It's often said of Southern California that within an hour's drive, you can be surfing or skiing. This area of the United States seemingly has it all: mountains, deserts, beaches, valleys, lakes, you name it. To prove that theory, we decided to take in the Southern California camping scene in two very different locales, the low desert area of Palm Springs, and the pristine beach area of San Clemente. During a two-week period, we camped at both, hauling our 29-foot Komfort fifth-wheel trailer behind our F-250 Power Stroke. The idea was to see a bit of what Southern California had for the diesel/travel enthusiast pulling a trailer, or traveling in a diesel-pusher.
Our first stop was San Clemente State Beach, nestled nicely between Los Angeles and San Diego. San Clemente offers a spacious campground, lots of amenities, and an uncrowded, picturesque beach. It has 157 camping sites, 72 of which have full RV hookups. All of the RV sites are pull-through spaces, and the park has showers, fire rings, picnic tables, hiking trails, and an easy walk through a small canyon to the beach. The sites can accommodate a majority of RVs and trailers, and we had plenty of space for our truck and fifth-wheel trailer. Few spaces are shaded, but there are plenty of lawn and garden areas, lots of trees nearby, and many spaces offer a view to the ocean. Depending on the time of year, full hookup campsites go for around $30 per night. There is a two-week maximum camping period, and at the time of our visit (mid-week in February) the campground was about half full.
In contrast, our second trip took us to the low desert of Southern California-Palm Springs. As most of our readers are probably aware, Palm Springs is one of the most popular desert destinations, featuring everything from famous restaurants, resorts, casinos, scenic hiking, an aerial tramway, mountain views, and plenty of heat-especially in summertime. There is only one RV campground in the Palm Springs downtown area-Happy Traveler RV Park-and that was to be our home for four nights. Happy Traveler has a total of 130 sites, and the maximum RV length is 40 feet. Most sites offer full hookups, and even cable TV hookups. For an extra fee, phone and modem hookups are available as well. The per night fees are approximately $35.
Other amenities at Happy Traveler include 30- and 50-amp service, concrete patios with tables, a swimming pool and spa, restrooms and showers, a laundry room, a clubhouse, and shuffleboard. This campground is popular with the "snowbirds," especially during the winter months, and we found ourselves nestled in with many retirees who spend months at a time at this park.
If we had a complaint, it would be the lack of maneuvering space. It also took us a while to position our trailer in our assigned space. However, once we settled down, this area of Palm Springs offered a wide variety of scenic opportunities. The park is within walking distance of most shops, restaurants, and attractions in downtown Palm Springs. A short drive takes you to Indian Canyons, a trio of palm-studded rugged canyons, complete with running streams, and-at this time of the year, (late February)-an abundance of wildflowers. You're also within easy reach of the Palm Springs aerial tramway, which takes you to the top of the San Jacinto mountains, the Salton Sea, Joshua Tree National Park, and-a bit south of Palm Springs-Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Unfortunately, for our Palm Springs visit, we hit nearly record heat for this time in late February, and on our last day, the mercury reached 98 degrees F-very warm for winter. However, in summer, daily temps in Palm Springs easily exceed 110 degrees F.
For the SoCal-bound diesel traveler, there is a wide variety of great opportunities for camping, and these two areas-from desert to sea-are definitely worth checking out.