Del Mar Fairgrounds

We really enjoyed our stay here. It is located in beautiful Del Mar, a very rich area. There is lots to do within walking distance of the park. There is a dog beach and decent surf within eye view, and within a 30 minute drive you can be almost anywhere in the San Diego area.

The campsite itself is not great, just a asphalt parking lot with the spaces right next to each other. Thankfully it was not super full this time of year and there were open spaces between the RV's, otherwise if it was totally packed you would barley have room to open your door. Access is super easy for any size rig. Even though it is just a parking lot it is pretty because there is the San Diegito Lagoon that boarders the south side of the lot that ebb n flows with the tide, and you can hear the waves crash on the beach at night.

There are full hook ups here included with the flat rate of 38, which also includes a tow vehicle and dogs are no problem or extra fee. We felt very safe leaving our surf boards and other gear outside to dry here. Juan is the camp host who has been there forever. He is the man. If your cool he is cool back, but if your a wacked out tweeker you better look for a different park. There is also 1 laundry machine and dryer here that for 3.25 you can wash and dry a load and showers available with good pressure and heat, but not so clean. It can be a bit noisy with the trains that pass by a hundred yards away and the fairground activities, but it didn't bother us much.

Their website says it better than I can: "The Del Mar Fairgrounds has RV spaces available to the public for much of the year. The facility is closed to the public from late May through late September, when the San Diego County Fair and Del Mar Thorougbred Club horse racing meet take place.

The cost per space is $34 per night. Payment must be in cash, or by Visa, MasterCard or American Express. No checks will be accepted.

Approximately 58 spaces with hookups for water, electricity and sewage are available at no extra charge, but are allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. Visitors are allowed to stay for a maximum of 30 days, but then must leave for a 72-hour period before returning. Access to the facility is through the Solana Gate, located on the south side of Via de la Valle between the Coast Highway (Camino del Mar) and Jimmy Durante Blvd."

The RV "campground" is a parking area that's a single row of parking spaces on concrete, all back-ins,, with full hookups at the back of the sites. The view is of a nice little salt water river where lots of people were fishing, an off-leash dog beach along the river on the other side of the road, a nice dirt walking trail for people and dogs runs along the river on both sides, and it's only a few minutes from Solana Beach, Cardiff, and Encinitas. There's an Amtrak rail line very close to the campground, but the trains are so short in length and they don't blow the whistle, so it didn't bother us at all.

We used this as a home base to explore the seaside towns and get some work done in a place that's not overrun with vacationing families during spring break. It's not a place to put out your chairs, bbq, awnings, or even slides if they were busy enough that someone was right next to you, but it worked just fine for our needs, and since we didn't make a reservation months in advance we couldn't get into any of the state parks.