The Dyrt – Scampgrounds

Camping Outside (and inside) the Box in Los Angeles

https://scampgrounds.com/wp-content/themes/osmosis/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 gavin gavin https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/9de79417d52cde759ffedf503509748a?s=96&d=mm&r=g April 5, 2025 April 5, 2025

By: gavin

April 5, 2025

Camping Outside (and inside) the Box in Los Angeles
March 22nd – 26th 2024 (4 nights)

What started out as a planned weekend to celebrate my friend’s birthday in Los Angeles, evolved into a trip leading us to discover some hidden campground gems. Los Angeles itself has very few campgrounds for travel trailers. According to The Dyrt, there are no public campgrounds in Los Angeles! One usually has to travel to the distant foothills or the coast to find any places to park a trailer. We found this to be the case too for many large cities we’ve visited, including San Francisco and Portland. However, we did discover two nice campgrounds very close to Los Angeles that provide for beautiful natural experiences!

Valley Village, Los Angeles
We needed a spot to stay overnight in the center of Los Angeles since we planned to hike at Griffith Park on Sunday morning. However, after finding no public campgrounds in the area, we brainstormed possible solutions. We first tried Harvest Hosts (a subscription service which offers free stays at farms, museums, restaurants, etc.) and found nothing. We don’t subscribe to their partner service, Boondockers Welcome, which lists private driveways, so we couldn’t determine if any driveways were available to rent. We also tried Hipcamp, but nothing there either. Since we grew up in Los Angeles, we thought of relatives living in the city who own homes that might be close to the park and have a driveway. We got lucky — a relative living only 6 miles away from Griffith Park in Valley Village (a city in the San Fernando Valley) let us to stay on his driveway for the night!

We had a nice quiet evening at our relative’s home with our Scamp 13’ parked under a beautiful large Magnolia tree. We enjoyed walking the quiet streets of this safe neighborhood in the early evening and morning. Valley Village dates back to the 1930s when workers at nearby motion pictures studios built homes here. The area was known for its apricot trees, orange and walnut groves, peach orchards, and cornfields. It gets hot and dry here in the summer, but fortunately we had good moderate temperatures during our visit in March. We probably wouldn’t stay in the San Fernando Valley during the summer months, but if we did we would definitely bring our portable AC for our Scamp 13’.

So, if you are travelling and need a place to stay where none exist or it’s not economically feasible, you might be surprised to discover you already have a close friend or relative living in the area who may provide you accommodation.

Malibu Creek State Park
Our friend’s birthday celebration dinner was at Paul Martin’s American Grill, a popular restaurant in Westlake Village (a city a bit north of Los Angeles). In reviewing the location and campground map, we found Malibu Creek State Park a beautiful campground located halfway between the ocean and the valley in the Santa Monica Mountains. The campground is only a short drive (about 15 minutes) from Westlake Village but feels worlds away from any city, isolated in a beautiful meadow in the Santa Monica Mountains. Malibu Creek SP exceeded our expectations in many ways. The campground is isolated from the rest of the park, so it’s very quiet. And, it’s located in a beautiful meadow surrounded by tall mountains which light up at sunrise and sunset (reminding us a little of Yosemite). Many television shows and movies have been filmed here throughout the decades, including M.A.S.H. and Planet of the Apes, with trails and signs leading to the filming locations and providing details.

Campsites at Malibu Creek State Park (no hookups) are $45/night. We had campsite #62, which looks out directly over the meadow at the mountains (a great campsite). There’s a central dump, which we were told costs $10 (we didn’t need to use). Instead, we used our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution which effectively allows us to stay off grid for about five days. There was acceptable, but not fast, Verizon mobile service during our stay (decent enough that we didn’t need to activate our Starlink Mini service). We stayed here a couple of nights.

On our first day here, we visited our friends who were displaced from their home in Pacific Palisades due to the historic fire which burned down a significant portion of Pacific Palisades on January 7^th, 2025. Our friends were fortunate in that they quickly found a beautiful beach condo in Malibu which they have rented for a year while their home is being rebuilt. Our friend Bruce gave us a tour of the fire destruction on the Malibu coast and Pacific Palisades. Even though we’ve seen images of the aftermath of the fire numerous times on television, seeing the devastation in person was extremely impactful. Walking through the Palisades village (where we grew up) felt like what we would imagine touring a war zone would be like. Pictures of the scenes can’t adequately describe what it’s like in person. After the tour, my friends joined us at our campsite and we sat outside on the grass under the oak trees and enjoyed each other’s company nibbling cheese, crackers, and sipping cold drinks. While savoring the warm sunny spring day, we noticed a couple of campers having difficulty starting their tow vehicle. A couple of rangers came by to help them start it with their battery jumper, but after a half hour they gave up. I walked over and had a chance to use our Hulkman Smart Jumper Starter for the first time. Being able to deliver up to 2,000 amps peak current, this jumper can even jump 8.5L gas / 6.oL diesel engines! The Hulkman had their tow vehicle started in under a minute! The campers were extremely grateful and the rangers were super impressed!

We spent our second day in the campground and park. The Main hiking trail is up Crags Road, which follows the meandering Malibu Creek. The small Visitor Center is open on the weekends (we only looked in the windows) and features information on the area. We hiked up past the Visitor Center, through Ape City (where scenes from Planet of the Apes was filmed), and onto the M.A.S.H. set (a very popular television series which ran from 1972 to 1983 about a medical unit serving in the Korean War). The weather was perfect and the trails are beautiful. The Crags Road Trail up to the M.A.S.H. set is easy to moderate with only the last short section a bit challenging due to small rock fields (care is needed to prevent twisting ankles). The hike was about 6 miles round trip from the campground, with an 837 foot climb, and took about two hours.

We left Malibu Creek SP feeling refreshed and very satisfied of our visit. The experience felt like being in a very remote location even though it wasn’t too far from any city.

Crystal Cove State Park (Moro Campground)
We learned the street in front of our house was scheduled to be repaved the day we were supposed to arrive home. So, instead of having to deal with parking our Scamp 13’ on the street and leaving it sit overnight, we decided to extend our stay and chose this beautiful location in Laguna Beach to spend the night. Moro Campground (Crystal Cove SP) is usually booked solid year round, but we got lucky when a premium hookup campsite (#8) opened at the last minute on just the day we needed. The premium sites are pricey at $75/night + reservation fee, which comes out to about $83/night (Electric / Water). We normally don’t pay anywhere near this amount, but did want to try this campground as it has an excellent reputation and is in a beautiful area. The central dump here is free (and we were surprised the park has 3 dump stations for just 28 designated RV and trailer campsites!). The Verizon mobile service here was very fast during our stay.

The rangers at this campground are very strict on arrival time (we’ve only seen this strict adherence to the time once before – at Pismo Beach North Beach Campground) – check in is at 3 p.m., and if you show up any earlier (like we did), you are directed to park in one of the beach parking lots (we parked for free at Rock Ridge Beach parking lot and had lunch in our Scamp 13’ and then took a walk along the bluffs overlooking Crystal Cove SP). The campground itself isn’t particularly notable (though some of the front sites have ocean views) as it’s high up on a bluff away from the ocean and the sites themselves are close together.

The main draw of Crystal Cove SP are the beautiful beaches and bluff trails. There’s also the historic district along the beach featuring beach bungalows (which can be rented) built in the 1930’s. There’s a parking lot above the beach and one can either ride the free shuttle to the beach or walk down through a tunnel. One of the beach bungalows (#13) was featured in the 1988 movie “Beaches” with Bette Midler. The bungalows each have tags that have a number and the name of the bungalow. The Shake Shack restaurant sits up a flight of stairs from the beach. It’s usually crowded with tourists and locals forming lines to buy their popular milk shakes (they also serve hamburgers, fries, …). If one tires of the beach, there’s a free trolley which runs through downtown Laguna Beach (plenty of shops and eateries).

Conclusions
Sometimes a short trip can be configured to become a fun adventure. When no locations to stay at seem apparent, sometimes out of the box thinking can be rewarding. You may have a close friend or relative who can accommodate a night’s stay or there may be private alternatives for parking your camper. Exploring campground maps, like the one available on The Dyrt, can also provide ideas and alternatives for new campsites. In this trip, we probably wouldn’t have gone out of our way to stay in Los Angeles without the need to attend a friend’s birthday party. But, it forced us to keep an open mind and find options where none seem to exist and we ended up finding some hidden campground gems. So, throw away the box, and let your thinking carry you to new horizons!

Disclaimer: You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale. These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences. However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer. It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

How to Play Master Chess on Recreation.Gov

By: gavin

March 15, 2025

How to Play Master Chess on Recreation.Gov

If you’ve camped for a little while, you know that Recreation.gov is the U.S. government’s central travel planning website for 14 federal agencies. This website is the place to go to make campground reservations at national parks, national monuments, USDA federal forest service areas, and other federal lands. Real time availability, amenities offered, location information and more can be found for each campground on the website. Some examples of the most popular campgrounds are:

Upper Pines Campground at Yosemite

Kirk Creek Campground in Big Sur

Twin Lakes Campground at Mammoth Lakes

Nevada Beach Campground at Lake Tahoe

Federal public campgrounds like the ones listed above have become increasingly difficult to reserve due to overwhelming demand. Reserving a campsite even six months in advance (the standard maximum advance reservation time allowed by Recreation.gov for most campgrounds) often isn’t enough to guarantee getting a spot. And trying to secure campsites at the most popular campgrounds (like the ones listed above) can be like playing the lottery to “win” a reservation. The Dyrt, a popular RV travel website, ranked the hardest to book campgrounds in the U.S. for 2024 with Nevada Beach Campground at Lake Tahoe ranking #1.

Seeing The Dyrt report on the hardest to book campgrounds presented a challenge too good to resist. We’ve already used strategies to successfully book three of the top ten campgrounds on the list, but wanted to see if it was possible to not only secure the #1 spot, Nevada Beach Campground, but also get reservations there on Fourth of July weekend! This is no doubt a popular summertime destination for campers and their families, plus a winning fireworks show on the lake right under your noses!

What’s Special about Nevada Beach Campground?
Campers here can step right out onto the beautiful soft sandy beach and dip their toes into the crystal clear waters of Zephyr Cove while being surrounded by snow-capped mountains. With multi-million dollar lake front homes here, it’s no wonder why campsites at Nevada Beach Campground at $47/night are so popular.

Scenic Beauty – The campground offers panoramic views of Lake Tahoe with the Sierra Nevada mountains as a backdrop. Sunsets here are particularly spectacular.
Spacious and Serene – Unlike some of the more crowded campgrounds around the lake, Nevada Beach provides a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere.
Beach Access – One of its biggest draws is the wide, sandy beach, perfect for swimming, sunbathing, paddleboarding, and picnicking.
Proximity to South Lake Tahoe – While offering a peaceful retreat, it’s just a short drive from the lively attractions, restaurants, and casinos in South Lake Tahoe.
Hiking and Biking Trails – The campground provides easy access to scenic trails like the Lam Watah Nature Trail, ideal for exploring the local landscape.
Pet-Friendly – Unlike many Tahoe beaches, Nevada Beach has a designated dog-friendly area, making it a great spot for visitors with pets.

Master Chess Strategies to Employ on Recreation.gov

The 6 Month + 14 Day Strategy

Most campsites on Recreation.gov can be reserved 6 months in advance (on a rolling basis). So, to reserve a campsite on July 4^th, the earliest one can make the reservation is at 7 a.m. (PST) on January 4^th. However, at a popular campground, by January 4^th, many if not all the campsites may already be reserved for July 4^th! This is because reservations are allowed to break the 6 month advanced reservation rule if the reservation is made for dates preceding the blocked reservation period. For example, if a reservation was made on January 3^rd for July 3^rd, then the reservation could be extended up to 13 days beyond July 3^rd (14 day maximum stay limit). At the time of this writing, reservations may be made for up to 14 days and modifications can be made without charge up to four times (adding/removing dates and changing campsites) as long as the new stay dates are not “completely different”. In turn, to get a big edge on the competition, plan to make a reservation 14 days earlier than the desired end date.

In our case, we wanted to be at Nevada Beach Campground through July 6^th. So, we counted back the days from July 6^th so that our reservation would be 14 days (June 22^nd) and then attempted to make the reservation for 14 nights starting June 22^nd on December 22^nd at 7 a.m. PST. The upside is that you can try again the next day if all the available campsites are taken on reservation day but there are still open opportunities for the next day. The downside to this strategy is that although you will get all the money back for the days you don’t use when you modify your reservation, you will be initially charged for the entire 14 days (which in our case was $664) and, in the case of Nevada Beach Campground, there is a long freeze period to wait until you are allowed to shorten the reservation dates (“to ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation.”) This means that you may have to pay the full 14 day reservation amount on your credit card statement initially, but it will eventually be refunded several weeks later after you drop the days you don’t want to use.

The Day Before Plan

Log onto Recreation.gov the day before making reservations to check which campsites are available for your desired dates. Make a list of your top 5 campsites. One useful website, Campsite Photos, provides images of most campsites (and the Pro version puts green stars on their favorite campsites). Campendium is another useful website where users sometimes list their favorite campsite.

Game Day Plan

Plan to be on Recreation.gov at least 10 minutes before game time (7 a.m. PST). Sign into the website and open multiple browsers so that at least three are visible on the computer monitor. Select the desired reservation dates on each window, click on the desired campsites for each, and then position each window close together so that the Add to Cart buttons are close to each other. Open the official Time website and position it such that the time and seconds are visible along with the campsite windows on the same monitor screen. Click the Add to Cart buttons sequentially starting at 6:59:59. Most likely you will get a message saying the system is working on your first request and the other clicks will be put on hold. So, it’s really a one shot deal (but having multiple clicks allows you to get the second or third reservation request out in case there’s an issue with the first one – e.g. too early). The system only allows one account to make a single reservation at a given time. Therefore, if there are more people in your family household, have each open their own account and be prepared the same way to make the reservation.

Post Game Strategies

If you didn’t get a reservation, check back at 7:15 a.m. (Recreation.gov releases incomplete reservations back into inventory after 15 minutes). Hit F5 on your PC screen (Cmd + R on Apple) to refresh the website right at 7:15 a.m. Sometimes people no longer finish the reservation for a variety of reasons (e.g. someone else in family booked, reservation at another location, ….) and a campsite might become available (blue A).

Use the Set Availability Alert button – blue button below listed sites. Input your start date and the number of nights desired. You will receive an alert via email as soon as a campsite becomes available. Make sure you have the ability to log into Recreation.gov on your mobile phone and that you carry your credit card with you. That way you will be able to secure a reservation wherever you are when you get an email alert.

Use Campflare.com – like the alert button on Recreation.gov, Campflare.com is a free service that will notify you via text/email when your desired dates become available.

Be flexible – if you are able, being flexible allows you to keep trying daily until you are successful!

Have an Alternate Game Plan – don’t sweat it if you don’t get a spot at a popular campground. Even with all the strategies listed above, it still takes a bit of luck to land a site at one of the most popular campgrounds in the U.S. Fortunately, there are a lot of campgrounds out there and there are many ways to find alternatives. For example, Recreation.gov has a list of Available alternatives under the list of sites on every campground reservation page. And, The Dyrt has a free map which shows most of the campgrounds in your desired area. If you are flexible and open minded about travel locations, there will likely be a campsite available to you.

Lastly, and most importantly, part of the fun of camping is the joy of playing Master Chess on Recreation.gov and winning. Oh, and stay tuned for our Nevada Beach trip report in July 2025!