Campgrounds and RV parks near Camarillo, CA

Coastal activity centres on the Point Mugu and Leo Carrillo beaches. Leo Carrillo State Park has 1.5 miles of beach for swimming, surfing, fishing, and sunbathing, plus tide pools, coastal caves and reefs to explore. Point Mugu State Park, in the western Santa Monica Mountains, offers five miles of shoreline, scenic hiking, mountain biking in Sycamore Canyon, and wildlife viewing. The park has more than 70 miles of hiking trails, including routes into the Boney Mountains State Wilderness. Inland, families staying at Ventura Ranch KOA Holiday can use a jumping pillow, playground, gem mining, a seasonal pool, plus a zip line and ropes course. The agricultural Heritage Valley around Santa Paula and Fillmore adds farm stands, citrus groves and a heritage railroad.

The area has a Mediterranean climate, so the camping calendar is built around the wet winter and dry summer. Camarillo has cool, damp winters with most of the year's rain falling between November and March, and warm, very dry summers with negligible precipitation. Late spring through early fall is peak season for the coastal state-park campgrounds. Sites at Leo Carrillo and the two Point Mugu campgrounds book up fast for summer weekends and holidays, so arriving before midday helps with parking and orientation. Gray whales can sometimes be spotted from shore during their winter and spring migration. Thornhill Broome and Big Sycamore Canyon fill up nearly every weekend in summer, so booking at the six-month opening is advised. Winter brings the bulk of the rain. Most campgrounds stay open, but exposed beach sites at Thornhill Broome can be windy and wet, and inland canyon roads occasionally close after heavy storms. Late summer and early fall is also the regional fire-weather window, when Santa Ana wind events can prompt temporary closures or fire restrictions in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Sites in the state-park system are relatively basic. Big Sycamore Canyon Family Camp has 58 campsites for tents, trailers and RVs up to 31 feet, with picnic tables, fire rings, drinking water, flush toilets, token-operated hot showers and a dump station, but no hookups. Thornhill Broome has oceanfront sites for tents and RVs up to 31 feet with picnic tables, fire rings, water spigots and vault or portable toilets, and no hookups or on-site showers; campers can use the dump station and showers at Sycamore Canyon. At Leo Carrillo State Park, the Canyon Campground accommodates RVs and trailers up to 31 feet, and 46 of the sites have 20-, 30- or 50-amp electrical hookups, with flush toilets, token-operated showers and a dump station on site. Cell service is minimal at the state parks. Expect stronger amenities and full hookups at Ventura Ranch KOA Holiday and Evergreen RV Park.