Lake Jennings

HECK NO! What a harsh disappointment this camping experience was. My husband and I went camping at Lake Jennings on the weekend of August 14 and regretted every moment of it. Granted, it was a bazillion degrees outside and the weather didn’t make it any better; but my complaint is more about the fact that the camping grounds do not allow for any privacy whatsoever.
We were basically camping right next to a group of middle aged folks who were drunk off their asses and blasting random music up until late in the evening. No way to get away from it, since they were mere feet away from us. We love camping because to us it’s an opportunity to make contact with nature and forget about the chaos and noises of the city. NOT HERE.
Then, other drunk camping «neighbors» started fighting about somebody’s dog not being on a leash and potentially able to hurt their kids. What followed was a never ending mess of shouts, curses, screams, threats and so on. For 1 hour, or more.
I’m telling you, we went months ago and still I can’t forget the horrible feelings of frustration. Camp sites need to be faaaar more separated than they are in order for this place to be enjoyable at all, but I have a feeling that management is far more preoccupied about the money than about the experience of their customers. We paid $ 68 for only 2 nights. Quite steep, compared to the better camping sites in the Julian area. Other than that, the grounds are pretty and hiking is nice, but camping is obnoxious.

This is a great place to camp if you’re short on time and want to get out of town for a day or two!
Not the cheapest (and on weekends you have to book fri-​sun) but you pay for the amenities. They offer Wi-​Fi, clean restrooms and activities. You defiantly don’t feel like you’re in the city with the lake views and mountain views.
The only downside its fires have to be out by 11pm and that sometimes can be a drag if you love a good roaring fire.

Great because it is so close to the city, but terrible because as soon as you show up they begin the process of nickel and diming you to death. This was my second time here and I honestly don’t think I’ll come back. The first time we came, the place was deserted and there was cactus all over our reserved site (even though there was no mention of the cactus for that particular site on their reservation webpage), so we immediately asked for a different site. They charged us a transfer fee — $ 5.00. LOL. wow.
Then, a friend of mine showed up to drop off some wood, they charged her $ 2 to drive her car in.
$ 2 for the dog. $ 8 to fish. 1 $ to walk around the lake. (I’m not making this up, this is real life).
The campsite itself cost $ 30, and then when you go to pay, they tack on an $ 8 processing fee. I asked what the fee is for, «it pays salaries». Weird, I thought that’s what the camping fee was for??? A 30% «processing» is absurd.
The kicker? There is glass EVERYWHERE so be wary if you bring pets. My advice would be to avoid the place.

I don’t know why this place has three stars. This place is a hidden gem and is well-​maintained. They rake and clean each campsite after you check out. They don’t seem to bother you, and it has great walking and hiking trails. I don’t like that you have to reserve two nights at a time but I guess it is what it is. I don’t like for paying to camp, it is a great site to just pack in your stuff and make for an easy camping trip. I will be back

The online reservations were great. The front desk staff was great but around the campsites that I rented for my group — prickly pear cactus!!! Next to the narrow parking space, the few flat areas for the tent and next to the picnic table! It was so narrow I accidentally stepped on the cactus on my first step backwards out of my van and fell back completely, full body weight, on top of the cactus. 30 minutes later with flashlights, tweezers, 3 friends, and tissue for the blood I reached a tolerable level. This and we had a five year old running around. Apparently the cactus are protected because of a protected wren which is great but some of these sites are just unsafe. Beware of what you sign up for here. If it weren’t for the cactus I’d give it 3 or 4 stars but this sharp point makes me want to say — proceed with great caution.

The lake is absolutely gorgeous and bright blue. Didn’t get a chance to fish or rent a boat but I know it’s available. The campsites are raked and superclean pretty level as well. Ranger Tom was awesome. It was super quiet no kids all adults and some good views for being so close to the city and houses. One of the female staff seem to be a little snotty. But everybody has their days. Overall this is a great campground. It has a few full timers but not much. They have a pretty cool play area for the kids so be aware of what site you pick because you don’t want to be next to the playground. Spots 15 through 18 are pretty good. 711 Burger King and a couple other stores are right down the street if you need anything plus a liquor store so it’s pretty convenient.

I had a blast! Enjoyed every second of it with my boy and my girlfriend! I got lucky I was able to book a spot as cool as mine with such short notice. It is very close yet you feel like you are really out there (if you don’t look far away). Take the place for what it is, really, a little getaway spot. It will be whatever you make of it. The lake is a bit of a tease because it can get super hot but you can’t swim. But if you bring shade and enough water you can have a great time, which we did.
My next adventure I will probably try to branch out a bit more and explore somewhere else, but if you ever want to have a fast getaway option, this place will do the trick!

Not a good walking lake. There are too many grooves around the lake which gets annoying. The last part of the walk is a very narrow road which is on the dangerous side for walkers/​cyclists.

Worst Campsite! Was there for the weekend and it got ruined on Saturday when police arrived. The police was harassing everyone that went to see what was going on. Officers had guns and dogs out on other campers and around children. The police made it seem like everyone was disruptive when it was only 1 (yes one!) person. 30+ police cars and a helicopter… Really??? for 1 person? Besides the campsite, boat availability is limited, even though plenty of boats were docked. Don’t buy ice or firewood here as they charge a premium price.
You will NEVER see me here again! There are other San Diego Campsites to go to. Do not waste your time here!

Very loud. Kids running all over without supervision. I’m guessing the parents don’t want to be bothered at their site! You have been warned! I would look elsewhere to camp. Just my opinion. Also, request a «walk back site». If not, you will be next to the road, looking over someone else’s site to see the water. Probably worse sites but you’d be hard pressed. I’m loving the dust plumes I get after every car that goes by!
And get a site with trees! Avoid site 30. It’s hotter than the sun!
Second night– Loud. Can’t really enjoy it with the foul language coming from the site across from us. Just a bunch of kids boozing it up.

This «Reservoir» has terrible fishing regulations and terrible hours on weekdays! Who wants to stop fishing at 5:30pm?which is just before prime time. This park needs to operate better all summer long. People don’t only vacation on weekends. I suggest looking at other campgrounds and fishing holes.

A beautiful place to get away without having to travel a long distance. Clean hot showers, activities for the kids, and a gorgeous view!

Great staycation spot for me and for getting my camping mojo on. I live about 5 miles away.
Minimum weekend 2 day stay. Dogs accepted for a 1 dollar fee.
Clean restrooms. Great hiking very nearby. Campsites very clean as well.
Fishing real close but no swimming. This is a drinking water reservoir.
Have fun this is a nice campground. Good prep for my next 4 day stay in Yosemite.

Really nice campground, clean bathrooms, beautiful views and some nicely secluded camp sites :)

This is a great little local camping spot. That is, if you don’t want to travel far but get the camping experience. There aren’t much trees at the campsites. More like thinned oaks and low brush do you’ll want to bring an easy-​up of it’s sunny.
Bathrooms are clean but ran out of hand towels. Staff is very friendly and driving around a lot checking on things, which we appreciated. Not a lot of privacy in each spot but it doesn’t matter too much because of the views. We were in a trailer on the mountain side.
For kids, the playground is awesome. Kids were always there to play and it has a big sun sail shades.
This is simple and easy family camping.

Great stay-​cation. Everyone that worked there was really nice, beautiful lake and clean facilities. Hiking trails are kid friendly and well maintained. We’ll definitely be back.

Worst place…
Worst place to ever camp. The people who work here have road rage. I was camping over the weekend and on the way into the camp the guy in front of me in a smart car was going 5mph speed limit is 10mph so when there was space I moved pass him. Then he chases us with the horn blasting whole way to station wtf man. Turns out guy works here and he could do that sort of unprofessional stuff road rage is ok for workers. I apologized for going pass him because I didn’t know the camp had laws against that especially since there was NO double lines on the way into camp. The double lines was on fishing side, but he refuses to apologize for speeding after us and blasting the horn which I would consider more dangerous. Further more he jumps out of his car and opens up our car door. Who does that? Touching my property when I had kids in the car with us. Kira you respond with a safety comes first but what the ranger did was uncalled for not being strict with safety. Will never come back here again. And if you do decide to come just don’t expect the Rangers to help out, be professional or friendly.

Absolutely the best and closest campground to hike… fish…enjoy the beautiful sunrise, sunset and moon rise. :)

My friend and I decided that we would surprise our families with a surprise camping trip Valentine’s Day weekend. We booked our camping spot a month in advance and asked the Ranger what they thought would be a good spot, so they helped us pick a nice place for our camping excursion. We showed up to our spots and they were pristine and well manicured. We had lots of room, a great view of the lake and a short walk from the very clean restrooms. I did not tell my husband about the free Wifi, since I wanted this to be a technology free weekend. We had a really nice fire ring that had a grill on top. I had prepped all the food ahead of time, so it was really easy to cook out there. We also had a tap with water at our site so washing dishes was very easy. There was a beautiful pepper tree on our site that gave ample shade when it was hot in the afternoon. We had kids with us and there was a map with hiking trails. They had a really nice play structure for kids and it had a canopy above it so they are not in the blazing heat. We will be back here for sure.

Fun place to cruise around and see wildlife especially around sunrise. Trout fishing and the nude beach are also available. Yeah I’ll tell you guys this too be careful for rattlers here they will bite you.