own space. The camp sites are pretty big also, fitting large RV's, two cars, and comes with an outdoor table. If parking off-site (like we did since we were just there for the evening), be sure to walk back to the main entrance to exit if later at night as the side entrances are locked at sunset. Great selection of beers, wines, pizzas, wings, and even some Mac & cheese bites. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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I really want to tell you to stay away so my family can have the place to ourselves. This is a beautiful campground. Stunning views and the grounds are very well maintained. The ocean is about three flights of stairs down a cliff, so if you are handicapped, going in the ocean is probably not going to happen. The beach is primarily river rock, probably placed there to prevent the cliff from deteriorating. Each night we were there the camp store had live music read more

It's a beautiful beach and doesn't tend to get too overcrowded most weekdays. But I would still get there early. The sun seems to come out earlier down south than us here in Orange County. Carlsbad is really laid-back, quite different from the hustle and bustle of Huntington Beach, for example, where it's quite lively and you have a lot going on and I love it, but for a more relaxing journey with family or what not, definitely Carlsbad beach is beautiful. read more

My fiancée and I love to camp and this has become one of our new favorites. Reservations are booked up far in advanced but we were lucky enough to book a spot due to some cancellations. Conveniently located near bathrooms and stairs to the beach this campground is perfect for a weekend getaway or family time. We also enjoyed the fact that they have a camp store equipped with food! We didn't actually get to eat there because it was quite busy when we went. But, I assume they have other essentials too. I love that they have live music too! Just a fun place to camp! Totally recommend getting a premium campsite too to get that ocean view read more

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This is my girl!!!! There's some sand but mostly rocks. Great to sit and watch the sunset read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Beautiful oceanfront sites. Never feels cramped or crowded. Camp Store is nearby with great food and drinks. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

One of my favorite beaches, its beautiful. Some are surfing and others just enjoying the sunny weather California.. Summer is approaching and Safeguards are ready. read more

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Amazing campsite. We spend every thanksgiving here and it is always a fun time. Restrooms are clean and everyone is always so nice. The campground store is a great bonus. They have food, feed, and snacks. Everything you need in one spot. If you can get a site on the bluffs to hear the waves crashing as you sleep. And if you are lucky you can see dolphins while you drink your morning coffee. read more

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My wife and I recently camped overnight here and it was beautiful. The campsites are huge and the bathrooms were pretty clean. I like that the campsites overlook the ocean. It's beautiful and pretty clean for the most part. It's nice that they offer live entertainment over by the store at check in. This campsite is also close to a Costco and a 7-11 where you can refill your propane tank easily. I plan to return and stay longer, God willing. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Beautiful day! .....Lots of people, ..... summer is ending for a lot of families....time for the kids to go back to school....parking is tough around here.....BUT so worth it.... Beaches are clean and the water is cool.. temps in the high 70's today. Awesome!!!! 7/31/24 Enjoy! read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

A nice place to camp. Bathrooms are clean. The folks at the front gate are strict about everything though. Two cars per site max. No visitor parking at all. It's a bummer dogs aren't allowed on the beach in Carlsbad. read more

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We enjoyed our beach day! You have to find parking, but fortunately we got lucky! We parked around Cherry Avenue. This is a nice beach in a nice area of San Diego. Specifically, what I love about this beach is that you can park and you'll have easy access to the beach! The kiddos had fun playing in the water and sand while my partner and I relaxed. We saw dolphins and squirrels too... the kiddos loved it! read more

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What a beautiful beach. The only thing about this particular beach is that there is no parking. The parking is 8 minutes away at Ralph's. If you want to eat at the camp store you get 45 minutes to do so. There is 5 parking spots for the camp store. The campground is a great spot for campers. The view is amazing. They have restrooms at the campground. read more

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Beach is Great! Parking is difficult Great shops and restaurants around Locals set up very early with tarps and chairs and get there later read more

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Very busy in a weekend. Can't check in until 2pm and after, not a minute before. They have live entertainment at the store by the kick for a few hours. Large campsites. Good amount of space away from your neighbors. Lots of campers in bikes and walking, so watch your speeds. Beautiful ocean view and fresh air. read more

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This was our first official beach campsite/campground. We were able to snag one reservation on a Friday night. It was great as it was our trial for future campgrounds with our baby. This location definitely set the bar for future beach campground because of the camp store , the location, cleanliness in the restrooms and showers and obviously 10 out of 10 on the beach views. I was also really surprised that there wasn't mosquitoes in the middle of the night. There was also a lot of security in the golf carts overall we had a great experience and we can't wait to go back and try to snag for the whole weekend. I know the reservations are hard to get but they are 100% worth it. I would also check randomly to see if there's any cancellations. Overall, I highly highly recommend this campsite for regular tenting or RVs. Also they are dog friendly, which is a plus everyone I saw for the most part had their dogs on a leash at their campsite. read more

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Not my favorite camping spot, although the ocean view is beautiful. The 101 runs right next to camping spots, and traffic is pretty loud. The campground was impeccably clean with large spaces and room for 3 cars to park. More than one tent per site is allowed. Leashed dogs are permitted but not on the beach. Additional cars after the first one are $15 per day. Bathrooms have adequate toilet paper but no soap or paper towels. Bring your firewood and supplies as Carlsbad is an expensive area to shop in. Very safe for the kids. Other than traffic noise, the campground was very quiet at night. read more

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Amazing beach for family and friends get together. It's a clean and safe environment. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Lots of convenient spots to park. Downtown has restaurants, coffee, bevies galore, so much to take in. Definitely worth enjoying the day here. The beach: beautiful day, long open beach, soft gentle waves, not too crowded, and epic sunset. Walked away with a full heart. read more

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What's not to LOVE about South Carlsbad State Beach? It's absolutely perfect!! It's so peaceful and beautiful!! I love this area so much!! Next time I will take more photos read more

Great beach, easy access, not super crowded. My only qualm would be that it didn't seem handicap accessible at the main entrance. I only saw stairs -- no ramps -- and about half a dozen people in wheelchairs parked at the top of the stairs, looking out at the beach. It broke my heart. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Great beach, not crowded - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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I recently stayed at South Carlsbad State Beach for an RV camping trip and unfortunately will not be returning. The biggest issue is their generator policy. Generators are not allowed to be used until 10am. I completely understand and respect quiet hours during the early morning and overnight, but 10am is far too late. Most campgrounds allow generator use starting at 8am, which is much more reasonable for families who need power to make breakfast and start their day. Waiting until 10am makes it nearly impossible to cook a normal breakfast for my family unless we completely rearrange our routine. The rule just feels excessive and out of touch with how most families camp. We rely on our generator for basic cooking and convenience, and being restricted that late into the morning really put a damper on the experience. The view is beautiful and honestly the only standout feature of this campground. The oceanfront scenery is great and the location itself is hard to beat. That said, the camp hosts were also disappointing. They came across as rude and unwelcoming, which made the overall stay feel uncomfortable rather than relaxing. Between the unusually late generator hours and the unpleasant host interaction, we will not be coming back. Beautiful view, but not worth the hassle read more

First time car camping at So Carlsbad State Beach. Perfect weather on this visit. Lovely views of the Carlsbad State Beach ocean. Bathrooms and showers are located within walking distance from all camp sites. The camp hosts are very friendly and keep area orderly. Thankful we had nice neighbors and everyone abided by the late night quiet time. Camp Store centrally located with pizza, burgers and hot dogs. Local grocery store and coffee within 20min walking distance. I would definitely come back here. Book times are 6 months in advance but you might get lucky checking daily especially during peak season! You never know if a spot can become available! read more

Great place, we dry camped and full hookup we love the large camp sites , very relaxing campsite

need improvement. the light pole,fences and life guard tower are rusted, rotten,about to break. at usual, when you have bad leadership, the one gorgious place fall apart. read more

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Worth the price of admission. The perfect place to relax and reflect on life. I stop by here often as my office is only a few blocks away. Parking is easy and the beach is clean. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beautiful - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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This is a very well kept campground. The bathrooms are very clean with lots of toilet paper. There is a sink to wash dishes and spigots around the campground. I stayed in site 24 in the north side. Check in starts at 2pm exactly and sometimes there's a line. The address is different than what google gives you since you have to drive down a bit to get to the entrance. There's site with no bushes so no privacy not to mention that some kids will go into your site to hang out which I figured was rude. Cell service is good and they do have a camp store. The firewood at Ralphs which is about 5 mins away is cheaper about 8 bucks a bundle. Most of the premium sites on the north end have unobstructed views of the ocean. I paid around 77 bucks for one night and booked about a month ahead. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Campsite 24 - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Wow super nice beach! Reminds me of the strand around Redondo. Lots of walking paths over looking the beach. Just a really nice beach to chill. There are volleyball courts, lots of open spaces for games. This is a great place for a picnic. Close to the outlet mall and Carlsbad Village. Parking on the street and throughout the neighborhood. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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My friends visited from LA and were really impressed by the cleanliness of South Carlsbad State Beach. The sand was smooth, and with the exception of the seaweed, the beach was really clean. There were no garbage on the beach, which was great! The kids had a great time boogie boarding and playing in the sand. The adults had a nice time lounging and jumping around! We came on July 4th weekend (Saturday) and there were plenty of free parking on the beach, which was really nice! Our crew of 12 had a bunch of beach gear to lug around, so it was pretty awesome that we easily found parking a few steps away from the sand. If parking is always this great, then it's worth the far drive to Carlsbad for me! We had a fun day in the sun and couldn't have picked a better beach! My first time here, but definitely won't be my last!... read more

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BEAUTIFUL beach to watch the sunset RIGHT along the shore. I couldn't believe how gorgeous this was. We took a little family trip out here where my one year old was obsessed with the beach and tasty sand apparently lol. This beach is conveniently located right off a main road where you can pull your car into the parking lot, walk over to the stairs and descend down into the rocky beach. read more

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Needed to have some fun in the sun. This place was clean and plenty of parking that you didn't have to pay for. Perfect weather for chasing a sunset and get a tan. Everyone was spaced out enough and respected each other space. Tons of places in walking distance from the beach. read more

This is usually our favorite place to stay. However this last trip was miserable. The newest camp hosts has 2 dogs that were outside every day and just barked non stop. Crowds were intense and every site had triple the amount of people allowed. It's summer so expect more noise than usual. read more

This place was neat. Growing up we went camping a lot. This location wasn't too far from our home and the beach was lovely. It wasn't the type of beach to go and lay out in the sun when we were there. We were there Friday, Saturday and left Sunday on an overcast weekend. The camping spots were a good size and each had a fire pit and picnic table. We were on the right side after pulling up and paying for the parking ($15/night). We were invited (2 adults, 2 kids) by a friend and his two kids and we both brought our 6 people tents, chairs and a car and SUV all fit well. The bathrooms were only one campsite away! Plus there were lots of bathroom facilities down the road. We were not on "ocean" side, but across the way and still saw the ocean with no issues. There were some lookout points every so often and there were stairs going down to the beach! We saw a snack shack place/store, but didn't get a chance to go in. It was quiet at night so that was nice. People running and walking their dogs and kids playing, bike riding and scootering around throughout the day. Overall, there was a good vibe the whole time we were there. My girls had never gone camping, but they enjoyed it so we'll be returning in a few days again! read more

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The camp hosts (husband and wife) are condescending and arrogant! We had simple questions and they responded with instant attitude. If you don't like this hosting gig, do something else! The prices and the processes are complete mysteries to people who do not know...so when a question is asked, be nice, be kind, be polite. These two were completely out of line with their responses to questions to the point where we wanted to involve the police. Very confrontational and completely out of line! If you come to this place...be prepared for a less than hospitable environment. The State should remove this "team" as I'm sure they create more problems then they solve. The camp store and the staff is fantastic, no problems there. And the ranger and staff at the camp are actually pretty cool. The host, they need to be replaced. read more

Best location for a campground ever. During all this craziness in 2020 the campground has been closed for camping but OPEN for pedestrians (biking, skateboarding and scooters etc). It's been so nice to walk it when there are no campers (except the hosts) or commotion. Obviously there are constant ocean views, bathrooms are still open and the scenery never disappoints! FYI: it's a 1.5 mile walk from one end to the other. read more

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We didn't stay at the campgrounds, but we did enjoy the beach on two different days. The parking situation is tough (even on the Thursday we visited), so plan to get here early. We got lucky and found a parking spot quickly. The following day, we walked to the beach, so parking was not an issue. After a short walk from the parking area, a decline down the hill leads to the beach itself. This part of the beach was rocky in some areas, but beyond the rocks was sand. People were social distancing, which was great. The kids loved the water, enjoyed throwing a football around, and building sandcastles. We spent about three hours at the beach, and overall, it was a nice experience. read more

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What can I say about Carlsbad State Beach. It's almost perfect just like most of the beaches in North San Diego County. There are some very spectacular things about this beach. One it is a great place to enjoy a beautiful sunset. It is a phenomenal place to pick up a beach volleyball game, three it's got a very good beach break so it is awesome for Boogie boarding. Another little perk not known by all is you can have Knockout Pizza delivered right down to your Beach Blanket. Don't forget to tip the delivery person it's well worth it they worked very hard bringing you that pizza down all those steps. So tip well. North San Diego County does a very nice job keeping their beaches pristine for all the many tourists that come and visit Southern California. This particular Beach is behind a resort known as the Carlsbad Inn I've stayed there many times it's a very very nice place to stay. If you get a chance make it over to Carlsbad State Beach one word of caution there are sometimes stingrays near the beach so be careful while you're out there but then again they're probably all up and down the coast we just don't see them. Thank you city of Carlsbad and thank you state of California for keeping our beaches clean if you visit there do your part leave the beach cleaner than when you arrived. While you visit north San Diego County make it over to the Carlsbad State Beach you'll have a fun time from morning Noon till night. read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Sunset - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

During covid, if you could snag a spot here it's def worth it. Def Saturday's are booked as far as the eye can see but we found a Sunday spot in August and it was literally perfect temperatures and not too crowded when I went. I tried to find literature in any of the sites that would share if there's someone at the gate to let a car out if they needed to leave and the answer is the gate leaving is unmanned. To come back in though you must come back before the gate closes at sunset usually. This policy may change as the situation changes day by day with covid. And when you call the park and rec line for this specific site (949) area code it rings without anyone picking up. I love that you can park right next to the site, see pictures. Makes it very convenient when you don't have to lug your stuff further then a few inches from your site. And the views ! You do hear the background train tracks and highway but the site beauty itself more than makes up for it. Sites are extremely close to each other so peaceful campers beware. read more

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One of my fave beaches in so cal ! It's not too busy like mission or PB, even when it does get crowded it stays pretty chill. Cute beach town with good food and good vibes read more

South Carlsbad State Beach - Not a cloud in the sky - Beaches Near Me - Carlsbad, California