Jalama Beach County Park

We visited in late February 2021. The sun was shining but the wind was BLOWING. That's seems to be the achilles heal of this location—when the wind is blowing it can be miserable. Friday and Saturday were sustained 20mph+ winds which made enjoying the beach difficult. But not impossible. Sunday was calm and we could really see how amazing this spot can be. The site is above average for state campgrounds. Some hookup sites available though we didn't get one. Which leads us to the other problem with Jalama which is its popularity—you have to book months in advance and it's always full. But, if you get a spot definitely come. The stretch of hwy 1 and the country road that leads you the rest of the way is one of the most spectacular drives in the state of CA.

If you are a kite surfer this is the place for you but before heading down 14 miles of windy roads check the weather. My husband wanted to go Surf fishing as we had heard it was a great place to catch halibut and perch. The wind was so strong we were totally sandblasted! Needless to say there was sand in everything. Only up side was the great burgers made the drive worthwhile. You better like wind in this spot but pretty spot along the ocean.

We've visited for the day several times, decided to bring the rig and "camp" for a few days this time. Always a little breeze at Jalama but very enjoyable. Hookup sites 80-86 are the best, in my opinion, spacious and incredible views. For "on the beach" sandy sites choose 53-64, so wide you can park almost any rig sideways for awesome toes in the sand views. Hook up sites 105-117 have the best views at the top of the hill but are very narrow and larger rigs will have a hard time getting up the narrow and tight turns to the top. This is not a glamourous RV park but a beautiful park if you don't mind a little sand in your RV. Don't miss long beach walks and the little Jalama beach grill for a meal. No cell service here but free but spotty wifi will allow a quick text if needed.

Although a bit of a drive off the beaten path, well worth it. The road is paved all the way albeit a bit rough in places and curvy. Very nice beach and nice campground. Sites aren't very private but campground is well maintained.

Bathrooms are quite small, showers looked nice but we didn't use them so not sure about availability of hot water. Campground had nice little store and grill.

My biggest complaint was I thought the prices were a bit high.

Yes, Jalama oftentimes has crazy winds that make you stay inside. Yes, Jalama sometimes attracts the younger crowd who play their music a little too loud. Yes, there are campers who don’t follow the rules of picking up after their dog, keeping their dog on leash or quiet hours 10 pm - 8 am. Yes, it’s so frustrating to go online six months before the date you want to camp. This is not a resort. It’s rustic, rugged, off-the-beaten path and not for everyone. But for those of us who love Jalama, It’s a place to get away from the busyness of life to relax and listen to the waves, walk on the 14 mile beach, watch surfers, windsurfers & kitesurfers, explore a tide pool, eat a Jalama burger (actually their BLT is my favorite), enjoy an amazing sunset, make s’mores over a campfire & be in awe of the night sky on a new moon night.

Our third beach camping site of the year. Temperatures were in the low 60s so not that cold as it was on our previous trip (40s). Beach front sites are very spacious, about 50 x 100 ft. Booked 6 months in advance. No hookups. No cell service (Verizon). WiFi is slow but you can do basic emailing and texting. Watching videos were out of the question where I was at (Site 59).

Beach front sites are dry camping. There is a dump station and water fill area and I like how they are totally separated. There is a playground for kid next to the Camp Store. They boast the "World Famous Jalama Burger" but it's well below average if you're like me and eat at Five Guys, In-N-Out, and Habit Burger.

Beach has coarse sand and interesting whale bones and shells. Expect some tar (oil) although this was very minimal when I was there. Kids absolutely loved the beach.

Cons are that it's 28 miles from Hwy 101, the last 14 of which is very narrow and not well maintained. I did see plenty of 35'+ Class A's so it must be not hard to get here. According to our neighbor, it can get very very windy (up to 40 mph) and unenjoyable to camp here certain times of the year. I wanted to use one of the public restrooms but someone warned me that there "diarrhea all over" so I do echo the below average restrooms as others have mentioned.

This should be a great place but it's not. It is very hard to reserve a site and in a remote location so you can't easily drive to it to see if sites are available. Filthy bathrooms with fecal matter on walls. Rangers did nothing after 2 requests to have neighbors loud music get dealt with. Unleashed dogs and their droppings all over beach in spite of posted leash rules. I was injured by a large unleashed rambunctious dog jumping on me and my leashed dog. Not safe for my children to walk our dog due to all the loose dogs charging out of camp sites and everywhere on beach. Unbelievably windy there with grit and sand damaging my rig and making it impossible to eat outdoors. Trash bins were overflowing with all the broken awnings, canopies, umbrellas and chairs destroyed in the wind. Drunken parties at many sites were like a battle of stereos and generators competing to be the noisiest. Even the ocean couldn't drown it out.

My #1 favorite beach to camp! Very clean, amazing beaches, the sunsets, today it's 68 degrees...in December 🌞
The only challenge is availability, this place gets packed. With 117 sites and a half dozen cabins, there were only 5 sites available and it's a Tuesday...in December... 2 dry camping, 3 with power, none have sewer but there is a dump station. As for the drive, it is beautiful but the last 14 miles are narrow and windy with 5-15 mph sections, you'll want to take it slow.
That being said, the drive, the cost and the risk of not getting a site are overshadowed by the reward of scoring a little slice of heaven.
PS
No cell service but there is free WiFi with just enough to get a text out, post awesome pics or check email.