San Elijo State Beach

We stayed at one of the dry camping spots in the park during the shoulder season between Dec.10-Christmas. We called in our reservations a few days before arriving. Because it was shoulder season, we did get to stay a while--and through the weekend--but had to move spots twice. The place was booked out Christmas Eve through mid-January. I recommend ignoring the website reservation system and calling a reservation agent on the phone, for some reason the humans convey greater availability than the website shows.

San Elijo tends to become party central on weekends and holidays, so anticipate guitar playing, beer drinking and the like. It is a primo place to camp if you surf. Cardiff Reef, George's and Swami's are close; if you're less picky and have a longboard, you can find lots of rideable options right down the stairs from your campsite. It tends to get crowded at all times of day, but so does the rest of San Diego. During extreme low tides, you can run on the beach all the way to Leucadia and beyond, really beautiful.

It's one of the best places in San Diego to camp if you're into the dawn patrol-burrito-dusk patrol-beer circuit.

This campground is all about the location. Yes the sites are close together, yes it can get noisy here and there are often lots of kids running around. But the views and sunsets are spectacular, and you can wander on the beach or watch the surfers just a few minutes from your site. The charming a SoCal surf town of Encinitas is walking distance away.

Other great things here include the taco shop on site that overlooks the ocean, the Seaside market across the street (no need to stock up before you come) and the restaurants,coffee shops and breakfast spots nearby.

All of this comes at a price of course, not only are the sites expensive, but if you want a weekend spot you need to plan months in advance. The weekend sites sell out on the morning they are released, within seconds of going on sale. But with a small cancellation fee it is worth snagging a few of these reservations on the off chance that you can make it to wonderful Cardiff by the Sea for the weekend 7 months from now!!