San Elijo State Beach

San Elijo State Beach was one of our favorite coastal campgrounds. We were hesitant to book 5 nights of dry camping. But the reviews on this place were amazing. Since we were staying during the work week we wanted something with a view if we were going to be stuck at the campsite. We booked one of their ocean front sites (Site 9) at $50 per night (weekday rate), and man did we get a view! This was a great place to explore Cardiff (just across the highway), Encinitas, and Solana Beach. Even though dogs aren't allowed on San Elijo State Beach if you walk a very short distance south they are allowed on Cardiff Beach. Just make sure you cross the bridge first before walking down to the beach. Cardiff Beach was amazing at low tide for Emma. She loves running in shallow water and you could walk so far out in ankle-deep water. Plus, there are several surfers to watch at the mouth of the creek. We especially liked the small town of Encinitas and all the vegetarian/vegan options. We enjoyed a tasty happy hour dinner at Roxy. The server highly recommended the pad thai at Plumeria, but we didn't have time to stop.⁠
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Site Selection Tip.... if you are picky about campsites like us, I recommend looking at aerials and campsite photos for two reasons. First, the view... many of the premium ocean front sites have large shrubs blocking your entire view. People had to sit on their picnic tables to watch the sunset on the horizon. Ours was perfect and the site was massive! Which is the second reason. Don't book you site based on the campground map because it is not to scale. We thought we had the shortest site on the bluff, but it was one of the largest.

Major train track construction has completed with a 90% reduction in whistle blowing at the crossing. San elijo state beach is dog friendly (leashing required) but not at the campground beach . Primitive camping has water facets and bath/shower house ($1 for 2 minutes). Beach access at campground is via various stairs. Sites near the 101 fence has lots of road noises.

We booked a standard site for $35/night but when we arrived we decided to splurge for FHU’s... costing an extra $25/night. For $60/night this is just OK. We were here visiting a friend who lives up the road in Encinitas - we aren’t surfers so the beach wasn’t enough of a distraction from ALL THE HORRIBLE NOISE. Seriously, bring your earplugs. From an abundance of military planes, coast guard choppers, sightseeing helicopters doing low-altitude buzzing, commuter trains, Amtrak trains (some blowing whistles well after midnight), Hwy 101 traffic, motorcycles, and the usual cadre of noisy adults shouting at their kids... we were happy to say bye-bye to this place after a couple nights.

On the plus side: we loved being able to walk to Seaside Market for “Cardiff Crack” and other township amenities. Cardiff-by-the-Sea is a super cute town worth checking out. The showers are clean with great water pressure and hot water - showers are 1 token for 2 min. (each token is 50 cents). There are token vending machines in the campground. We loved the cool sea breezes and sound of the waves. Staff are very friendly and plentiful.

We are hesitant to return simply because of the constant onslaught of noise. Will try to find a quieter place to camp on our next visit.

We got lucky and got three nights here the same day we showed up without reservations. We had an "inland" site but we still had a great view of the water. The sound of crashing waves all day and night is magical. There is a train that rolls through often and it has to blow its horn at the intersection nearby. It is very loud. Other than that this campground was great.

Yes it's busy, yes the Coaster and Amtrak trains go by frequently blaring their horns (which are awesome options to get to the heart of San Diego, btw) but this is still one of our favorite spots. It's beautiful on the bluffs and you can access one of the very few dog beaches right from the campground (at the southern end) -- it's a fairly small area but you could also opt to cross the bridge and all of that long stretch of beach is also dog friendly.
We also LOVE Cardiff. The Seaside Market is spendy but has excellent produce, a great beer and wine selection, and a fantastic deli and seafood counter. I love shopping at the Rancho Coastal thrift store which supports the humane society. VG Donuts is right there and Best Pizza and Brew -- two great spots. And we've been to the Cardiff vet, all right there within walking distance to the campground. In the huge sprawling area that is San Diego County, we love to be able to walk and bike to the places we love. Biking to Encinitas is easy and fun, with beautiful ocean views and so many good eateries there.
Back to the campground -- we have found that we prefer the southern end when possible, to be close to the dog beach, the middle section tends to be the loudest and busiest, and the northern section is much more quiet. There are several 'back row' sites with decent views of the ocean if you're not right behind the bathroom building like we were in site 133 -- site 132 would have had much better views.
Catch the sunset, bike to breweries, and just slow down and enjoy the chill surfer vibe of this small beachside community.
When we were here in late January, the camp store was closed. The laundry room was also totally deconstructed -- not sure if that was for renovations or if it's always closed in the winter season. Nearest laundry we found was in Encinitas, Jolly Clean Giant, didn't love that you had to use a laundry card to pay (no coins) which they were actually out of, but a woman working there let me borrow hers.

I made reservations 6 months in advance to get a site overlooking the water. Site 145 accommodated our 34' foot Airstream, but did require some up on curb driving, there is a loop in front of this spot which allows for more room to back up. The site was big enough, but will test your driving skills, hey it's worth it to camp on the beach! Site 145 is also on the end so there is less traffic going by your site. There are fire pits and picnic tables on each site. The facilities were clean. The camp is right on the beach, but there is train and traffic noise at night.
The check in was friendly and fast. There is the cute little town of Cardiff by the Sea across the highway, with a coffee shop and breakfast taco place within walking distance, also a grocery store (Seaside Market). The camp store in the park was well equipped with supplies also. This park was definitely popular among the locals, you can tell there were a lot of regulars.

The location on the bluff is very cool. The sites are mix of dirt and asphalt. It’s a pretty good location for visiting all of the San Diego area attractions. The problem with the park is the noise (PCH and commuter trains) and the number of day use people that come off PCH. All of the beach goers park on PCH and then walk through the campsites. We were there during the offseason and during the week (weather was amazing) and it felt packed. I can’t imagine what the summer is like. Just plan on extra noise and lots of people!