Doheny State Beach Camping

Probably one of the worst state parks in CA. It’s beautiful and a good town but the homeless community resides in this park! I was reserving a pit in the «B» tent and this homeless guy with long blonde hair on his bike was going thru garbage cans and kept on riding around where i was and it really freaked me out. Theres another man laying on the grass nearby, another homeless man sitting in the «A» tent area and a crazy black lady walking around talking to herself pulling a suitcase… The list of these hobos go on and on! How could they allow this!?! So messed up. I now have to wait in my car until my family arrives because i am too nervous to be alone here

This isn’t a camp ground and nobody here is camping. This is a trailer park where I and one other person have erected tents in a sea of trailers and motor homes.
There is a train track that runs along the back fence. An active train track. Yes, seriously.
Pacific Coast Highway and the freeway are within hearing distance.
Because everybody is in an enclosed and hard-​sided vehicle, nobody cares about how much noise they’re making outside their RVs. Also, their generators are running.
And finally the camp sites are stacked nearly on top of one another. So I’m extra close to all these things.
Never come here. Seriously. It is the worst.

This campsite is full of crime if you ask me. We went camping there just this past weekend and my friend had his GENERATORS STOLEN in the middle of the nite. They cut the big locked cable in the middle of the nite while we were asleep. Then I was informed by others it was a common act there ., very upset obviously for my friend who was being so kind to drag me along to this state beach. They obviously had scouted us out it seems. There is no surveillance here host was super kind and police but that doesn’t help replace my friends generators who is a Veteran. If anyone has any info on who did this please contact me they were 2 red generators from Costco called Smart Tools. We had to pack up early n go home. Overall sad experience but happy they didn’t harm us just don’t want it to happen to you:) so beware I also was told they go after all toys not just generators…

The only good thing about the campground is the beach. Why do they even allow RVs here? No hookups and you can’t even turn your generator on until 10AM. It was not made very clear to us that there were no hookups. But I’ll take the blame for not knowing. So much for coffee. And breakfast.
Quiet time is until 8am, so you can turn music on… but not your generator. And believe me… they are definitely checking. Every Ranger we encountered this weekend was rude.
Also, when we booked on ReserveAmerica, the place was almost full… it wasn’t. It was empty. We had to book closest to the street/train…there was nobody near us and every spot close to the beach was empty. 2 families we were with left early.
A note to all the Rangers… you were on the money when you were checking to make sure we weren’t using the generator, but you apparently don’t care that a bunch of homeless people cruise around the camp stealing from people who paid to be there. Way to do your jobs.

It is pretty cool being able to camp near the beach and hear the waves crash. It’s not cool waking up hung over at 5:30am to the sound of a train rushing by, followed by trains every 20 or so minutes. I wasn’t smart enough to realize the camping spot was literally 50 feet from a train line beforehand. My bad.
Other than that, they keep their facilities pretty clean and it seemed like most of the other campers kept to themselves. It’s not «real» camping, and it’s $ 35 for a tent camp site, but that’s what you pay to camp near the beach.
There was some homeless looking skateboarder guy who looked like he was in his 40’s and he kept lurking around the bathrooms throughout the night. We saw him in the morning skateboarding around looking sketchy. He didn’t seem like he was causing any trouble, but you never know.

Beautiful park! Wonderful camping area. Make a reservation in advance. Spots fill up quickly. I didn’t experience any problems with scary critters. Dog friendly! I have camped at a lot of different places and it really doesn’t get any better. It’s camping after all.

Doheny state beach campground is not a repeat, I won’t be back.
REASONS:
1. No hookups, it’s 100% dry camping.
2. No generators allowed after 8pm, even though quiet time starts at 10pm.
3. The smoke from campfires is unbearable when there is no onshore breeze, which is often. Campsites are very dense, too many campers are crammed into such a small space, causing high levels of smoke pollution. If you have any health problems related to breathing DON’T COME HERE, BELIEVE ME.
4. Biking trails are very limited to about 3mi.
5. Train noise
6. For all the hassle to reserve 7mos in advance, it’s just not worth it. Poor value. Too expensive for what you get.
7. Beach is just OK, most areas are dirty with sea kelp all over the sand. Some areas are rocky.

I get the $ 35 a night… location, location, location, but what I don’t get is the crappy facilities you get for that fee. Lousy bathroom, horribly landscaped campground, in fact that campground hasn’t changed in 30 years. Hell, you don’t even get water or power at your campsite for $ 35
You would think the State would put SOME of the camping fees into a total demo and rebuild of Doheny… it sorely needs it.

Awesome campground that sits right on the beach!.. if you can, try to score a spot closer to beach side. if not, you’ll hear the train and Hwy 5 traffic thru the night.
Gave it a 4star rating because restrooms and showers aren’t the nicest. you’ll even apot gypsies and homeless sneak into the campsite during early morn or late night to shower… and the baños and showers were only cleaned every few days…
Other than that, friendly crowd that draws families and surfers. .great waves but wear your water socks, to avoid cutting your feet on rocky shore bottom.
If your surfing, head to the Norrh side for awesome waves. and if you’re interested in just swimming and having a great time, check out tide pools where you can swim with the sea life!

WORST CAMPGROUND EVER!!! Nothing but drunk teens, an Amtrak goes by right behind it 3 times per hour and there’s lots of homeless who take campsites at night and hop over the fence to use the restroom. The homeless was the least irritating of it all. Save your pennies and go camp in a parking lot for free. That’s basically what this is, is camping in a parking lot. Unless you pay $ 60 a night for beach front if available… And $ 60 a night!?? Pa-​lease! This place is GHETTO. I have camped for over 20 years. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!

Spent the weekend camping at Doheny. This is our second time camping here. The park is right near the beach. Great camping spot if you enjoy longboarding. It is a long hike if you choose to walk to the surf break. The park is loud with the Amtrack trains going by as well as the many large groups of campers. The bathrooms are outdated and are your typical state beach bathrooms. Bring a towel and soap as they don’t supply any. You can easily ride your bike to the local restaurants near the harbor. If you get a chance I would recommend the Bluff Top hike which is relatively short. 4 stars as you can’t beat the location. Also, watch out for the squirrels. They are everywhere. Keep your food safe.

First of all as far as I know first come, first served means exactly as it states!!! Well not here it doesn’t! So glad my husband wasted his time sitting at the kiosk waiting 30 minutes as the first walk up to get a site when actually was the only person to walk away without one!
DO NOT put first come, first served if that is not at all what it is… it is called a lottery. You can be the last one to come and the first one served because you draw numbers and if you draw a high number you lose! Lowest number chooses what site they want so on and so forth. EXTREMELY MISLEADING! Change the website that states first come, first served!!!

Cmon people. What is wrong with people rating this park so low just because their neighbors behavior?
I understand the train noise… traffic noise etc. but low rating because of people next to your site smoke. loud noise.partying.kids running through your site. fighting?
That could happen anywhere. any campsites. Please rate and tell people about the park not the people you run into.
If you want a 5 star treatment, quiet & relaxed environment, no kids, and hang with elderly couple… there are plenty of luxury resorts and hotels along the OC coast that will cost you $ 300+ per night.
Beautiful beach, clean, all sites are close to the sand, roomy sites (Compare to Bolsa Chica Huntington Beach), Trees, fire pit… to me that’s more than enough for $ 35 per night.
Have fun! It’s camping after all!

I think some people are a little too picky.
We had camp site #4. This site is the closest row to the street. We had a great time! Friendly neighbors & very clean site. The bathrooms are a very short distance & were always clean, the beach is about a 10 second walk. This site had trees that go around to give you more privacy. Almost every site I’ve camped at has close neighbors, so I’m not sure why people are surprised. We did hear the metro late at night, but to me it’s not awful enough to not come back again.

Stayed for a few days in space 110 and would try camping here again, but probably in a different space. The beach front location is gorgeous, of course. However, this place loses major points with the surrounding noise. The trains passing by and surrounding traffic are a total deterrent and take away from the camping ambiance. The noise was so bad that I couldn’t sleep for the duration of the stay. That included ear plugs, sleep aids, and countless pillows over my head in attempt to drown out the noise. Maybe I didn’t have enough wine? The restrooms were clean, as long as you got there during before noon. The saving grace was the availability of hot showers for a few bucks. That felt good.

I would like to give this campground a bad review just to keep others from visiting, but I must tell the truth, I love this place. For a beach campground with mostly RVs, this still feels like camping and not sitting in a parking lot.
Some of the sites are small and close together, but others feel roomy and the trees and bushes give you some privacy.
There is a sand dune between the camp and the beach which helps with wind but blocks the view. Generator hours are from 10am to 8pm. The rangers don’t do the best job enforcing that rule. There are crews working everyday cleaning vacated spots and the general campground.
The waves are small but the beach is relatively clean. There are the typical transients that hang out in the parks day use area, but they don’t seem to bother anyone.
As far as the train noise, yes you definitely hear the train go by, even at night, but not terribly often. I would take this train noise over freeway or road noise any day.
Overall this campground is family friendly and pet friendly with lots of bike riders and runners going by. The ocean view is beautiful and a relaxing place for a vacation or nice weekend.

If you like dry camping with the heroin junkies and the migrant workers walking through camp on their way home then this place is for you! They even had 20+ state penitentiary inmates doing maintenance around the park while we were there. So did we love it? Ahhhhhhh… No!
The first night we were there the a man and a woman from the junkie camp were up all night fighting in the street. We are taking about shouting and punching each other in the face. The park wouldn’t even let us move sites. They said that we would have to cancel online (with the penalty of having to pay for both sites) for the first night and then rebook at full price into another site. Both the rangers and the camp hosts have no power to make any changes to the sites. You are totally on your own. The place was 90% empty and we couldn’t move to a spot on the beach. This was a total cluster. Don’t trust the website, just call ReserveAmerica and talk to someone before booking. BTW, the park rangers did show up late the next morning and evicted the junkies but not until after we had to go all night listening to them. Do your self the favor and don’t even bother. Find somewhere else.

We came here for the first time to visit the beach and for just watching and taking in the atmosphere it is great. Lots of surfers, some nice boats, birds fishing and volleyball.
At the wave break there are lots of rocks that can hurt you feet, the water gets deep very quickly so keep your eyes peeled on your kids.
Although this beach is closer I think that Laguna will stay as our regular.

I’m not sure which part of my camping trip was the highlight of my weekend. The noisy street, the loud wedding across the street, close quarters with neighbors who snored all night without a break, or the roaring Amtrack train.
Needless to say I didn’t sleep much.
I won’t be back unless I get a site away from everything I mentioned.

I do not know why everyone is saying the campsites are so tiny. Where are THEY normally camping? Ours was big enough for the tent, a large picnic table and the fire ring. (Spaces 42 and 44) We could have squeezed in one more tent. The cars are parked in a large space big enough for 2. We were right next door to our friends and it was 3 families total in 2 spaces with 4 cars. One of us had a pop-​up. No probs.
The bathrooms are the cleanest of any campground I have been too. Not smelly. And the showers are HOT, excellent pressure, and cost 50 cents for like 5 minutes which is plenty, because you are, after all, CAMPING.
There is no other S. Cal campground that I know of that is steps to the sand. Steps… like 10 – 20 steps from your tent. The kids can go run off and play. Its safe. Yes Doheny itself is near a runoff creek, which is gross if you think about it, but just don’t let the kids play in the creek and don’t go camping when it raining. And don’t think about it. Have another beer. You’re CAMPING!
The stars at night, the waves crashing lulling you to sleep… I’d say it ain’t bad.