Leo Carrillo State Park Campground

My site 112 was listed as a "pull through" but it's really just a wide spot on the road and my 22' vintage Airstream barely fit with my vehicle. I think this site and others like it would be better for Tent camping because the majority of the site is up the hill from where you park and there was a flat spot for a tent under a cool looking tree where you would feel like your in the woods. It's an awesome beach, especially if you surf and/or do wind sports. The hiking trail from the campground is beautiful with views. Nice to have the store on site as there isn't much else near by. I was working so I needed a signal. It's was crazy cause there for 3-4 bars in the day use lot, that disappear after a few steps into the CG. The showers take "tokens" which was kind of a pain...taking quarters is enough of a hassle. All in all, I had a magical stay and will be back. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

This is a busy campground near Malibu that’s right across from the beach. The spaces are nicely spaced but the pads are small. My rv Is 25 feet and I had to hang the end over the curb. Not sure how they let larger rvs in here but the kids running the kiosk did not seem to care. There is no cell service unless you walk down towards the entrance. Lots of liter around the campground and the views are trees and brown Southern California style hills which are not that great. But the beach is really nice and to the north it’s dog friendly so that’s a plus. … nice little store if you forgot anything.

This is a tight campground. You'll want to pay close attention to the pad size when selecting a site. Don't assume you can squeeze in an extra couple of feet. Odds are you can't. They seem to be measuring distances from the axle to the hitch so you'll need to back in with your rear over the cement curbs. On the positive side, the parking pads are double-wides so you may be able to squeeze in an additional vehicle. If you can't, there is overflow parking easily accessible near the entry kiosk. Our site, 103, was large and private (despite the short parking pad). That did not appear to be the case for many other sites. The park makes up for these deficiencies by being a very short walk from multiple lovely beaches. The main beach closest to the campground gets crowded and has a litter problem. However to the northwest are a few secluded beaches and the very large dog beach which are worth the extra five minute walk. There is also a nice loop trail that begins near the entrance kiosk and heads up the mountainside to a great overlook.

If you have a larger rig I would recommend scoping out the dump station before pulling into it. It's a tight loop but I did see large rigs make it through unscathed.

We stayed here in August 2020 with our puppy at site 128, which is about a 5 minute walk to the beach and a 10-15 minute walk north to the dog beach. You're camped in a canyon without highway noise, unlike many other beach campgrounds in Southern California that are basically parking lots next to PCH. The spots near 128 are small, very tight or too small for a 25'+ trailer or motorhome; we stayed in a rooftop tent on our pickup truck. We reserved for Summer 2021 in the sites further inland (Site 64), which appear much larger and shaded with big trees. I've stayed at several state park beach campgrounds, and this is my favorite (or at least a close tie to South Carlsbad State Beach). Very nice campground to walk around, and the camp store has tons of necessities like coffee and other things you might forget to bring with you. The reason we chose to go here again is because there is a dog friendly beach within walking distance, something that is pretty rare among state beaches. Cell service is very spotty in the campground itself, but if you walk to the main parking lot or near the entrance to the campground it is full 4G high speed internet on cellular (T-Mobile and Verizon).

We wanted a beach that our dog could enjoy with us. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, beach very crowded, Monday morning, blissfully deserted and easy walk from campground although North beach area (for leashed dogs) can be challenging to access. Site 139 close to bathrooms but not too close, it was a bit challenging to back in our 16 foot Bambi but we just managed it. Sites are roomy and some with electric hook ups but still not much privacy. Bone dry for our visit, dusty and be careful with storing food due to aggressive squirrels and ANTS. Lots of kids on bikes, scooters make the place bustling, wouldn't say it's peaceful and or particularly scenic due to heavy use but its ok. This wave of campers mostly good neighbors, lots of tents and RV's, surfers, families, rules to keep pets on leashes and on leads in the sites mostly observed, one woman told us her dogs were attacked by a dog not properly restrained. Very important to come prepared to properly restrain your dogs given the volume of people and pets to keep everyone safe. At night quiet hours observed. Covid precautions? Mask requirement posted, many wore masks, some did not. Limiting numbers of campers at the sites, not so much. Read prior review that said rangers will help in extending your stay, but the rangers we asked weren't super helpful even though plenty of empty spaces, said we could only extend our spot, which was booked, but would not offer to book us into another available site. On a Monday? No cell service for AT&T, not the place to work remotely. Would camp here again in a pinch, best for groups or family beach experience.

Good spacing between campsites for privacy. Restrooms/showers are clean. Small camp store. They do sell wood, drinks, canned goods, ice creams and other refrigerated items. Rangers are all very friendly and helpful. Tents, camper vans, RVs, pull trailers, saw a wide variety of campers. All ages from early 20s, young families and retirees. Cell service is not good and some times non existent the deeper your campsite is in the canyon. The canyon walls block the signals. The day use parking area at the front of the parks has fantastic cell service. Even if you are at the back of the campground it is still a short walk to the beach. Beach access is at the end of the day use parking lot and you walk under the overpass. So it is safe that you don’t have to park on the highway or run across the highway to get to the beach. Right now, the underpass is full of mud that came with all the rain we have been getting. But accessing the dog beach, you will need to cross some water to get to the side where the dog beach is. Access road that would make it easier to get to the dog beach is closed at the moment. I’m sure they will open as soon as they can clear all the mud. Saw lots of open spaces even though it looks like it’s always sold out. We arrived Friday and stayed for 2 days. Rangers said to come talk to them if we wanted to stay longer. So, folks are obviously cancelling or not showing up.

We live in LA and came to the park a few time to visit the dog beach and decided to book a long weekend to take the van. Our site had a lot of trees and was more private than a lot of others in our loop, but overall the sites are somewhat close together, so the noise level just depends on those around you. As we walked around, it really looked like the sites in the 100s were more private, but then you’ve got a longer walk to the ocean. The park was incredibly clean — especially the bathrooms — and the staff was super helpful and nice.

I am an LA native and have such happy memories of playing in the Leo Carillo coves, as a child, again as a young adult. I am 50 now! Surprising how this exquisite location has lived in my memory but truly too few visits over half a century. (ouch!)

Anyway--bought a travel trailer--found campendium (thank you!) and all sites app--arrived at leo carillon (note:apple maps kept taking us to the closed coast side entrance.) Only after looping multiple times and about to give up did we see the sign on the east side of pch just a scootch south of the west side closed gate.

So we made it! We (australian shepard, cat and i) had an idyllic time. off season so very sparsely inhabited, everyone quiet and cool. The camp hosts have firewood for $7 and were helpful and kind.

Sites 102-70 run along the stream. That's right! There's a stream which has been dry for ages, according to camp hosts, but the recent rain blessed the land with beautiful happily running water.

The rules about dogs on trails are strict but if you have a service dog is ok. And dogs can be on the beach north of station 3, leashed of course, service dog or not.

Ditto the other reviewer. We had 2 bars at our nice site deep in the campground but towards the highway it jumped up to 5 and i was uploading pics to instagram as we walked along the beach--shameful la iphone addict.

Could not have been a better maiden voyage. GO.

We stayed at Leo Carrillo quite awhile ago, so our camping experience is a little dated though we did drive through recently for a visit. The nightly rate is a little high for dry camping though typical for California State Parks. Like Malibu Creek State Park, Leo Carrillo's gate closes at 10pm so if you are trying to visit friends in the area for dinner, you have to hurry back or you'll be locked out.

Our campsite was mostly dirt. On our recent visit I was able to get AT&T service in the front of the park, but not towards the back. Verizon didn't work at all.