Doheny State Beach Campground — Hotel in Dana Point

Well there isn't a spec of grass in the camp. The plants around all of the sites were very dry, obviously not cared for. It makes for very dirty dusty camping especially if you are fond of tent camping. The other problem that really scared me were the rats. At night time they are just absolutely rampant with rodents coming to ravage for food. It was really scary 😨 They were not intimidated by light or people at all. I wished so badly I had a dog!

I was still trying to make the most of things with my kids. The beach is actually very pretty. They do have good rinse station through out the camp. And their little free library is cute.

Yet I caution you Beware there is no life guard on duty. There are major undertows. Also beware of sinkholes and hidden rocks. These are on shore and in the water both!

At first I thought I had discovered a safe haven. My family was fleeing the Line Fire devastation. I had written to the park. The woman I emailed was so nice. However The park Ranger in charge of the park.... I think he is the cruelest person I've ever met.

If you have lots of money, he will be nice. If you don't, he is out to ruin your day. My kids were already traumatized from the devastation and flames. I was trying to sooth them by going near water. This man made me wish we had stayed in our flaming home. It would have been more peaceful. Less shameful. We were treated like miscreants. He accused me of lying about the fire! Then about correspondence via email with his coworker. I had proof both were true and he wouldn't even look.

Watch out for Park Ranger Howard The Coward

Tabunco canyon caught fire that last night there. This scared my children all over again. All in all if you want a somewhat shabby place to park with a camper, they do have a nice beach. But if you like tent camping.. again be careful of the rats.

The surfing 🏄‍♂️ was good.

**bring easy ups and tarps!!! Most sites have little to no shade. ** There are no little on-site shops for sunscreen or umbrellas. You gotta preplan everything out. Or you'll be going way out of your way for these.

Finally don't seek help if you are running from fire. These guys will only make you will you had died an honorable death at home 🤕 My summary these people are Down right...

Very convenient campground to stay at for RV or car camping. I wouldn’t recommend for tent camping. Mostly Due to noise and light pollution in the general area. I had two nights booked and I don’t think I slept a solid hour the first night because the hosts were not enforcing the quiet hours PLUS there’s a loud train that goes parallel to the CG all night long. Even with ear plugs in, everything was so loud. Our site felt small and it didn’t help that the neighboring site was practically set up in our site which forced us to set up our tent closer to the bathroom. The hosts did not care and did not ask them to move at all. They continued to walk through our site all night long adding to our frustration. I did not even go back to camp for our second night because I was so disappointed. I recommend the state installs some measures at the restrooms to reduce noise. Padded strips on doors to soften the slamming of doors. Do not have LED lights shining outwardly at the restrooms all night long. Also, it’s 2022 please get rid of your metal Oscar the grouch style trash cans in which people also slammed all night Long. If you’re not willing to make improvements then at least reduce the price of these mediocre tent sites. I also recommend that some park rangers or fee attendants support the hosts. They seem overwhelmed and I was shocked to learn the fee attendants go home at 3pm leaving the CG plus park a free for all. I saw dogs on the beach despite the signage, generator usage after quiet hours, and encroachment issues with our neighboring site that...

We liked our stay ok. My fiancé is German and very much wanted to camp at the beach. We made some good friends, including Blue and Chico who are the dogs in the pic. They decided we were pals and spent a lot of time with us. They might have figured out that we were hosting a weenie roast and didn't want to miss out. Blue ate a ton, especially if you factor in what the pony masquerading as a dog managed to steal. 🤪😁

It's more for RVs than tents, basically a big parking lot and tightly packed. Lots of people running generators, and some people forget that not everyone wants to hear their music. If you are looking for a nice, pretty and quiet place by the beach, this isn't it. The trains running by can be loud, and a berm blocks any ocean view. We took chairs to the top with our dinner to watch the water.

The attendants have no discretion on assigning spaces, you have to book via the reservation system. I'm not certain why the attendant couldn't look to see if a site was booked or not and assign it. There were 33 available when we booked. You can book online or by phone. $40 a night to tent camp. There is also a $7.95...