Tijuana River Valley Campground

I had an amazing experience in this secluded and peaceful campground. It was awesome to visit the border and walk around the area that is loaded with wildlife. The campground was easy to access and affordable, very peaceful and relaxing. This area has many attractions if you're willing to be adventurous and keep your eyes open.

When I was researching community gardens for a story, a garden manager insisted I visit Tijuana River Valley's because it's so huge. From there, I took a drive past the horse stables to get my bearings and was so surprised to find a campground with yurts! I'd been inside a yurt at a Mingei Museum exhibit many years ago, so this piqued my interest. Over summer, I spent a bit of time learning about Pixca Farms, which grows within the community garden and has a produce stand. There's also a small farm education property down there, horse rentals, a butterfly garden and some trails. I decided to stay a few nights to make it easier than driving in every day. The yurts are craftsman quality, very clean and spacious. Be advised that in summer they get hot inside at midday, just like a tent, and cold at night because you are close to the ocean and river. Also, they aren't much more sound-proof than a tent and an occasional insect will get in, given that you are in a rural, equestrian area, where the river occasionally floods. So, take insect repellent. If you are allergic to bug bites, definitely go with the yurt rather than a tent. The park was clean, nicely landscaped and well managed. The staff were friendly. I enjoyed doing a hike across the road up to the top of a mesa on an old road, where there were meadows of wildflowers, plus great views in all directions. On occasion, the valley can get odiferous because of flooding but it wasn't that way when I was staying. A couple of people told me that aircraft kept them awake at night. However, I slept like a log. On a positive note, it was so relaxing being out in nature in such a vast space and interacting in this slow-paced and less-traveled corner of San Diego county, where cute miniature horses cross the roads, tossing their little blond manes. My favorite moment was when I arose early one morning to witness a breathtaking misty valley view, with the sun just rising over silhouetted yurts. All kinds of people camp here or spend part of their day -- hikers, travelers and groups who love getaways and social nights around a campfire.

Very quiet campground with clean sites and facilities. Even on Christmas holidays it was easy to get a spot on arrival, without reserving in advance. Great to be out of the city, yet close enough to drive in to do city activities during the day. On a Saturday between 10-2, be sure to visit the Pixca farm stand on Hollister Road, across from Blanco Brothers ranch. The vendor was awesome, and it was the best quality produce I've found in the area, for a very reasonable price. Grown in the adjacent community garden.

Ok I camp here all the time. It’s a very nice, safe, campground, with no hookups, and the park rangers are excellent! You usually get a nice breeze from the ocean. This campground is on the US side and you can walk to the US Mexico Border park. It’s very cheap to camp here and there’s usually a lot of availability. The only drawbacks are lots of sugar ants ( those tiny little black ants), mosquitoes and at night, lots of military helicopters flying around. This is part of the San Diego park system so it’s legit and safe.

Amazing campground with incredible camp rangers. Excellent staff. Very helpful and they kept the grounds and restrooms amazingly clean. We stayed in the Yurts and had an absolute blast!! I was blown away that it was not that crowded. During the week we went (July), we had the place to ourselves, almost. I'm sure when people find out about this place, dates will be harder to reserve. The obstacle course was so much fun. We mostly went out and toured San Diego or hit the beach, but we spent a day at the camp and loved walking around, playing yard games and must have spend 2 hours running up and down the obstacle course and the climbing structure. The time that we went had an issue with mosquitos and flies, but when the insects were thick, we just went into our yurt and we were a-okay. During the day, the insects were not bad at all. The downside of the campground are the showers -- they are HOT. There is no way to control the temperature, and they are not warm, but hot. Showering my little ones was a chore to say the least, but we managed. I'm hopeful that they can lower the water temperature or provide a way to control it. However, it's not the end of the world and if I had to choose between the extremes of ice cold or hot showers, I think I would pick hot.