Dripping Springs Campground

Pretty good campground for pretty cheap, $ 15 for a single site or $ 30 for a double. Unfortunately we went on a weekend that was in the high 90s and our campsite was one of the biggest single spots, but didn’t have shade. 1 – 6 does not have shade!!! Most other spots are shaded.
Spots come with bench, grill, fire pit, and some even have an oven. Bathrooms are clean. No showers but plenty of water spikets throughout with cold, clean water. A hiking trail through the beautiful mountains and only about 8 minutes from stores in Temecula.
Overall a great weekend trip, clean spaces and we’ll kept!

I camped there on 6÷11÷2016 and also experienced complete mayhem. The campground was completely unsafe with drunk underage teens, and drunk college kids. They were breaking down trees for firewood, racing their cars throughout the campground and cussing and fighting. This was not just one campsite, but many. There is no Park Ranger there and no security. The campground host just recommended that the campers call 911.
Keep in mind there were other campers there with their kids. Camp at your own risk, the camp ground host does not do any security or patrolling and hides in her trailer at night.

No joke, if you have a family or want solitude do not go there. If you are a party goer and want to raise some hell, its perfect for you and I recommend it cause nobody will call the cops on you.

Pretty good campsite. It was close to several wineries. The restroom was pretty gross but better than i expected. The hike near the site was beautiful. We hiked an hour into the 12 mile hike and then hiked back as we didn’t want to do the whole 12 12 miles. Overall, the campsite did the job.

Nice Campground but they had NO FIREWOOD. Make sure you bring your own firewood. Very beautiful campground and nice hiking trail.

Family friendly quiet campground. Nice hiking trails. Sure wish we weren’t in a drought… It looks like it once boasted a lovely creek. I woulda given it a 5 but the camp host was nasty rude and anything but helpful. I wanted to change to a sight with SOME shade but she said we couldn’t. Later found out I could have… Lots of spaces open… I could have just paid for another.

While I did not camp at Dripping Springs, we did hike there. The other hikes are very friendly and cooperative; which is especially nice since the trail we were on is a single track so letting people who are going the opposite direction can be tricky to navigate. Beautiful scenery, dog friendly and views of Vail Lake. Well be going back for sure!

This campground was great! We arrived Friday evening (Around 9pm, there’s no gate, so no need to worry about gates being closed for late arrivals), and left Sunday around noon. It was really fun.
Amenities:
The campgrounds are clean, just as described in previous reviews. They the cleanest vault toilets I have ever seen. It smelled clean and they were always stocked with plenty toilet paper. The only thing to note is that they get really hot inside, since the sun beats down on them all day. I guess some people wouldn’t mind that, but to me it seemed like a sauna. Also, there were black widows, one inside in one of the corners (luckily, away from the toilet), and the other just outside the door. I was a little freaked out at first, but soon realized they weren’t a threat. Just leave them alone and you’ll get along just fine. Spiders love warm and dark environments.
Although the campground does not have showers, they do have running water. There are various water spigots all around camp. They also have a large trash bin for garbage.
Each campsite has a picnic table, grill, and fire pit. The sites are pretty big, great for group camping.
Wildlife:
Our first night there we encountered a jack rabbit. During the day we had about four bees that would not leave. Our second night we encountered a large spider which we think was a tarantula of some sort. It wasn’t a Goliath tarantula (Those are only found in S. America), but it was pretty big. It crawled right up to our fire pit, and parked it right next to it. Naturally my wife was terrified. I tried to run it off, but the heat of the fire was too comforting i guess. Eventually I had to drop a log on it. There are a lot of ants, which might have not climbed onto our tent had it not had sap from our last trip. Luckily it was only one side, and they did not get into our tent.
Final Notes:
This campsite is really great. There weren’t a lot of people. I think out of 28 site, only 6 or 7 were occupied. (Note: Sites 10 – 14 are closed, looks permanently) We were able to make reservations a couple of weeks in advanced, but about a week before we tried to changed site numbers but were unsuccessful because all the other sites were «Walk-​Up» sites, which means «First come, first serve». I guess they don’t allow reservations 1 week in advance just to leave some spots open. Not sure the reasoning. Reserved sites are clearly marked with posted signs, just look for your name on the sign.
There are a few trails there if you like hiking. Civilization is just a short 15 minute drive away. There’s a Home Depot close by, which came in handy when we decided to build a shower out of PVC. While there, we also went to old town Temecula. It’s a really nice old fashioned town, with little shops and restaurants. All in all, just a great campground. We had loads of fun.
I’m giving a 4* only because I don’t think it’s «as god as it gets», but it is a great campground.

The campground itself is nice– well maintained [vault] toilets, convenient potable water spigots. The sites are a bit close together (depending on which you choose, of course) but were nice and all appeared to be level. The campground was a lot closer to civilization than I was hoping, but checking a map more extensively would have saved me there.
Make sure you bring firewood– you can gather and chop some yourself (I believe– check with the parks dpt website to be sure), but if you’re not the lumberjack type and want to buy some, the closest place to buy will be the walmart in temecula, and I feel like no one wants to start a camping trip by spending too much $$ on firewood at walmart of all places.

Quiet and lovely. Good location and nice hosts. Love it. Cheap too, $ 15 a site.

Very pleasant and quiet. I came here on Thursday night of Fourth of July weekend expecting hoards of people, but it was actually not crowded and I easily found a site without having a prior reservation. It was still quiet and calm even on Saturday morning after the Fourth. There is a very friendly camp host and they keep the place ridiculously clean. No showers or frills, but as-​clean-​as-​you-​can-​expect vault toilets, picnic tables, grills and fire rings. There is a hiking trail and whatnot as well. There was a line of campers waiting to get into Vail Lake Resort just down the street, but I think I’d rather stay in this nice, quiet spot. There’s nature and wildlife and trees (a few too many bees in my spot, but we are outside). Plus, you have all the amenities of Temecula just down the road, so you can easily hit up the Habit if all your food fell in the dirt (or fire).

Let’s get it out of the way and say there are no showers, no sinks and no flush able toilets. Gross right? Vault toilets are like glorified porta pottys. Not happy!
Now the good stuff. Easy to get to from San Diego. 11 miles east of Temecula on the 79. Great group sites. Friendly camp host. Well stocked with toilet paper. Lots of shade and pavement for kids to ride around in.
Bring scooters. There are also great trees to climb and an easy short hike right on site.
So next time Vail Lake is booked come here for a cheap vacation. $ 15 for a single site and only $ 30 for a double site with up to 15 people.