San Simeon Creek Campground — Hotel in Cambria

Would rate this campground a 3.5 but rounded up to 4. For those who haven't been yet, keep your expectations a bit tempered and you should like this spot just fine. My expectations were a bit too high and some aspects of the experience fell short for me. It's beautiful along this stretch of coast, Hearst was no dummy, lol. That said, the upper and lower loops of San Simeon Creek cg are not oceanfront, nor can you see or hear the ocean, except for some filtered views/sounds in a few places in the upper loop. Beach is accessible by a walking trail then around a small estuary (probably dry in the summer, we were here in Jan). Sites in lower are mostly close together, some of the pads are short, and the area felt very damp and dark to us. If you need/want solar, you may have a tough time getting it in lower. We moved to upper (place was about 1/3 full on a Thur night in Jan) and were fairly pleased with site 4, although any rig longer than our 26' overall length/158" wheelbase may have trouble leveling in 4 and several others in upper. Upper felt a little less campgroundy than lower, but sites still pretty close together. Coin-op showers were 50 cents for 6 min, 75 cents for 12 min - did not use them so can't attest to hotness, just wanted to note the cost for folks planning to use them. We may go back at some point, will choose Washburn primitive next time, with a bit more space between sites, more open vistas, and less $ per night (although a longer walk to the beach, not a big...

We went on a 4 day camping trip at San Simeon and we had a great time! I'm knocking out a star since our campsite, upperground C29, could be better maintained. First, the incline wasn't reflected as well on the photos so we were surprised and had a dilemma where to best set up the tent. The incline felt steep for a tent on most parts and we kept sliding down everytime we slept. Second, there was a lot of holes on the ground as well. Some holes were overgrown with grass and hard to see, I almost sprained my ankle tripping in one. Third, the firepit was rusted with a lot of holes and we couldn't use the grate that goes over it since that was completely rusted as well. Otherwise, the bathrooms and showers were well maintained, it was a relief to use clean, flushing toilets while out camping (a crew came out every morning to clean it). Remember to bring hand soap since they don't have any! My only gripe about it was the hot water and hot showers never worked.:( Nothing like a 5 minute icy shower in 50F weather to wake you up! The trails around the campground were well maintained. There was a liquor store 5 minutes away to buy anything you forgot at home, plus ice and firewood. We really enjoyed ourselves here and the views (we could see the ocean) and nature (we woke up everyday to amazing bird calls) was amazing. Thank you for a...

IMHO this beautiful beach campground is going the way of so many other California state parks where rules enforcement, camp etiquette and maintenance have substantially deteriorated. The upper campground is barren, dusty, unpaved and potholed. We spent a week at lower Space 57 which is paved, a bit tight but private and well distanced from the sounds of Highway 1. We enjoyed the boardwalk hike to the undeveloped and storm battered beach and several visits to town. Sadly, the camp trees and weeds had invaded the sites, impeding roof clearance and the paved pad. Generators running at 07:00 and barking dogs and “music” throughout the days just seemed inconsiderate. On several instances during the week, snarling and aggressive dogs sent terror through us simply taking a walk. The unleashed dogs at campsites were at least unpredictable but could be a real danger. One huge rotweiller actually snapped a 20 foot long cable by charging the street at a full run. The owner had obviously dealt with prior snarling aggression but had no apologies for us. The park ranger (who I saw only one time all week) should get out of the truck to observe these dogs, hear the generators and get the general noise dialed back. Our visit was about 50% capacity. After Memorial Day and through summer I cannot imagine...