San Mateo Campground

This campground was nice! I had no idea there would not be cell service. If you hike uphill about 1 mile, you'll get Verizon reception. Dogs are not allowed on the beach. It was quiet and the staff were friendly. Bathrooms are individual rooms, which is pleasant. Showers and dump station cost campers. They sell diatomaceous earth, but I had no trouble with ants. I will be back for brief trips.

We stayed in a site with hook-ups. It was very quiet and relaxing. Sites were easy to back-in. Easy access to the electrical and water. Bathrooms were clean. Not much in the way of cell service on Verizon if you're looking for connectivity. Hard to send/receive texts from the entire campground. There are two dump stations in the campground. They are charging $10 which I thought should be free for campers.

I goofed up the dates of our trip so had to find a place at the last minute for our first night. We booked this campground on the phone while sitting at the kiosk, as they are not able to rent sites on site.

This campground sits on the northern edge of Camp Pendleton and we were on the edge of the wash, overlooking it. There was a low rumble of artillery fire and a few helicopters flying by but the noise was surprisingly muted.
Our site was very roomy and private with shrubbery on two sides and the wash on the third. We were able to back in and not unhook. There would not have been room to park our truck next to our trailer.

This campground is about a mile and a half inland and would be a good base for exploring the local state beaches whose campgrounds tend to fill up. There were lots of open spaces here on a weeknight.

The fee includes the $7.99 ReserveCA charge. The fee for the dump station is $10. Currently, the dump station at San Clemente, which is in the day use area, is free. Your tag from San Mateo will get you in there.

Friendly staff at the gate, we never met the host so can't say.

We had a big site with plenty of space between us and our neighbors. The campground is over a mile hike to the beach, but it’s a really great path with some awesome views of the ocean as you reach the top. You can also drive and park in the day use beach parking with your camping pass for no extra charge. The camp hosts had firewood for sale which was great. California State Parks are pricey compared to other state parks, but we’ve gotten used to paying that here, so we can’t complain. Water and electric only, but a dump station in the park.

Bad Verizon, but a pretty decent AT&T LTE signal. We camped over thanksgiving, so we didn’t test with remote work or video conferencing, but we did stream some Netflix successfully.

Nice place to camp, E & W only hookups, dump station on site. Had a coyote run thru site. If you have pets pick inside of the camping loop. Good bathrooms, nice hot showers, tokens required 1 token for .50 cents/2mins. 1.5 mile hike to beach, easy drive to san clemente state park. Most sites have bushes so pretty private. We had camp host come around offering wood for sell.

I came across San Mateo campground and it is a nice, quiet and clean space. Paved roads and parking, dump stations, great and welcoming staff. I was able to snag the last site for the night, but ended up leaving after about 15 minutes when I was told there is no wifi (there is, but it’s password protected and I guess they aren’t allowed to give out the password) and absolutely no cell reception down at the campground, but there is cell reception at the top of the hill when you check in. Overall it seemed like a nice place and would love to return, I’d they update their internet reception or wifi policy.

My wife, son and I stayed here over the 9/11 weekend with our two dogs. The place was nice and clean. The site was private with water and electric hookups. There is a dump station on site. The campground overlooks Camp Pendleton. It is a nice 40 minute hike to Trestles Beach. It is a convenient local getaway. Would definitely stay here again.

The good:
- Pleasant staff
- Clean
- Quite
- Beach access (apx 2 mi) via a nice trail

The not good:
- Site selection is key . . . do your homework
- Spotty (at best) mobile coverage
- Limited shade (on many sites) . . . we camped during dead of summer So. CA heat wave
- Narrow sites boarded by tall hedges (not ideal if camping with friends)

Suggestions
- Take care with regard to forecasts (2 mi from the beach can have a big difference in the temp)
- Don't plan on mobile coverage (although some sites did appear to have decent coverage)
- Did I mention site selection (which is key to any outing, seemed to have a bigger impact here)
- Bring your own shade
- Plan on walking to the beach, as parking is at an absolute premium (great local surf spot)

Personal Conclusion
As we camp with our grand daughter, whose mommy likes to be in touch, the lack of mobile coverage is a deal breaker. Long walk to the beach renders daily visits challenging with small children or mobile challenged. If none of the above matters, my rating would be higher.

We stayed at San Mateo CG for 4 nights July 21-25, 2020. Well-maintained. Mostly quiet in the evening but for some little kids having fun playing outdoors - like camping should be. We were in the dry camping area. Generator hours are until 8 pm and everyone very respectful to the hours.

The restrooms and showers were clean. Sink washing station in good shape, too. Sites are pretty level and have greenery separating the sites. Some open up onto open space. Others kind of backup to other sites. The map on the Reserve California website is pretty accurate.

There is a walking/biking path to the beach. Kind of hilly but keeps you away from the road. About 1.5 miles to Trestles (great surf beach). With your state campground pass, you can also use the day use parking at any state beach until 10 p.m. on your departure date.

We road bikes from the campground on two days. One day down to San Onofre - bike path nearly the entire way. Next day up to Dana Point - bike route and bike path the whole way.

You are really close to Camp Pendleton and can often hear their artillery practice. Fortunately, they don't start until 9 a.m. Be aware if you have pets that are afraid of fireworks or thunder as it can sound like that at times.