San Clemente State Beach

I’m surprised to see the negative reviews on here but maybe we just got lucky. My family stayed for a weekend. We made reservations ahead of time. Never once saw the camp hosts, except when we checked in and checked out. For us, the campgrounds were quiet, other than the occasional sounds of a skateboard rolling by. Bathrooms were clean the whole time as well. We had a great spot on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Good hiking nearby & waves to surf just a short walk down the cliffs. If I were to complain, all I could think of is I personally prefer more rustic/​woodsy campgrounds but we chose this location because we were meeting up with more family to camp… plus we were at a so cal beach after all. And I didn’t really complain, was happy to have another successful camping trip complete!

Do not come here, I repeat DO NOT COME HERE !!! I hardly ever write bad reviews on Unilocal but after this nightmare of an experience I felt the need to share and inform my fellow citizens about this terrible campsite!
What’s not a better way to get all your friends together to relax, unwind, & have a fun time like camping !! This is what we all had in mind and unfortunately our expectations were apparently way too high.
First and foremost we are all working professionals here and definitely NOT IN A FRATERNITY! The park RANGERS and SHERRIFS at the campsite were extremely RUDE constantly harassing us and kept accusing us of being in a frat! Just because we were a group of 25 – 30 and had some beers does not make us a wild frat party.
Having a group of 25 – 30 does create a bit of noise which of course is understandable, so the park rangers came by to warn us around 9pm that at 10 pm we needed to quiet down because of the quiet time «curfew». So respectfully we did what was asked, lowered our voices, turned down the music and just hung around the camp fire eating and drinking. 10pm ish they came back again to check up on us as if we were little kids!!! We were just sitting around the fire quietly and apparently just doing that was too much noise! So we all went inside our tents for the moment because we didn’t want to cause any trouble. Yes we had a few come out and quietly hang around the fire and talk again but that was that. The next morning we all had breakfast around 9−10am and carried on with our day assuming we would be staying another night and by 12pm ish guess who decides to show up again, the park rangers and sheriffs … CAN WE JUST LIVE?! Lol.
We were forced to leave or the host of the entire camping trip would be fined with a misdemeanor for disturbing the peace because supposedly someone complained we were noisy last night. So around 1230 we were told to pack up our stuff, we had until 2pm to get out. Other neighbors came by and asked what was going on and they all agreed that we were not rowdy and crazy last night so they were just as confused as we all were.
To add salt to our wounds we were not given back the $ 15 we paid for parking for that day!!! Since we didn’t leave at 12pm they couldn’t refund us. And the park ranger specifically told the kiosk manager not to refund us our parking money! What a coincidence that he told them
In advance probably assuming we’d ask for our money back which of course we deserve to get back! How in the world were we supposed to know we were going to be kicked out! And how convenient that they told us to leave at 1230. What a low blow! Not only did they ruin our trip they basically stole our money too!
Moral of this long rant is Come here if you don’t mind being supervised & constantly harassed by the park rangers/​Sherrifs who have a serious power trip, love being around SKUNKS (they are infested everywhere, literally everywhere), and want to sleep early and not talk at all after 10pm! Be my guest if that sounds like your type of camping trip but me and my friends will NEVER BE BACK!!!

Horrible, which means very unpleasant or bad, would probably be the word to describe my experience with the campsite, the rangers and the staff. DON’T GO TO THIS PLACE if you are looking to enjoy your stay and have a good time. Go here if you like to go to bed early, not do anything, be harassed by the park rangers, and sleep with the skunks. The Rangers/​sheriff power trip like crazy and there is no say with them. They’re not even real cops lol. They will most likely kick people out or threaten you with a misdemeanor. On another note, the kiosk in the front where you purchase your parking, enjoys frauding people for their money. They act like they can’t do anything about giving your money back if you decide to leave or get dismissed. They don’t have a heart and only listen to what the park rangers tell them.
Don’t waste your time here. PLEASE look to another campsite if you don’t want to deal with what I mentioned above. There are multiple campsites around that are a lot better and more friendly. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE if you’re looking to enjoy your stay.

Where to begin on this «friendly» campgrounds?
THIS REVIEW IS LENGTHY BUT IF YOU HAVE THE TIME READ ON.
For starters my friends and I are hardworking professionals that have degrees and like to enjoy some fun every once in a while since we all have busy schedules. Most of us are in our late 20’s and are sincere and considerate of others.
My friend who hosted the event planned everything for months and invested time and money to get us all together. We hardly see each other so this was the time to unwind, relax, and take time out of our busy lives and enjoy a weekend. But that all changed with VERY RUDE customer service (RANGER, SHERIFF, and EMPLOYEES).
We arrived on Friday and started to set up camp and more people started arriving later in the day. Obviously we had alcohol and started drinking and it did get a little loud be we definitely toned it down before quiet hours 10P.M. We were Harassed by a ranger that they had been getting noise complaints and were told go in our tents and basically call it a night at 10P.M. I’m sorry «Dad» didn’t know we had curfew out here… what a douche. So anyways after he left a lot of people just went to bed and did call it a night but some did stay up and just mingled around the campfire. (Not to mention their SKUNK-​infestation, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!! In the garbage, canopies, even near the fire pits if you don’t hear one coming and it is already near your feet.) So after we were surrounded by skunks around 1A.M. We all called it a night!
The Next Morning we all wake have breakfast around 9A.M.-10 and just started going about our day even played card games around the fire pit some went for a walk down to the beach. Alcohol was not even in our minds since we were saving for night time. We were RUDELY greeted by Ranger and Sheriff at around 12P.M. with the questions WHAT SCHOOL WE WERE FROM? and WHAT FRATERNITY ARE WE IN? Most of us were in shock due to the fact that we graduated college quite a few years ago. We knew then by the tone of their voices and body language that nothing good was going to come from this conversation (there was a Fraternity there at a neighboring camp site across from us) The Ranger/​Sheriff wanted to speak with the host who made the reservations and basically said «If you don’t leave you will be charged with a misdemeanor.» Really!!! The host tried everything to comply with them but they were just being straight up RUDE and HARASSED us since the previous night. So basically we had until 2P.M. to pack up all of our gear for 30 people, take down tents, canopies, bbqs, etc. in 2hrs! Come on now the Ranger/​Sheriff are just getting a kick out of this.
After we get kicked out people wanted to get a refund for the $ 15 day parking because they had just paid it in the morning to stay another night. But then they were told no refund because we are leaving after 12P.M. Which they knew already that we were going to ask us to leave when they took our money which was a SKETCHY way to keep $ 15. Someone from the group also overheard someone say the Ranger/​Sheriff told the staff not to refund us. Which is totally bogus and also used their authority over the employees.
Since we got kicked out and wanted to still spend a day out because we still had a lot of food left over we decided to head over to Doheny State Beach and do a little picnic over there (which is like 20min away from San Clemente State Beach). So we set up shop near the Day use parking and relaxed there and BBQ’ed our food for the weekend with no alcohol just some good company and food. As were playing card games again around the fire pit a Ranger comes by, stops, gets out of his car and says to us «So you guys got kicked out huh.» First of all what the Heck are you doing here, Second how the hell did you know we were here, and Third just let us make the use of our day. TAKE A CHILL PILL BRO AND TAKE YOUR POWER TRIP A FEW NOTCHES DOWN.
I have been on many camping trips with large groups and have not ever experienced this level of RUDENESS, HARASSMENT, AND HUMILIATION!
DO NOT EVER GO TO THIS CAMPGROUND UNLESS YOU CONDONE WITH THIS BEHAVIOR

If I could give this camp site a 0 out of 5 I would. The park cops are completely power tripping and were rude. Do not go here if you want to enjoy your camping trip.

This is a brutally honest review.
This is absolutely not the place to go if you want to ENJOY camping. This is the place to go if you want to be constantly harassed by the Rangers.
First and foremost, a lot of time, effort and money was spent in planning this camping trip. We arrived Friday evening (⁴⁄₈) with a large group of friends, who are all working professionals with the intent of having a weekend spent with friends.
Around 8, we started drinking, as that is what young professions do when they get together with their friends. The night shift patrol, who probably failed in the police academy, came over and told us we need to quiet down. Mind you, quiet hours are after 10 PM. He comes over at 10 and tells us we need to quiet down and «go back in our tents». Um, excuse me. You are not our parent, we are not on a curfew and lastly why are you so riled up from us being outside?!
The next morning, at 12 ish, we were all sitting around the campfire playing a card game and the state park ranger and sheriff comes over and asks us «what school are you guys from? What fraternity are you guys from ?» Then he asked to speak to the person who made the reservations and it turns out they kicked us out from neighbor complaints. He told us that our neighbor complained saying their kids and themselves could not sleep until 3AM because we were too loud! Oh wow, from the bottom of my heart I am so terribly sorry to hear that you are an exaggerating drama queen who exemplifies dishonesty to your children because we were not even up at 3AM! The ranger also told us that if we even tried to complain about this, the person under the reservations would get a misdemeanor. How can that even be right? Well low and behold, it isn’t as this was verified by my aunt, who is a lawyer. They told us we had «until 2 PM to pack our stuff and leave because we were acting like loud fraternity people. «
As we abide and leave the exit, the parking pass cashier LAURA told us they were instructed to not refund our second day parking pass ($ 15) because we were leaving after 12. Their day passes expire at 12PM and they purposely kicked us out after 12, to keep our parking money for the second day.
The people that work here are worse than highway robbers, who are extremely rude and degrading to the bone. They do not let you speak and they are extremely extremely unfair. As we had other campers walk over and tell us that we were not being loud.
I have never been humiliated, falsely accused and robbed.
I am warning you, do not come here. The people are hostile, unfair and assholes.

I’ve camped my entire life. I’ve also been to various state beaches on these camping trips. This was my first time to San Clemente State Beach.
My mom & stepdad had reservations for their spring break. They have an RV so they were on the full hook up side. My stepdad is disabled so they brought a small 4×6 trailer to bring wood & bikes on. This trailer is not the kind of trailer that people sleep on, etc. They rolled the trailer on to our friends site because they were having the fires & we wanted the wood close by.
I came down a day later after my mom came down. Now I know that up until 2014, I have never had to pay to be the 2^nd vehicle. In 2014, I’ve just given my site number & was let in. But since last year, state parks now charge me $ 15/​day to park. As if my camping fee isn’t enough, now I have to pay $ 45 for 3 days? This is such a rip off! I can’t stand this part of it all. My parents have an RV & unless they want to take down their camp every time they need to go into town, they are stuck. They need someone with a car with them. But I guess it’s a way to make money so I’m stuck paying for the 2^nd vehicle.
Now because of other commitments, my husband joined me later. He came down the next day. He was greeted by Marie. I didn’t give him the site number beforehand. Marie said to him «oh you don’t know where you’re going?!» And even tho I answered the phone when he called, Marie sent him over to the parking lot to get out of line. He told her our site number & she told him the site was full with 3 vehicles & said nothing else. She gave no explanation or gave any input or solutions. Basically, the camp site was considering the little trailer a vehicle. I went over there & told them it was wheeled over to our friends site. There was a big lack of costumer service. It could have been handled by Marie a lot better by her explaining that the trailer is a vehicle according to them, or suggesting overflow parking, or asking him to contact one of us. She was just over it & not helpful. Earlier that day when I paid my own fee, I heard her say how she couldn’t wait for it to be 6pm (end of her shift). It’s not like we are squeezing as many cars for free on the asphalt. We are paying $ 15 a day for these cars. We have reservations. Do your job & figure things out. Our family drove over 60 miles to come here. You can’t just say site is full & expect him to what? Turn around? You can’t just shrug your shoulders & say oh well. Do something. Problem solve. It’s part of your job.
In the day use parking, there was a UHual truck the whole time. We also saw a car with a couple pretty much sleeping in the car over two days in the day use parking. Pretty interesting, the level of priorities with the park.
Besides all that, this park is beautiful. There is a bit of a walk to the beach. There is a Ralph’s store nearby if you need to go shopping. Remember to lock up your food & throw your trash away because there are skunks. We saw one every night. As long as everyone in your site shows up at the same time, you should be good!

We are big campers so we go throughout the year every year. This was our first camping trip and we decided to book a spot on the RV side because our friends had RVs and were right next to us. As usually you get your park bench and fire pit. There is not much seclusion so if your a camper who wants to secretly camp and have those shrubbery dividers around your not going to get it here. It does have views of the ocean and a couple easy access paths to the beach which are very beautiful. Bathrooms and showers are VERY CLEAN. Stocked and clean even on a Saturday night.

Awesome, clean campground overlooking the ocean. Perfect quick getaway from San Diego. There’s a short hike down to the beach that’s a must!

Tent camped this weekend. Had a pretty good time. Only gave 2 stars because of their lack of Patrol in the campgrounds. There were homeless people roaming around the bathrooms at night. Not sure if they were scoping the area. We stayed in spot 155. Decent spot. Unfortunately, there was a group of College kids next to us who had zero respect for their neighbors and were partying loud until 1 am. No Patrol, no nothing. They need to do a better job of making sure that everyone who pays their money should at least, get a good nights sleep. This place doesn’t seem to care once you go through the gates. Hell I’d be ok with the partying until 11 pm, but 1 – 2 am? Come on, get your act together. On a plus side, at least the Bathrooms were clean.

I wasn’t aware that San Clemente had a beach until this past weekend. South Orange County is different than other parts of OC or even LA! The area’s very serene. There’s a pier at the main part of the beach with couple of restaurants on the pier itself. The surrounding area included a couple of restaurants and boutique hotels. However, I didn’t see too many stores for window shopping, buying trinkets, or killing time.
The beach itself is very clean and not crowded (at least not for a cool weekend in January). Mostly locals were around walking their dogs or jogging.
Amtrak runs through and I believe there’s even a stop near it. Metered parking only and operating 7 days a week.
Overall, this beach is good to hang out for an hour or two at most, but not a whole lot to see or do.

We absolutely LOVE this campground. We were on our way to Parker, AZ for a winter camping trip and after pulling up the weather we made a quick decision to head south instead of north on the 15. Best decision we have ever made.
We didn’t have reservations (bad idea). Luckily, we had one of the most amazing rangers help us out and was able to secure a spot for us and was willing to provide recommendations for other campgrounds if he didn’t have anything. Wish I would have asked for his name. He was a lifesaver and made 2 little girls very happy.
The walk to the beach is a little far but still closer thank at campgrounds. Be prepared to bring a wagon. Whatever you bring down to the beach will be 10 times heavier when you have to walk it back up.
Highly recommend and can’t wait for our next adventure. We will book it early.

my bf and i camped here one night on our journey down the PCH (October 20, 2015) The campsite is nice (we were at campsite 80), the workers were nice, the view was beautiful. … the walk down to the beach is not bad, but the walk up could be tough for some as it does get a little steep. The bathrooms were clean every time i had to use it. I would recommend staying here, we loved San Clemente!
**When we first arrived the bugs (mini fly’s is what i called them) were horrible, they aren’t as annoying as fly’s, they kind of just swarmed around your ankles, but after we got our fire started and the sun was going down they weren’t as bad. I recommend bringing a bug spray just in case, we didn’t have any and i will say we weren’t bothered by them much but i know how annoying they can be when your trying to relax or eat.

Hey all.
Here at San Clemente Beach State Park. The beach is awesome. The waves are amazing and the kids are so excited to play in the crashing waves. Seriously, this are the biggest waves I have ever seen!
Weather is a bit warm but the ocean breeze is the saving grace from the wonderful sun shine.
We could use some cloud cover to set the rest of the day up for an amazing and relaxing evening.

We have been coming here since I was a kid (some 30+ years ago). Camping is such a great time to spend with family and friends.
We have a RV trailer now, so the full-​hook ups are GREAT. The campsites are nice size, room to spread out and enjoy. We don’t use the available bathrooms, but when passing by, they look clean and I always saw rangers taking care of them.
The views of the ocean aren’t available from all sites, but a nice little walk to the cliff won’t disappoint. The walk to the beach isn’t easy. Well, easy going down, steep coming up. Once your down, you need to carefully cross the railroad crossing. Or you can walk a little further to the tunnel that leads you right to the warm/​soft sand. But! Be prepared for the hike up. There are 2 ways to go, the one to your left is slightly easier, so pack light.
Getting sites here can be difficult, plan a head, like 6 months ahead. But I promise it’s worth it.

I thought this place was great! If you have some friends that have never been camping before this would be a great intro place to do it. It’s pretty easy, there’s plenty of amenities, so you don’t really have to rough it. The campsites are quite spacious and flat, they also come with space for cars. The spaces aren’t the most private or secluded, but hey you’re on a bluff top over looking the beach, it ain’t in the middle of a forest. Since its not in the middle of a forest, there isn’t too much shade, so make sure you bring some tarps or canopys and make your own shade or you might be cookin out in the sun!
These beach camp spots sell out fast, I believe you have to get them 6 months in advance!, Luckily I got to tag along, but I thoroughly enjoyed my camping experience here. It was really relaxed. This camp spot has lots and lots of families so theres a fair amount of youngins running around. In fact it seems catered to families, but that’s ok. Everyone was very respectful, it was very nice atmosphere overall.
If you’re lucky you may get one of the campsites that are directly on the bluff edge, so you’ll get an ocean view everytime you peep out yoru tent. We didn’t have one of those but it was only a quick 10 minute walk down to the beach. The hill leading to the beach is rather steep though, so you’re forewarned, it is a fantastic workout going back up that trail!
There’s not shops in the campsite itself, so bring all your goodies, but if you forgot something or wanted to top up on some items, the town of san clemente is only minutes away by car! Book this and enjoy the beautiful beaches and sunsets!
p. s. this camp site is close to civilization, so you’ll have access to the internet via 4g/​3g networks. Which is cool to send Snaps or Post stuff on IG, but don’t let it over take your camping experience. Make people put their phones away!

The good, the bad and the ugly.
The good.
Several great sites on the bluff overlooking the ocean an easy access to hiking trails and the beach. Yes, quite a walk but it’s not too steep and you are rewarded with a not so crowded sandy spot to recover. Friendly staff BUT…(more later.)
The Bad.
The campers here young and old revert to college drinking days immediately upon arrival. Quiet hour are between 10 and 8 but are enforced sporadically at best. Bring earplugs and hope their is enough staff working to patrol the grounds.
The Ugly.
Homeless people using the restrooms and showers.
The restrooms and showers.
Most spots are very close together.
Come for a short stay, walk or bike to the pier. Enjoy the beach but don’t count on a serene and peaceful experience.

San Clemente is the first place and time I ever pulled off the freeway in California to enjoy a beach in California (one that didn’t involve a business trip — many years ago). It later became the first place I ever camped after my husband and I got an Airstream and I should quickly correct myself as, this is truly glamping and NOT camping!
In California, hook-​up spots require a 6 month in advance reservation and go on sale the 1^st day of each month at 8am. It’s not easy folks — you have to really know what you want and where you want it to get what you want!
We didn’t do bad on this first trip. We got a nice shaded pull-​in spot with full hook-​up, a picnic table and a tree. The spaces sit on a bluff above the ocean so you have to walk down a steep hill to get to the beach. Great for exercise and beach walking. You can watch Amtrak make it’s way by daily and watch a beautiful sunset! How could you go wrong. On the downside and only reason for one less star: They have no store or shop on the premises and you don’t have direct ocean views unless you are able to obtain one of a couple of limited spots!

San Clemente State Beach is a solid choice for beach camping in Southern California and is definitely the best beach camp I’ve been to thus far.
The spaces are quite large and come with a fire ring, picnic table and a wooden structure over the table, which is quite handy for camping. We hung some twine and used it for drying towels and hanging lanterns. Very nice touch.
The campsites in the 80s all have a direct view of the beach. We did not stay here but good idea to take note for future trips.
It’s a short walk to the beach and less than a mile walk to the very cute downtown San Clemente. So this campground is by no means out in the middle-​of-​nowhere, but it’s nice to have options nearby like restaurants and convenience stores.
Dogs are allowed on the campsite but not on the beach. There is a bike path but you have to walk your bike across the many foot bridges along the way.
Not a 5 star campground in my opinion because it seems very family-​oriented and less private than I would like. There were lots of little ones running around and bible youth groups camping. I prefer campsites that are a little more spread-​out and isolated from the city. But SCSB is still a fun place to get away to without going too far out.

This is a family friendly beach. It has a decent size pier as well as a nice trail along the cliffs that give you an amazing view. My visit here was in January and the temperature was perfect.
Summer months are great for camping. There are a few restuarants on the pier I’ve yet to try. It’s a beautiful California beach to relax and enjoy.
Close beaches are Laguna Niguel and Dana Point.