Pismo State Beach North Beach Campground California
Pismo State Beach North Beach Overview
Pismo State Beach North Beach Campground has 103 single-family campsites for tents, trailers and RVs. Some sites also have electric hookups. It is located just behind the dunes and is a close stroll to the beach/ocean. Group camping is also available. Most sites are large and open with many pull through sites for large RVs. Each campsite has a table, fire ring and grate. Campground amenities include flush toilets, showers, drinking water, an RV dump station and campfire center.
Oceano Campground is another option at Pismo State Beach. Oceano Dunes SVRA is also in the area and if heading inland you can check out Lopez Lake Recreation Area.
Pismo State Beach North Beach – Area Recreation
Outdoor recreational activities include hiking, biking, swimming, surf fishing, wildlife viewing (the park has the largest over-wintering colony of monarch butterflies in the U.S.), beach combing, and digging for the famous Pismo clam. Pismo is also the only beach in California where the sand is firm enough to support travel by cars, and where this activity is permitted.
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Amenities
- Amphitheater
- BBQ Grills
- Campfire Center
- Campground Host
- Campsite Tables
- Cell Service - Good
- Drinking Water
- Dump Station
- Electrical Hookup
- Equestrian trail
- Fire Pit
- Fire Rings
- Firewood Available
- Food Storage Locker
- Grills
- Pets OK
- Picnic Tables
- Ranger Station
- Restrooms (Flush Toilets)
- RV Hookups
- Showers
- Visitor Center
Activities
- Beach
- Beach Access
- Beach Combing
- Biking
- Bird Watching
- Boating (non motorized)
- Creek
- Fishing
- Geocaching
- Hiking
- Historic Sites
- Horseback riding
- Horseshoes
- Kayaking
- Lagoon
- Mountain Biking
- Nature Trails
- Ocean
- OHVing
- OTV Trails/Riding
- Photography
- Picnicking
- Sand Dunes
- Sand Surfing
- Snorkeling
- Stargazing
- Surf Fish
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Visitor Center
- Water Sports
- Wildlife Viewing
Pismo Beach, California 93449
805 473-7220
Lat / Long:
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Campsite Types
- ADA
- Electric Hookup
- Group
- RV
- Tent
- Trailer
# of Campsites:
103
Season:
Year Round
Elevation:
30
Pismo State Beach North Beach Comments & Reviews
Visited Pismo State Beach North Beach Campground lately? We'd love to hear about your adventure. Did you find us useful? Did we forget something? Anything our community should know before heading out to Pismo State Beach North Beach?
It was amazing co Vincent and entertainment for everyone love it can’t wait to go back. The prices are very reasonable. You got to try it you Will not regretted for us that we are slowing down it will be our favorite destination…
This is a nice campground with big sites and lots of space between you and your neighbors. Very close to the beach and has nice showers. When it gets windy though it can blow your tent away if it’s not staked down right. Within walking distance of downtown Pismo.
Our recent trip to North Beach (Pismo) was not our first. We booked our sites 6 months in advance. We were only able to get 2 nights. A month or so later, I was lucky enough to pick up a cancellation and extended our stay to 4 nights, but we did have to move campsites. The Ranger told us we had to leave by noon from our first reservation and not check into the second site until after 2pm. That’s the rules. Well, on the day of the move there was another ranger there and he was very nice. Since the campers in our new site had already left, he allowed us to move before noon. Ironically, lot’s of empty spots and nobody moved into our old/first spot. They are pretty strict on the rules*, ask for ID upon entry, including any passes you might be using. They do limit the ‘vehicles’ to 2 per site. That includes truck and trailer. So, when my husband arrived later, he had to park in overflow parking and carry all his stuff to the campsite (you can’t even drive in to drop off).
The sites are well spaced out, a lot of pull through sites, which we found nice. The restrooms/showers were well located, clean and maintained. We drove our truck and then our SUV down on the beach from North Beach down to the exit near Oceano. Nice little ride. The water was cold at this time of year, and not many people in the water, but we really enjoyed the walks on the beach and the EPIC sunsets. Wood for fires is available from the hosts at $8 a bundle, but at a nearby store for 2/$4.99. Many things to do both at the campground and in the nearby city. Highly recommend you have at least one meal at nearby Juan’s Mexican Restaurant. Indoor dining is now open and the food is AMAZING!! Great campground and area for bicycle riding, although not allowed on the walking path. The butterfly migration was not in season, so no butterflies. 🙁
My only complaints, and it didn’t really affect me, has to do with the # of people per site. The rules indicate just 8 people per site. I counted 42 people on one site, with 2 vehicles, 10 EZups and 14 tents!!! It was NOT a group site, either. So, enforcing all the other rules but allowing 42 people on one site!!! WOW.
I WOULDNT COME HERE IF I WERE STARING DEATH IN THE FACE & IT WERE MY ONLY OPTION TO EVADE IT. I’ve never felt so unwelcome, unaccommodated, & blatantly discriminated against for a disability. My disabled husband and I are traveling full time for the last 3 years & made a reservation for 4 nights at an ADA site. We don’t like the Pismo area, never wanted to come here since we enjoy peace and quiet, but we’re passing through on our way North & it was the only spot available. We were also referred by the camp host at the campground we just came from to apply for the recently available hosting position at Pismo, so we figured we would stay and get a feel for the campground before we applied. We drove over an hour to get here, and upon arrival we were scowled at by a disgruntled old woman at the check in window. My husband does not have a placard by choice, and instead received a disabled card through the state of California, signed off by his stroke & back doctors to present upon check in. Immediately she scoffed and said ‘ well you’ll need more identification than that ’ We kind of laughed cause we thought she was joking, after all, we have been using our pass conflict free for the last 3 years of travel, but her deepened stare proved otherwise. She said that the pass was not acceptable, despite it being from the state of California, & she was going to have to talk to her supervisor. We waited patiently for her to come back & tell us that the supervisor cancelled our reservation with no notice, and we would need to talk to him personally. She even joked ‘well I just use my friend’s disabled pass when I want to stay in an ADA site’ as if my husband isn’t truly disabled. Enraged & confused, we called the supervisor, Robert Cooper, and asked for a further explanation- only to be condescended to by a desk jockey with a badge, repeating short answers like ‘well it’s not my fault you reserved the wrong campsite’, ‘You can stay one night, but since you’re not disabled you have to wait till 5 to check in and you have to pack up & leave first thing in the morning’, & ‘well I can’t help you unless it were an emergency’. We explained it is now an emergency situation, considering my husband’s medical state & no where to stay for the next 4 nights, we have two large special needs dogs that would not be accepted at a hotel, and asked if there was any way they could accommodate us with a staff site. He rudely replied ‘no, those are saved for actual emergencies like bees or tree trimming’ we asked if he is denying that my husband is disabled, and he said no. We then asked how is this not an emergency? My husband is disabled, you cancelled our ADA reservation in the middle of our travels, we drove over an hour from the previous state park to get here just to be turned away and blatantly unaccommodated, despite being disabled, by some &%#*@ that thinks he’s hot %&#*! cause he has a badge. We talked to the lady at the front & she said there’s no reason for him not to give us a staff site for a couple nights, other than him having a personal problem with us. As a professional, you would expect for them to adhere to ADA & disability discrimination protocols, but apparently at Pismo- personal vendettas are imperative. We will never be back to Pismo due to their incompetence & blatant disregard for their guests, but you will be hearing from us on the regular through the US department of justice when we present our case. As a full time RV’er with years of travel in the state parks under our belts, we will never & would never recommend the cesspool of toxicity that is Pismo North Beach Campground, being operated by discriminatory kiosk nazis. We will do everything in our power to revoke your administrative status in the parks system, Robert Cooper
Nice campground during the week, but party central on the weekends. Almost 1am on a Friday and one site has 30+ people, loud, drunk and high. Another site has had loud thumping music beating straight since they arrived at 4pm. No rangers and no rules enforcement. Not coming back.