Expert: Steve Summers - 8/18/2007

Question
My son and I are planning a quick weekend vacation in November. We live in Orange County so we would like something within a couple of hours from our home.  We would like to take our dog with us. Is there a dog friendly camp ground on or close to the beach that we can take our dog with us to? We would like to go north.

Answer
Hi Nancy,

The problem with "dog-friendly" beach camping is that all the beaches along the coast are run by the State of California, which doesn't allow dogs on the beach. Even campland doesn't allow dogs on the beach.

My advice would be to try Carpinteria State Beach. You can camp with your dog(s) there, but you cannot take them on the beach itself. A few years ago, everyone used to take their dogs on the beach after 5:30, but they started enforcing the "no dog" rule on the beach. Jalama Beach, near Lompoc, is first-come, first-served, but they allow dogs on the beach. It's a campground run by Santa Barbara County. Personally, I would go with Carpinteria. We camp a lot there, and there are a lot of pet owners there with dogs.

Good luck,

Steve