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El Capitan State Beach

Name: El Capitan State Beach
Address: California
Rating: 4.0

111 Reviews

#3,029 of 10,406 things to do in California

Nature & Parks, Outdoor Activities, Beaches

Review Highlights

“Camping”

This was our first dry camp experience and we enjoyed it but we prefer camping with full hookups... read more

Reviewed 11 July 2018

djgracia8184

Apple Valley, California

via mobile

“Well looked after park”

We stayed here in our RV (no hookup) & loved it. Great sunset views over the beach. Toilets were... read more

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

mantisalive

Coolangatta, Australia

Read all 111 reviews

All photos (97)

Full view

Traveller Overview

4.0 111 reviews

Excellent33%
Very good37%
Average21%
Poor4%
Terrible5%

Travellers talk about

“baby oil”(5 reviews)

“dump station”(5 reviews)

“camp sites are”(3 reviews)

About

Local Weather

F°C°

10°

1°

Dec

10°

1°

Jan

12°

2°

Feb

Contact

Website

+1 805-968-1033

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1 - 10 of 106 reviews

mantisalive

Coolangatta, Australia

11443

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Well looked after park

We stayed here in our RV (no hookup) & loved it. Great sunset views over the beach. Toilets were clean & well looked after. Staff on site were helpful. We stayed in November so the park was really quiet, which was a bonus.

Date of experience: November 2018

Thank mantisalive

wibbo57

Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Reviewed 29 October 2018 via mobile

ElCapitan state beach camp

Pros, beatiful views and beach, take a bottle of baby oil for the tar pitch that gets on your feet. It's naturally occurring from the ocean floor. Cons, not very RV or travel trailer friendly, no dump or water station , camp sites are very...More

Date of experience: October 2018

2 Thank wibbo57

kimhH2393IV

La Crosse, Wisconsin

434

Reviewed 15 October 2018 via mobile

Great beach

Not a populated beach when we were there. Beautiful. Beautiful views. Waves to skim board or body surf. You do have to pay $10/day per car as it is a state park, but worth it.

Date of experience: October 2018

Thank kimhH2393IV

moridanim

Los Osos, California

Reviewed 14 September 2018 via mobile

Buy earplugs

Beautiful view, but way too close to highway 101 and train tracks. Hearing the waves at night was nice but mostly we heard traffic on the 101 all night. I had to go into the car at 3am to grab a set of earplugs for...More

Date of experience: September 2018

2 Thank moridanim

mf-sandiego

San Diego, CA

2344

Reviewed 14 September 2018

Camping review - mixed bag

I haven't camped near the beach since I was very young, and it is so hard to get reservations for beach camping in Southern California. Now that I'm retired, I was able to make a mid-week reservation for El Capitan in mid-September. The summer crowd...More

Date of experience: September 2018

1 Thank mf-sandiego

emarienyc

New York City, New York

12770

Reviewed 11 August 2018

Camping: loud freeway noise at night, racoons that brazenly steal food, and dirty showers/bathrooms

People love camping here because of the proximity to the beach, which is a definite plus, but the campground is RIGHT by the 101, and the noise from the freeway (and the trains, which run next to the 101 as well) are the opposite of...More

Date of experience: August 2018

1 Thank emarienyc

Kimmy0532

Reviewed 8 August 2018

One of the Most Beautiful State Beaches in California

We have been going to El Cap for many years. It is always beautiful as the setting is stunning. People are nice and friendly and it's not too remote so there is cell service. The CA State Park system has faced many financial challenges and...More

Date of experience: August 2018

2 Thank Kimmy0532

R A

Lake Tahoe (California), California

Reviewed 24 July 2018 via mobile

This place sucks!

What is wrong with people?! This was the worst camping experience of my life! Ant infestation, filthy and I mean FILTHY showers and bathrooms, no toilet paper, campsites are on top of each other and right near train tracks and the freeway, hopefully you don't...More

Date of experience: July 2018

5 Thank R A

greg02280

Visalia

Reviewed 18 July 2018 via mobile

Not the best

I will give the beach a A-. The beach is nice, I was expecting large amounts of tar, but it’s just specs that get on the bottom of your feet. Baby oil takes it right off. But very nice beach. The campground gets s D+,...More

Date of experience: July 2018

2 Thank greg02280

djgracia8184

Apple Valley, California

Reviewed 11 July 2018 via mobile

Camping

This was our first dry camp experience and we enjoyed it but we prefer camping with full hookups. Maybe we are a little spoiled. It was beautiful though.