Steckel Park

Some of the pad (RV) sites are listed as “tent only” or no sewage. All the pads are full hookup and they are pretty close to each other. We spent two nights in spot #44. We were able to get our 18’ trailer into it. Had to dodge low branches and boulders. #22 looks like the best RV site with no hookups.
Currently in #5. It’s closest to the highway and the access road for most of the campground but it has the most shade. It’s about 88°.
There was a big birthday part on Saturday night. They made lots of noise until midnight. I’m sure the camp hosts could hear them but maybe they don’t enforce quiet time unless there are complaints.

This is a pretty basic campground with a few concrete RV sites. My concrete pad was level side-to-side. The pads are surrounded by dirt. The RV pedestal is old, but the concrete seems newer. The surrounding trees and large boulders were unique and made for nice scenery.

On the other side of the county park, there is a playground, a group use area with picnic benches, a stream, and an aviary with a variety of birds, so that was a little different.

Overall, it was a nice stay with pretty surroundings, but it can get dirty with all the dirt in the area.

This is usually my go-to spot for last minute get out of town. It's not super cheap ($36 with the mandatory reservation fee for one night), but reliable.

My young kids keep clamoring to come back here. They love the aviary and the creek that runs year round, a real rarity at in these parts. The playground in the day use area is a short walk and okay. The oak scrub land is a wonderful place to spot birds and wildflowers.

I tend to picks sites here close to the bathroom. there is only one real one for the campground, for obvious reasons . There are porta-potties around, but why?

Hook-up sites are okay, but typically clumped together Ventura County Parks fashion. If you have a large camper or want a quieter experience since there is a bit of road noise in much of the camp, pick sites 15-21. closer to the creek, even if the sites aren't quite as cozy. The dry upper sites vary a lot and tend to be uneven.

We spent three nights here in the non-hook up end and really liked it. We were the only people down at our end of the campground the entire time we were there. At our end the spaces were generous in size, but at the end with hook ups, it's more of a side by side parking lot situation. Mid week in March is clearly the time to be here. The weather was great!

Evenings, we were serenaded by the Peafowl some of whom are wild and some who live in the on site aviary. In the mornings, the crows barked and frolicked in the Oak trees surrounding us. I spied a hawk in a nearby tree either having lunch or feeding nestlings, I wasn't close enough to tell for sure. The creek ran behind our site and in the evening the frogs were singing their songs. The campground sits right beside Ojai Road (highway 150), so there is some noise from traffic, but honestly I hardly noticed it.

My only complaint about our particular site was that the ground was very rocky. If you are prone to tripping, be careful! It would be easy to turn an ankle here. Other sites were not so bad. I sort of want to take a star off for this reason, but it was so pretty, I can't make myself. It's just something to be aware of.

Our small trailer was easy to park and situate here and while we were in the area, we toured many of the other county parks for future reference and found that many of them would have been difficult if not impossible to stay at with our rig, with tight turns and short sites.

The restrooms were not particularly clean and there was no TP in the porta potty that was closest to us.

We had excellent ATT coverage the whole time we were there. Two and sometimes three bars of coverage.

The dump station is closed off and unavailable.

This park offers water, sewer & electric (no TV Service). RV sites on level concrete pads. We camped during the week, the last couple of times we stayed in the park. Weekends the park is buzzing with day-use patrons. Showers & running water toilets are available. All pets must be kept in the camping area only. There is a full time host next to the RV sites. Tent camping is available in a large section of the park. Close to Santa Paula or Ojai for dining or shopping. Easy to make reservations on-line with the County of Ventura web site. Ranger drives through at least one time per day.