South Carlsbad State Beach — Attraction in Carlsbad

We have been camping here for the last decade and it has been one of our favorite family traditions. However, in recent years it seems like conditions have gradually started to slip thank you California..... Many of the stairways down to the beach have been closed which means that depending on your campsite, you may have to walk pretty far for beach access. The restrooms have been due for a refresh for many years but this time they were especially bad. Very difficult to get the toilets to flush, the showers were either cold or didn't work, several would eat the coins, the whole system likely needs to be either completely refurbished or replaced. There were multiple signs warning of increased theft but there weren't anymore park rangers and if anything it seemed like I saw less park staff than usual. The camp host would drive by once a day (maybe) and you'd see a ranger every couple of days. Don't even get me started on the reservation system which has gone from bad, to worse, to "are they trying to keep people from staying here??!". At any rate, after this trip we've decided that it's time to find a new place. The views are great and the beach is wonderful but the infrastructure is falling apart around the place. Also... The camp store hasn't been open in years and though there are signs saying that it will open soon under new management.. I'm pretty skeptical, that sign has been up for at least a year and the store remains closed. Thank you for the memories Sout Carlsbad State Beach, hope you can get it together, for now you're just another reminder of what a let down California vacations...

Just finished our stay there and I have to say this might be my new favorite state beach. We've stayed at one of the state beaches every year for about 20 years.

Pros: sites are well maintained, bathrooms and showers are VERY clean, the beach itself is great, not a lot of rocks on the beach or excessive seaweed when we were there. The squirrels weren't crazy and the bugs weren't bad either. Though we did find one Jerusalem cricket. If you don't know what that is, don't Google it, you'll have nightmares but they are fairly harmless. The site is close to Costco and lots of cute touristy shops.

Cons: the beach itself is NOT handicap accessible. The only access is by a nearly 3 story high, switchback stair case. It makes bringing chairs and umbrellas down and up a really big pain. I don't have a great option for making it more accessible but it is an inconvenience. I do wish there were bathrooms close to the stairs entrance so you're not huffing and puffing all the way up the stairs, just to have to walk another 10 minutes to get to the bathroom. My only other con is that the website says each site should fit 3 cars. Our site definitely could not have fit 3 cars worth of people because it was 1/2 taken over by a large bush. If we hadn't booked additional sites our group would not have fit. It is a very busy beach so we likely would not have been able to secure another site for the week.

All in all we had a great time and I believe this will be our beach of choice for next year. We will definitely be planning things a little differently...

I had no idea Carlsbad is so beautiful! 😍 The water here is very blue💙. We came down to catch the last few glimmers of the bioluminescent red tide✨. The rocks under the water near the shore here are structured in such a way that the waves crash in very long lines parallel to shore with bright white crests. 🌊 You have to see it in person!

You can park beachfront (on sand) right off the road for free at night (or daytime, but spaces fill up quickly). 🚗 During the day, slightly safer parking is available in a paid lot ($6-$10, depending on vehicle type and duration) near the restrooms and lifeguard trailer. A booth is attended at the entrance to the paid lot sometimes, but it wasn't attended when we parked around noon on a Sunday, so we had to use the machine. ⚠️ Be careful exiting the paid parking lot because they have those tire spikes that will puncture your tires if you go backwards! 💥👨‍🔧 Stairs up to the bluffs at the South end. Jetty to the north (be careful if you venture out in this). ⛑️ Lifeguards on duty during the day, who actually seem to be rather attentive.🏊‍♂️ Overall, very pretty and clean beach 🚯 with not much for debris in the sand 🐚 (I only saw some small smooth rocks), so it's probably safe to...