San Mateo Campground

There are RV sites and tent sites in this beautiful campground. However, for some reason there are a ton of tent people staying in the RV sites.

Lots of people with barking dogs and music playing outside all day Saturday and Saturday night. It was nice and quiet Sunday and Monday. As Sunday turned back into just RV owners at the RV sites and the noise level was gone and the barking dogs.

If you’re using the public restroom, check the floor before you drop your drawers. People can’t seem to get it into the toilet.

There are lots of squirrels and hawks, swallows, little knat bugs, and rabbits.

You are allowed to burn wood in their designated fire pits.

We have Verizon and T-Mobile cell phones. Neither had any cell coverage in any location of the campground, whether the RV sites or the tent area or day use area. I repeat we had NO cell coverage with our Verizon or T-Mobile cell phones in any location of this campground. Our cell phone booster could not find a signal either. We were surprised to find we had no coverage as all reviews we read on campground said Verizon was fine there.

Sites are clean and fairly level. RV sites are paved. They have parking stops at the back, but that was not an issue with our rear entry Travel trailer. Lots of vegetation around rv sites so you have some privacy.

No sites have sewer, but they do have a dump station that you can go to on your way out of the park. It’s a Double dump station that charges you $10 to dump even though you’ve just spent $70 a night to camp here. (Just a heads up). We rated this campground a 4 due to also having to pay for dump station.

Most of Southern California is difficult for Boondocking, San Mateo Campground is very nice, and not too far off I-5, and very close to the beaches. I didn’t use the shower, facilities, or bathrooms, so I can’t speak for them, but the campground is nice and well-maintained. I recommend booking as early as possible, these campgrounds fill up fast.

A nice campground on the northerly edge of Camp Pendleton. Sites were spacious and separated by trees and bushes. Very quiet. Restrooms were spotless, staff very friendly. We made the 1.8 mile hike (one way) to Trestles beach. Not an easy walk but we’ll worth it.
Back at our campsite We saw coyotes, a great horned owl and even a bobcat with a ground squirrel in her mouth.
Two ports at the dump station. $10 fee. Diatomaceous earth works well against the local ants. Don’t forget to bring it.

I actually wanted to stay three nights, however I got stuck with two extra nights. On night number one squirrels ate through my wiring and I was unable to retract my slides. After watching YouTube's and creating jumpers for my slides I was able to leave. Squirrels eat through my wiring the very first night we stayed. We will never stay there again. Mike Thompson RV charge me 200 to diagnose the problem. And they were going to charge me thousands to repair it. However I went underneath the RV myself and found the damage and I'm going to fix it myself. I didn't know squirrels attacked your wiring but upon research they actually are very damaging. Beware of this campground.

San Clemente is a very nice beach town with a pier and sand beaches. About an hour’s drive to Anaheim and Disney. The campground is about 3.5 miles from the ocean, there is a trail from the park to the beach, but we do not suggest riding it on your bike it is gravel with very steep hills. Suggest taking the road and picking up the trail after crossing the interstate. The campground is water and electric only and does not offer any extras. There is a dump station that cost an extra $10 to use.

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.