1. Point Mugu State Beach (Thornhill Broom Campground); Ventura, CA
This is my personal favorite campground to visit. It is a government run and there is only one camp host spot there from what I have ever seen and it is the only one there with hookups. The camp host gets full hookups, but the regular minion folk like myself have to dry camp. This campground is right on the beach. When I say right on the beach, I mean you step out of your rig which is parked alongside the protected asphalt road and your foot goes right into the sand on your own private strip of beach. Another nice feature is that where most other beach camping spots are real tight and feel more like a parking lot, this one is about a mile or two long and all of the sites are oriented longways parallel to the beach. Each spot is about 45' long and all of the beach in front is yours to the waterline. They have porta-potties and running water from faucets stationed every five spots or so and each site has a fire pit and picnic table. No showers available there, but it's sister campground called Sycamore Canyon a mile down the road and on the inland side of the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) has private token pay showers as well as a dump station for your tanks if you show your receipt. The views of the sunsets over the water and Catalina Island in front of you, the sharp and steep hillsides of the Santa Monica Mountains behind you and the soothing rumbling sound of the medium sized boulders rolling back over each other in the wake of the receding waves at night makes this place one of the best I have ever been to. It is also party friendly (big plus for us!) due to the large amount of space distancing you from all of the other rigs. It is about 15 minutes from Downtown Oxnard, 20 minutes from Malibu and an hour away from Santa Monica. This place sells out for the entire summer by March and it is a crapshoot in the winter sometimes too, but usually available then. Since it is government run, it is very cheap at between $15 - $25 / night. You can only reserve the spots here on http://www.reserveamerica.com or by calling the same company, otherwise it is first come, first serve. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
2. Ventura Beach RV Resort; Ventura, CA
I get a mix of feelings from friends about this place. Personally, I love it. It is a full hookup RV park that is a short walk to the beach. I always bring my beach cruiser bike here as it has a nice bike path right in front of it's entrance leading to the beach and into Downtown Ventura. I also love that it is a 5 - 10 minute bike ride to the Ventura County Fairgrounds where they hold A LOT of car and motorcycle races around their dirt track. I personally love Flat Track motorcycle racing and when those races are going on, you can usually find me at the fairgrounds ready to stumble home to my trailer within safe walking distance after the races. This park has a pool, Jacuzzi, arcade, convenient store, laundry, propane, kiddie park with jungle gyms and stuff like that, a karaoke night and an awesome Sunday morning breakfast that is all of like $3 if I remember right and is great when you are trying to just get your stuff all together for a Sunday departure without having to do more dishes from breakfast. Each site has a personal fire pit and picnic table and I always request a back in spot because you get an extra large lawn area to play in. This place employs multiple workampers year round and they are all very friendly. I have heard of one of the ladies is kind of a beeotch, but the manager is super cool and will do whatever she can for you. The biggest complaint about this place is that it costs between $60 - $85 / night depending on if you have a dog / extra car / etc. The second biggest complaint is that it is very close to the 101 freeway, in fact it is right next to it and some people have a hard time sleeping through car noise. I personally never hear it and it has never bothered me. The only other complaint I have received about this place was from a couple of friends who happened to be in the same area as us and decided to try and pull a surprise visit. The park guards wouldn't let them in without paying for the extra car even though they were only going to stay for about an hour and when my friend said thats fine, he would just park in the grocery parking lot down the street and walk in, they said they would charge them extra person fee's (I think this could have been avoided if my friend were to call me as I was well below the per site limit). They want their money and they make sure they get it. Other that all of that, this place earns a top spot on my list.
3. Camp Comfort; Ojai CA
Another government run campground with one Camp Host position. Nice and shady alongside a calming creek in the hills of Ojai and every site has a personal campfire pit and table. It has a private feel to it because it only has about 15 - 20 sites which is nice. It is also tucked behind a large grass park with a baseball diamond and bathrooms. Only a couple of miles away from Lake Casitas, (which has hundreds of full hookup campsites and good fishing (also a top place on my list, but Comfort is cheaper). It is off of winding roads winding through the hills of Ojai and sporadically placed along these roads are lots of little shops and towns that would be great for the antique lover or window shopper of small trinkets and oddities. Like Thornhill Broom, Camp Comfort is between $15 - $25 / night and this place can only be reserved on http://www.reserveamerica.com, otherwise it is first come, first serve.
4. Valencia Travel Village; Valencia, CA
Okay, I have stayed here one time because it was a full house at my parents one holiday weekend (they live in the immediate area) and I store my rig here in the storage yard. If you pay the full year of storage up front, you get three free nights a year full hookup. This place has the most full time RVer's I have ever seen. It is in the Santa Clarita Valley where it is warm and dry in the summer and mild in the winter. Lots of workampers here, I think most of them are lifers though, as I seem to see the same people all of the time. Almost all of the same amenities as the Ventura Beach Resort mentioned above minus the noise and add more trees for shade. It is right off of the 126 freeway that connects the Santa Clarita Valley with Ventura, which is not a busy LA freeway so it is not a nuisance. The only reason why I don't have this one higher on my list is because it has so many full time lifers there that it kind of has a trailer park feel to it sometimes and it isn't centrally located to anywhere super cool other than Six Flags Magic Mountain which is a 5 - 10 minute drive away. There aren't really any places to walk to and check out or anything like that. It is about 40 miles of farmland along that section of the freeway which can be pretty and there are a lot of fruit stands and stuff like that. There are a lot of great motorcycle roads in this area and Valencia itself is a big city / suburbia with lots of night life so that makes it a good place if your up for the 10 minute drive there and if that is your sort of thing. I'm not exactly sure of the nightly rates here as I have never paid for them, but they are more that the cheaper government run facilities.
Okay, there are some suggestions for those who are interested in this area. I do have more and will try to post more about them some other time. I think I am going to reserve myself a spot at Thornhill now. All of this describing it is making my want to go there NOW!!!!
