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Best Campgrounds In Orange County

Camping is a great way to do a staycation for Orange County residents. You can experience the outdoors from trees to flowers to oceans to streams. Bring your hiking gear, mountain bikes, boogie and surfboards too. You can go all out and build a tent or you can rent an RV or trailer and go glamping. Whatever your comfort level, here is a list of campgrounds to get you started.

O'Neill Regional Park
(credit: Ariel H./Yelp)

O'Neill Regional Park
30892 Trabuco Canyon Road
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678
(949) 923-2260
www.ocparks.com
O'Neil Regional Park has 4,500 acres among beautiful Trabuco and Live Oak Canyons. The park is heavily wooded with coast live oak and sycamore trees. The hillsides surrounding the park are filled with cactus, wild buckwheat, sagebrush and chaparral of scrub oak, buckhorn, and mountain mahogany. Trabuco and Hickey Creeks also meander through the park, flowing in winter and early spring, dry in summer and fall. The Arroyo campground offers 79 campsites varying in size for both RVs and tent camping. Camping is year-round. Check-in at 2 p.m. and check-out at 12 p.m. Camping registration is from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations can be made online, phone or in person.

Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park
Credit: OC Parks

Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park
33401 Ortega Highway
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949) 923-2210
www.ocparks.com
Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park is an 8,000-acre protected wilderness preserve located among the rivers, terraces and sandstone canyons of the western coastal Santa Ana Mountains. California Sycamore stand among groves of Native Coastal Live Oak. The preserve is accented by seasonal wildflowers, running streams, and wildlife viewing from any of the parks trails. Camping is year-round. Check-in at 2 p.m. and check-out at 12 p.m. Camping registration is from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations can be made online, phone or in person.

The Holidays
(credit: Allison C./yelp)

The Holidays
225 Avenida Calafia
San Clemente, CA 92672
(760) 707-9141
www.theholidaysca.com
The Holidays is a fun, unique camping experience located within San Clemente State Beach. The overnight accommodations are Vintage Shasta Trailers and located on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a mere 350 steps from the sand. The trailers are equipped with everything you need to cook, eat, and sleep – 3-burner stove, fridge, USB chargers, and Bluetooth sound system. They also provide activities like board games, cornhole, horse shoes, bocce, giant Jenga, and boogie boards. Campground includes picnic tables, fire pits, and grills. Camping is spending time with friends and family (and meeting new friends) while sitting around a campfire creating lifelong memories.

crystal cove state
(credit: LagunaticPhoto/shutterstock)

Moro Campground at Crystal Cove State Park
8471 N. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 494-3539
www.crystalcovestatepark.org
Crystal Cove State Park has 3.2 miles of Pacific coastline, wooded canyons, bluffs, and underwater park. Visitors can also enjoy the Historic District, beach, backcountry, and activities like swimming, surfing, sunbathing, scuba and skin diving, fishing, mountain biking, hiking, and horseback riding. In the winter, rangers conduct nature hikes. Moro Campground has 58 family campsites with picnic tables, 28 sites for RVs and trailers, 30 "low impact" sites for soft-sided trailers, van conversions and tents. Check-in is at 3 p.m. and check-out is at 1 p.m. Campsite reservations can be made online or on the phone.

bolsa-chica-2-by-steve-smith- VERIFIED - Ashley Ryan
(credit: Steve Smith)

Bolsa Chica State Beach
17851 Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 377-2481
www.parks.ca.gov
Bolsa Chica State Beach is located in Huntington Beach and extends from Sunset Beach to Seapoint Avenue. It is a popular place for fishing, biking, surfing, volleyball, and watching wildlife. During the summer, visitors can enjoy bare-handed fishing for California grunion (with a fishing permit). There is also a multi-use trail that connects Bolsa Chica with Huntington State Beach. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is across the road from the beach. Check-in is at 2 p.m. and check-out is at 12 p.m. No tent camping allowed.

Related: Best Dog-Walking Trails In Orange County

By Chelsea Madren

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