Hobson Beach Park Campground

We arrived at Hobson Beach Park at 3pm and backed into site 23. The site was so narrow that we couldn't put up our awning and our picknic table was tucked behind the the RV expando in the site to the south. The problem occurred because the RV to the north extended 4 foot into our site. We couldn't find a camp host to help with our problem. The restroom did not include showers. We ate lunch and left after finding another place to camp.

The fire ring of Site #2 is literally 3 feet from the dumpsters. Otherwise the campground is okay but tight. Hookup sites are in the middle away from the shore. There is no beach, just rocks with waves hitting them. The nearest beach is about a mile walk at Rincon Beach, where you have to climb down the rocks to get to it. Not bad overall.

We got a last minute cancellation and this was the only campground on the beach and not too far that we could find. It is right on the ocean but all rocks. Further down there is sand if you go at low tide. Lots of surfers and this campground is well suited for them. Sites are small but we have a small RV and were next to a service drive so not as cramped as some. Well maintained and clean bathrooms.
The biggest issue is all of the ambient noise that prevents one from hearing the waves. It’s probably ok for the sites right on the ocean, but we heard motors (generators? Air conditioners? Pumps?) all night both from the concession stand and from over the chain link fence in the adjacent neighborhood. The railroad tracks are near but we only heard 1 freight train on Friday and several quieter Surfliners over the weekend.
There were several families hosting birthday parties and it seemed nice for them, but parking is a big issue and spots are only supposed to be for day use guests, mostly surfers. Kids had fun circling the drive on bikes and scooters. But they need a sign that says “campground full” or “reservations only” because all day and all evening cars and RVs circled around the drive looking for spots.
There is a concession stand that sells burgers and breakfast burritos as well as ice and firewood. Breakfast burrito was decent but bland and staff was not particularly friendly.
If you are a surfer, or have kids and want to be by the ocean (but not beach), and don’t mind parking lot style camping you may like Hobson Beach, but I won’t be coming back.

We were here for the end Veterans day weekend, the sites were mostly taken when we arrived so it was quite tight. Markers for the site boundaries are not obvious so if one person hangs over it throws everyone out. We couldn't fit into our booked site 21 due to this but where able to swap into another one. Our site was dry backing up to the water, slept like a baby with the noise of the crashing waves in the background.
It's a small campground which was nice for our 3 1/2 year old to ride her bike around.
Sandy beach is right there.
Flush toilets and coin operated showers, 90 seconds per quarter.

Our site was nearly impossible to squeeze into, and we aren’t that big! We arrived on New Years Eve (we expected crowds, but this was nuts) and had to ask two people to move their trucks so we could get into our site. There were some rowdy folks for the holiday (expected) and the camp host played music outside his camper the entire week (not expected) we were there for the better part of non-quiet hours (7am-9pm). We weren’t expecting to listen to Jimmy Buffett radio for the entirety of our stay, especially when the sound of waves crashing was so peaceful. The beach was beautiful and the park maintainace folks seemed to keep the bathrooms clean. Rules didn’t seem to be enforced though and there was a sign up about thefts and chains being cut at night (we didn’t have issues). I don’t think I’d recommend this spot unless you plan to camp midweek. Our site had full hookups and the fee was reasonable compared to other spots along the coast. We really loved about half of experience here, but the negatives would deter us from staying again.