Amazing places to go camping near Los Angeles

2hrs 20mins by car, dog friendy (on leash)

Joshua Tree is one of the most magical places in California (and the country, we think). The park’s varied and alien landscapes—due mostly to gnarled, ancient Joshua Trees and giant boulders strewn willy nilly—make for impressive scenery during hikes, bike tours or leisurely drives. Watch rock climbers scale mini-mountains at Hidden Valley campground or try some scrambling yourself at Jumbo Rocks. If you visit in spring, head south to Pinto Basin to see colorful wildflowers in bloom. The stargazing is choice here, and wild coyotes may howl you to sleep. Most sites are first-come, first-served, so plan on arriving early or reserving a group site at Black Rock or Indian Cove. Notable stops along the way to the park include Pappy & Harriet’s for lunch, live music and a ghost-town stroll; the Integratron for a new-age sound bath and the town of Joshua Tree itself, which offers some funky hotel options, a few tasty restaurants, some good thrifting and the kind of quirky public art that only exists in tiny desert communities.

Reservations are required at select campsites, and highly recommended at most. Hidden Valley (44 sites), White Tank (15 sites) and Belle Campgrounds (18 sites) are first-come, first-served.

3hrs by car, dog friendly (on leash in the campgrounds, but they are not allowed on trails or in other wilderness areas)

Anza-Borrego Desert is east of the northern part of San Diego County. Known for wildflowers and birding, it also has plenty of options for tent camping. There are developed campgrounds: Borrego Palm Campground, Tamarisk Grove Campground and Bow Willow Campground, which can all be reserved in advance for a fee. There are also primitive campgrounds that are first-come, first-serve and are free. Hiking in the area is wonderful—from one-mile nature trails to all-day hikefests, there’s something for every adventure level nearby.  

Campsites available for reservations.

3hrs 30mins by car, dog friendly (on leash)

The Mojave Desert is a high, dry expanse spanning parts of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The National Preserve portion, in California, is a unique landscape offering site and roadside camping as well as pack sites for travelers on horseback. The Preserve is most famous for its Kelso Dunes, nearly 700 feet high across 45 square miles. When sand slides down the slopes, it produces a booming or “singing” sound that you can try to coax out with a sprint down a pile. Other points of interest are the lava cones and volcanic cinder flows dating back millions of years. Temperatures change quickly here and flash floods are common, so only camp in designated sites and bring lots of layers. 

All camping is first-come, first-served. For more information, visit Mojave’s site.  

1hr 20mins by car, dog friendly (on leash)

Though none of them are directly on the beach, Leo Carrillo State Park has more than 130 campsites with ridiculously easy access to the beach, just on the other side of PCH in Malibu. You can walk right across the street to the ocean and explore a number of protected tidepools, caves and reefs. Go for a swim, hang out on the beach (FYI, the cell reception is better there than in the campsite) or go hiking on one of the back-country paths. The sites here can get crowded, so be strategic when selecting and reserving your lot to make sure you get as much or as little privacy as you want. There are amenities galore here; in case you forget something, there’s a store located in the campground, and if you’re staying for a few days, the site offers several token-operated showers.

Campsites are available for reservations. Consult Leo Carrillo State Park for more information.

2hrs 20mins by car, dog friendly (on leash and must be kept in your tent at night; dogs are not allowed on the beach)

About 20 miles west (yes, technically it’s west—if that confuses you, think farther up the coast) of Santa Barbara is Refugio State Beach, a gorgeous stretch of sand for campers and visitors alike. The views of the Channel Islands—Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Anacapa and Santa Rosa—are a beautiful thing to wake up to. The beach draws swimmers, kayakers, surfers and sand castle builders. Kayak tours are led by the state beach lifeguards from Memorial Day to Labor Day, or you can launch your own. Whether you swim or just walk on the beach, here’s a pro tip: bring baby oil to rub the tar off your feet. The state beach campground has 66 campsites that can be reserved up to seven months in advance, plus showers and bathrooms. There’s plenty to explore in the area, like nearby El Capitan State Beach (also a good place to camp) and a trail to a painted Chumash cave. The only drawbacks to camping here is that tent sites can be in high demand and the sites themselves are close to a railroad track, so you might hear trains overnight.

Reservations available six months in advance. Consult Refugio State Beach for more information.  

While you're there, book a kayaking trip. 

1hr 15mins by car, dog friendly (on leash, dogs are not allowed on the state beach)

If you’ve lived in Southern California for a while, you’ve probably heard about a surf spot called Trestles, or you’ve heard about the boob-shaped nuclear power plant just south of San Clemente near Camp Pendleton. That’s the site of San Onofre State Beach, one of the most popular beaches for surfers around. There are 380 tent and group campsites available year-round at San Mateo Campground, which is set back from the beach. A trail leads down to the surf from the campsites. If the surf is good, it will be difficult to score a tent site, but online reservations are available. It’s best to camp here if you’re a surfer or looking for a chill weekend at the beach with great people watching—otherwise there’s not much hiking to do since the beach is fairly close to the 5 Freeway and the base. As for noise, drills or activity on Camp Pendleton can drown out the sound of the crashing waves. 

Reservations are available six months in advance. Consult San Onofre State Beach for more information.   

5hrs by car, dog friendly (on leash and in developed areas like campgrounds only)

A visit to Yosemite National Park can be a transformative experience, and it’s one of the best places to camp in the state. Spending time beneath the massive rock walls and trees of Yosemite Valley is one of the coolest things you can do in California. There are plenty of campgrounds in the park. It is possible to come by open campsites, but it’s best to reserve in advance for a guaranteed good time. You can do pretty much any outdoor activity in Yosemite: walking, day hiking, short hikes, backpacking trips, swimming, rock climbing, skiing, cross country skiing and even more extreme outdoor sports. Many of the valley’s best views can be accessed by a car or a short, easy hike. Make sure to do your research before you go: Some areas of the park aren’t open year-round, and some hikes and activities will require permits.

Reservations required for camping. 

4hrs 50mins by car, dog friendly (on leash)

Mammoth is a snow bunny’s paradise, but it also makes for an incredible camping destination in the warmer months. Visitors can escape the heat by trekking to high elevations, where pine forests loom and distant mountain peaks are still capped with snow. There are hidden hot springs to be found here as well as hundreds of glacial lakes kept cool (okay, freezing) all summer from snowmelt. Duck Pass is a particularly popular hike, and a great way to get a daylong taste of what the area has to offer. Be sure to book sites in advance as reservations fill up super fast in spring and summer. And don’t forget a wilderness pass, required for all overnight stays. We suggest driving the 395 there and back, which will take you through little mountain towns like Lone Pine (at the base of Mt. Whitney) and Bishop (home to famous bouldering areas and a crop of hot springs).

Most campgrounds, including privately run ones and RV parks, offer reservations. Find more information here. 

6 hrs by car from L.A. (dog rules vary by campground)

Arguably one of the most iconic stretches of coastline in the world, the Big Sur area is a car camper’s paradise. There’s a mix of state park campgrounds and private campgrounds in the area for tent camping, plus posh resorts that are woodsy enough to qualify as glamping. Big Sur is where redwood-covered mountainsides plunge into the surging ocean. One of the best ways to see it is simply by driving along Highway 1, parking your car wherever it looks cool (read: basically everywhere), and following a probably unmarked trail—though be careful of poison oak—down in the direction of the ocean. For more mappable destinations, check out Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Beach for some incredible sunsets and tidepooling, and Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, just south of Carmel, is a great place to see just how wild the ocean can be. Whale watching is top-knotch here, and you can even spot otters floating in the kelp beds.

Click here for a list of campsites and their statuses—some stretches of Big Sur may be difficult to reach due to changing landslide conditions. 

3hrs 45 mins by car, dog friendly (on leash and in developed areas like campgrounds only)

If you’re a tree lover, you have to go see the giant redwoods of Sequoia National Park. There’s plenty of hiking in both national parks—from short, well-marked patchs to day hikes to multi-day backpacking trails. Sequoia is slightly more drive-and-look friendly with cool attractions like the General Sherman Tree, the tallest in the world; Tunnel Log, a fallen, hollowed out Sequoia that you can drive your car through; and Tharp’s log, a home built in a fallen tree. Meanwhile, the backcountry hiking in Kings Canyon is on every hiker’s bucket list. There are several campgrounds in both parks at different elevations and they are well maintained by the National Park Service. Just make sure to check conditions before you go: most close after the summer season, water may be turned off, and some may be closed due to wildfires in the area. 

Campground reservations required; find more information here.