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El Capitan State Beach
California State Park
Write a Review 2 El Capitan State Beach Rd. Goleta, CA 93117 805-968-1033 Official WebsiteGPS: 34.46, -120.0237
Overview of El Capitan State Beach
Last Price Paid: $45
Reported by camper-909763 on 6/30/2024
Longest RV Reported: 39 feet (Class A)
Reported by Kamping Koops on 10/30/2022
Number of Sites 131
Pad Type asphalt
Reservations yes
Elevation 32 ft / 9 m
Max Length 42 ft
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about El Capitan State Beach
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 805.968.1033
hundredproplems asked on 11/7/2022
I've read a couple of reviews that say some of the sites are smaller than stated. Has anyone experienced this? I'm 34...
stephanie curry asked on 7/13/2022
Are dogs allowed on the beach and can they be off leash?
Reviews of El Capitan State Beach 23 people have reviewed this location.
“friendly staff. great views. ”
Reviewed 6/30/2024
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Site Number: | 128 |
picturesque. tranquil.
clean facilities (showers operate on tokens)
camper-909763 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“SITE LENGTH WRING!!”
Reviewed 10/30/2022
RV Length: | 39' (Class A) |
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Site 82 in middle section Anza, says it’s 42 feet, wrong!.. it is 2car parking spaces!!!! Thank goodness a volunteer, guess he’s the camp host, came along as we stared in amazement at the car parking spaces and I’m sure my family thought mom screwed up… he told us to go to the top of the park, a parking lot and we could stay up there.... more
Site 82 in middle section Anza, says it’s 42 feet, wrong!.. it is 2car parking spaces!!!! Thank goodness a volunteer, guess he’s the camp host, came along as we stared in amazement at the car parking spaces and I’m sure my family thought mom screwed up… he told us to go to the top of the park, a parking lot and we could stay up there. We didn’t have to unhook, we were only there overnight so it worked out. If you can score a correctly measured space then this a good campground BUT go to the park nearby, Refugee State Park instead. As we drove by it was level with coast, this one is up on a bluff. 3 stars as it worked out ok but truly should get no stars for not having accurate site sizes which is extra important for RVs. I’m sure a van could’ve parked sideways & fit but no other equipment could fit. Also, there low trees you have to dodge and the entry you’ll have to go on wrong side to fit under railroad bridge!!
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Shady bluff top beach camping”
Reviewed 10/27/2022
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 1 |
Site Number: | 123 |
RV Length: | 25' (Truck Camper) |
We enjoyed staying here as a final splurge after driving down the CA coast. The coast drive was part of a 2500 mile adventure and this is our only paid camp area. Beautiful beach area with a lot of dolphin activity during our late September stay. The sites were spacious and spread out with trees and shrubs to provide a little bit ... more
We enjoyed staying here as a final splurge after driving down the CA coast. The coast drive was part of a 2500 mile adventure and this is our only paid camp area.
Beautiful beach area with a lot of dolphin activity during our late September stay. The sites were spacious and spread out with trees and shrubs to provide a little bit of privacy, shade and separation. We stayed on a Thursday night before a long weekend. The campsite was maybe 50% full and our loop C was the quietest. There are very few sites that give you a beach view but it's just a short walk to either the day use area or down the stairs on the bluffs to get to the sand.
Restrooms were clean. Showers are available but we didn't use. There is a firepit and table at each site.
Check in was simple. We arrived shortly after the 2pm check in time to maximize our time here. And by 12 pm the next day we vacated the spot and simply parked in a parking lot to spend the rest of the afternoon here.
Easy to locate: Yes; right off Hwy 1 north of Santa Barbara’s
Public Land: No. California State Beach & fee area
Cell: None
Crowded: not on a Thursday but Friday and Saturday were booked full
Buggy: No
Clean: yes, pretty clean clean
Would we stay here again: Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, paying $53 (fee + booking fee) for dry camping just seems crazy. So yes, periodically I’ll feel crazy and pay for another beach camping area and this is one I’d be happy to revisit.
Blog: https://workingonexploring.com/2022/10/27/camp-review-el-capitan-state-beach/
Related Video: https://youtu.be/6z3WuqzGX6g
Cheryl would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful View and Home Base for Santa Barbara Visit”
Reviewed 10/23/2022
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 5 |
Site Number: | 126 |
RV Length: | 23' (Travel Trailer) |
We lucked out and booked site 126 on the bluff overlooking the ocean. We wanted to visit our daughter who lives in Goleta and use it as our home base for our SB/Goleta visit. We would go back again and definitely enjoyed our time. Pros: View was beautiful The location to Goleta and Santa Barabara was convenient Stars were beauti... more
We lucked out and booked site 126 on the bluff overlooking the ocean. We wanted to visit our daughter who lives in Goleta and use it as our home base for our SB/Goleta visit. We would go back again and definitely enjoyed our time.
Pros:
View was beautiful
The location to Goleta and Santa Barabara was convenient
Stars were beautiful at night
The sound of the ocean waves
Coastal trail, stairs to the beach
Dogs are allowed (just not on the beaches) - there are dog-friendly beaches in town though and SB is very dog friendly.
When booking our site it said no campfire ring nor picnic table but fires are allowed. When we arrived all of the sites on the bluff had picnic tables and fire rings which was a bonus.
Things to know:
The bathrooms closest to our sites were closed Monday - Friday (they were open Sunday when we arrived). My guess is because it's off season).
You can hear HWY101 traffic as it's close to the highway - not enough to bother us though
Train - you can hear the train throughout the day as it borders this campsite, but we enjoyed the train and it wasn't into the wee hours so it didn't keep us up.
Although ATT showed 3 bars/LTE, it was a bit intermittent at our actual campsite. Just a few steps away it became more consistent.
Cons:
These RV bluff sites are very close to each other, so be open to meeting your neighbors. They were all very nice. There are other campsites that are not as close to each other in the campground but only a few would have a similar view.
The view looking out to the ocean is beautiful, but on the opposite side is a big parking lot. During the time we visited, it was very empty, most likely due to being in October.
Ants - they visited us on our last day, but they were manageable.
No pump out on site, but there was one down the highway at the 76 station for $7.50 and if you wanted to go into Carpinteria SB it was free.
Overall, this was a good home base for us for visiting the area with a beautiful view.
tahoedos would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Amazing overall experience, campground is a mixed bag though!”
Reviewed 6/15/2022
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Site Number: | 110 |
You stay in El Capitan State Beach campground for the amazing ocean and mountain views and the proximity to the lovely beach. The campground itself is typical of California State campgrounds -- pretty but high use with a maintenance backlog. Having said that, if you can avoid Site #110, do so. Overall a nice site with some privacy... more
You stay in El Capitan State Beach campground for the amazing ocean and mountain views and the proximity to the lovely beach. The campground itself is typical of California State campgrounds -- pretty but high use with a maintenance backlog.
Having said that, if you can avoid Site #110, do so. Overall a nice site with some privacy to the south, but to the north you are about 30 feet away from a dilapidated shower/bathroom facility with no trees in-between. Noise is not really a problem and people are generally respectful but depending on the wind you can get a sewage smell in the site It was so consistent and strong on one day of our stay that the propane detector in our trailer kept going off! It would be helpful if the management planted a tree or two there (there is a stump where one used to be) but as I said, maintenance backlog. There is also a beat-up dumpster just across the road.
It's extremely difficult to get a reservation for this and all the beach campgrounds so you can't really be too picky if you want to stay here. We walked through all the loops and there are downsides to just about every site (too close to bathrooms, no privacy, highway/train noise, too much sun/not enough sun, etc.). I would stay here again without hesitation and I would certainly choose this over the congested parking-lot Carpinteria Beach!
Big See would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Expensive for dry camping, but . . .”
Reviewed 2/25/2022
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Site Number: | 45 |
We easily snagged a spot on Friday before President's Day weekend, unbelievable. Then we found out they do not take reservations until April 1, yea for us! In fact, the park did not fill up on a gorgeous holiday weekend, weird. All loops are paved as well as each back in site. As with most campgrounds, not all sites are created equ... more
We easily snagged a spot on Friday before President's Day weekend, unbelievable. Then we found out they do not take reservations until April 1, yea for us! In fact, the park did not fill up on a gorgeous holiday weekend, weird.
All loops are paved as well as each back in site. As with most campgrounds, not all sites are created equal. Some sites had great water views. We were allowed to drive through the park and pick our site, just like the old days. They were doing some cleanup throughout the park and there was a rumor of repaving (?) this August. Each loop had a camp host, restrooms with coin operated showers, and water spigots, no dump station. Sites are somewhat level, some sites were quite large but very few big rigs were seen. There is freeway noise and an occasional train.
Although the $45 fee does seem like a lot of money for dry camping, we will return.
FourFeetFourPaws would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Classic sleepy state beach”
Reviewed 11/1/2021
Nightly rate: | $38 |
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Days stayed: | 3 |
Site Number: | 100 |
RV Length: | 35' (Fifth Wheel) |
Great campground with killer views. We stayed in “loop D” and really enjoyed it. Our site (100) was MASSIVE and relatively level and very easy to back into (35’ 5th wheel) the only bummer was the amount of ANTS! We put comet around our tires and stair case and that did the trick. All of our neighbors were respectful and the pla... more
Great campground with killer views. We stayed in “loop D” and really enjoyed it.
Our site (100) was MASSIVE and relatively level and very easy to back into (35’ 5th wheel) the only bummer was the amount of ANTS! We put comet around our tires and stair case and that did the trick.
All of our neighbors were respectful and the place, even on Halloween weekend was very quiet at night.
My only gripes were
A) generator hrs are from 10am to 8pm
B) the camp store was closed.
All in all, a classic state park.
Ca_RV_Fam would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Love this state beach”
Reviewed 5/2/2021
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 4 |
Site Number: | 33 |
RV Length: | 24' (Travel Trailer) |
Stayed at El Capitan 4/12/21. We love this campground. Great ocean views from many of the sites. Easy walk to the beach. Campground is clean. Quiet in the evenings. Sites are generally spacious so even with a full campground, you don't feel crammed in. Some of the amenities could use some upgrading like the showers and bathrooms. Sites... more
Stayed at El Capitan 4/12/21. We love this campground. Great ocean views from many of the sites. Easy walk to the beach. Campground is clean. Quiet in the evenings. Sites are generally spacious so even with a full campground, you don't feel crammed in. Some of the amenities could use some upgrading like the showers and bathrooms. Sites close to the highway can be noisy from truck traffic. Beach is great for walking, playing in the surf and has day use picnic/barbecue area right on the water. Nice nature trail (watch out for poison oak!). Good hiking in the foothills with beautiful spring flowers and ocean views.
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Always fun here - but pricey...”
Reviewed 10/26/2020
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Site Number: | 13 |
RV Length: | 22' (Travel Trailer) |
We have stayed here many times over the years - we live in Ventura, so it's a good way to add a night at the beginning or end of a trip. They are all dry sites, so $40-$45 is high to us. Some of the sites up on the hills / bluffs have awesome views! There is a nice day use area with grass down at the beach where we had a birthday pa... more
We have stayed here many times over the years - we live in Ventura, so it's a good way to add a night at the beginning or end of a trip. They are all dry sites, so $40-$45 is high to us. Some of the sites up on the hills / bluffs have awesome views! There is a nice day use area with grass down at the beach where we had a birthday party. Coin showers, flush toilets. Typical CA state park, but nice location by the beach! Watch for skunks too :)
Travel Small Live Big would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Relaxing ocean setting in a boondocking environment”
Reviewed 10/19/2020
Nightly rate: | $45 |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Site Number: | 121 |
RV Length: | 27' (Travel Trailer) |
We camped here over the weekend in our Airstream – first time boondocking. The D loop is quite nice. We were within a minute walk to an overlook view of the Pacific Ocean. Several walking paths provide access to the ocean floor. Our pad was fairly level (#121) and on concrete. The surrounding part of the campsite was dirt and incl... more
We camped here over the weekend in our Airstream – first time boondocking. The D loop is quite nice. We were within a minute walk to an overlook view of the Pacific Ocean. Several walking paths provide access to the ocean floor. Our pad was fairly level (#121) and on concrete. The surrounding part of the campsite was dirt and included a not quite level table that has seen better days, and a fire pit.
Activities include your typical beach relaxation as well as fishing. For the latter, there is a good abundance of seaweed along the shoreline so your line may be more successful brining in seaweed than fish. However, looking at the ocean from the high overlooks, we spied many large fish in these waters, so they are out there for fishing folk. There are nice walking paths around the campground. An overall very relaxing environment.
This our second ever back-in site. We were positioned and in place within 10 minutes.
This is also a no hookup campground and there is no dumping option. As we were only here from a Friday evening to Sunday morning, the short trip did allow us to experience and learn about preparedness for boondocking (which we apparently were not). Our RV battery ran dead by Saturday evening. So this type of camping will bode far better with access to a generator. We had to re-attach our truck to bring our electric awning back into the Airstream.
The campground provides several restroom facilities – and at least some of these have showers.
A few notes of interest:
Picnic table was not level – so having shims for an extra camping stove would be handy
There is some noise from cars on the adjacent 101 freeway – but I found this more like white noise which was easy to disregard
Ants – they are ever present at this campground, so bring some borax or other eco friendly ant deterrent. If camping in an RV, place around every tire, jack and anything that touches the ground which is connected to your rig.
Navigation: Be careful on your GPS. We typed in El Capitan into Waze for directions. However, the app instructed us to get off about 3 exits too early. You will want to get off at Exit 117.
artdob would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
noted 7/29/2023
I can confirm that this campground is closed. We visited the area on 7/29, and the ranger told us that the campground was closed and did not have a reopening date.
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Amenities
Hookups
- dry camping
Recreation
- fishing
- picnic area
- recreation trail
- swimming beach
- water access
Site Amenities
- fire ring
- picnic table
Facilities
- firewood
- general store
- group sites
- ADA Accessible
- recycle
- restrooms: flush
- showers
- trash
- water available
Pets
- pets
Nearby
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