Caspers Wilderness Park

Stumbled onto this place when looking for another place to hike. Decided to give it a try. Took the 2.68 mile route. A few inclines but not too strenuous overall. Stretched out our legs for sure! They also offer camping and a few other trails of both longer and shorter distances. Restrooms were nice and there was a very cool playground with educational info around. I’ll for sure be back to hit the trails again and maybe camp for a day or 2.

Just wanted to leave a brief review giving kudos to one of the staff members that work on-​site here, Henry G. Never having been to Caspers, I wasn’t sure which campsite to book. I called in to ask for advice, and Henry was not only knowledgeable about the camp grounds and facilities, but extremely helpful. It is staff like Henry that makes our parks — from booking campgrounds, to experiencing the great outdoors, a wonderful experience. He was very informative, and delivered great overall customer service.
As a tip to other Unilocalers, here is a shortcut link that gives direct access to booking online.
Go here:
Pick Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park
Live Oak is for traditional camping — tent, no power.
Ortega Flats has power for campers/​trailers.

This was my first visit here, I came with great people great horses and we had a great time! The trails were beautiful and waist high grass growing everywhere. The campsites were big and shady well maintained clean corrals for the horses.
I look forward to camping here again!

Just enjoyed camping here with my family for the Easter weekend because I couldn’t find any other campground available. So it was a last minute booking that turned out an awesome experience. I am not going to repeat anything any of the other reviewers posted but on a positive note my family and I would definitely come back here in the future.

Just beautiful. I believe I took the Bell Canyon trail, which is 2 miles long so 4 miles total from beginning to end and back. I liked how it was hilly. There is lots of poop and not a lot of shade but it was just a beautiful walk nonetheless. I also recommend getting there early in the morning because the lack of shade means it gets hot later in the day. I want to go back and try some other trails!

It’s a nice park and easy drive from north OC to camp in the «wilderness» … but DO NOT choose campsite 3 in Ortega Flats Campground unless you want to hear and see the enormous traffic on Ortega Hwy. That is such a loud be annoying distraction when your trying to relax — OR try to sleep at night!
I’ll probably try camping here again but choose another campground/​site so I don’t have to wear ear plugs at night when I sleep

We stayed two nights from Tues to Thursday. There were only two other campers besides us. There were 30 some spots, so it was very quiet and very private camping.
I walked around to see which campsites are the better for the next time. # 1, 4, 9 and 12 looked good. All of them have shades from trees. 1 and 4 are close to the restroom. 9 and 12 have exclusive water for yourselves. 4, 9 and 12 are on outer ring and you have a view of the creek. Although there was no water in sight. It’s October.
Restroom is very clean and well equipped. Running water, flush toilet with toilet paper, electric power. There is shower but not available because of drought.
Our son liked the playground. It has a nice and big oak tree next to it.

A nice campground with friendly staff, a nature center, plenty of hiking etc. It’s about 10 minutes from San Juan Capistrano and there are other things to do close by.
Campsites were plenty big and other campers were friendly.
I would’ve given 5 stars but the only bathrooms are port a potty and the showers weren’t available due to the drought. I don’t know why they don’t make showers available though as people need to bathe drought or not.
Everyone had fun and I’m sure we’ll be back sometime :)

Haven’t been camping in ages. We decided to start again at Caspers since it’s local. We got site 24 which was great! We had two picnic tables and a fire pit. Plenty of shade as well. Neighbors were very quiet and polite. During the late afternoon we hiked the East Flats trail which was nice. Just watch out for horse droppings. There are bathrooms close by the Live Oak campground. At the time, the showers weren’t on because of water conservation. Will definitely be back!

Three years and counting. Our family loves camping at Caspers! As San Clemente locals, we enjoy Caspers Live Oak Campground, and camp here at least twice a year. Our family just spent three nights, and were not ready to call our 4 day tent camping staycation, quits. If time allowed, we would have stayed another 1 – 2 nights.
As for the yellow jackets, yes– they are pesky little jerks. However, all they want is water & maybe a little bacon. With that said, bring traps! The campground Rangers have taken necessary precautions by installing traps within each campsite, but they are resilient little pests! Luckily, it’s only during the warm summer months that you really need to be concerned.
The rangers at caspers are helpful & pleasant. There’s a nature center open on the weekends, and the park has several hiking trails! If you are a hiker, this is the campground for you! There’s a rather large park and picnic area for the young’uns.
Only $ 20 per night, Clean bathrooms and 5 dollar bags of fire wood, You can’t beat that! If you run out of propane, or in need of groceries, it’s just a 15 – 20 minute drive to the nearest store.
Try caspers live oak campground for a night and see what you think!

This review is for Ortega Flats and Live Oak campgrounds. I don’t know if I will go back to stay overnight, but I will be back. Three stars for the camping, but five stars for the helpful rangers and beautiful park and trails.
Ortega Flats Campground (end of May). Pros: electric hookup, pretty, cool climbable fallen trees for kids, playground a 5 – 10 min walk away. Cons: RIGHT alongside the highway, and big trucks and loud motorcycles roar by randomly throughout the night, just often enough that it jerks you out of your sleep each time. Overall a good experience, but we would not go back because of how loud it was.
Live Oak Campground (mid July). Pros: quiet and away from highway, lots of small animals out playing in the morning, more trees and better vistas than Ortega Flats, 5 – 10 min walk from playground. Cons: apparently July (/​summer) is yellow jacket season. In the afternoon from 2pm-​8pm about 3 – 9 yellow jackets buzzed all around us (closer to 9 once we started cooking dinner and eating). The ranger said they are out looking for water. Careful around the water spouts, my mother-​in-​law got stung. Maybe we will consider going back in December.

They rounded up the nicest, most helpful park rangers and staff and dropped them down at Caspers. We will definitely be back! We stayed at the Ortega flats which was clean and spacious, but loud because of its proximity to the highway. So next time we’ll get one of the camp sites further back. Ortega has porta potties, but the sites further back have brick & mortar bathrooms. (Showers too — when there’s no drought.)
At Ortega flats there was a clean fire pit with grill, clean standing grill, and water spigot for each site which was great! They checked on the porta potties both mornings we were there and promptly emptied the trash as well.
We bought firewood for $ 5/​cord which was less than at the Ralph’s about 5 miles away. Again, the first impression was how we were greeted by the park rangers at the entrance and they might be THE nicest, most helpful people I’ve ever met a park!
Here’s the blog post I wrote about it with more photos:

After writing a review on Blue Jay campgrounds, I realized I had yet to write one for Caspers! We usually go to the Live Oak Campground, and I really do love it. It’s a fairly short drive from where my husband and I live in Mission Viejo, but it has a «wilderness» feel so it’s been our go-​to for the past 6+ years, perfect for a little two-​night trip when you just want to get away! It has some nice trails too, easy for beginners but interesting enough for people who love to hike and observe nature.
Like most campgrounds, some sites are better than others when it comes to privacy. However, the people who camp here have always been pretty quiet and respectful. The camp hosts and rangers have always been very kind as well. They come by to check on things but we’ve never felt it to be invasive at all– just some nice people making sure everyone is okay and that the rules are being followed.
The only real bummer is that it’s just close enough to Ortega to be able to hear the traffic. It’s not too noticeable during the day but at night, when all else is quiet, you’re reminded– oh yeah, we’re still in Orange County.
Also, I have to admit we don’t go as often as we used to. Fires are often not allowed, even when other campgrounds nearby DO allow them. You really need to call the day you go in order to guarantee that fires are still allowed. Because of that, we’re hesitant to make reservations ahead of time and are more likely to just hope for an open spot. For us personally, camping just isn’t the same when we can’t grill a steak or burger right over a wood-​fueled fire.

My boyfriend and I love to hike and wanted to get away– this is the perfect spot! With so many trails with endless amounts miles to explore, you’ll never be bored. The land itself is beautiful with different types or terrain.
They have about 3 or 4 different campsite areas. We stayed on Ortega Flats Campsite 1– SCORE!!! We had a huge site with plenty of trees for shade. The site had a picnic table, bbq grill, and a fire pit with a grill attached to it. But be careful because there’s stinging nettle everywhere. The downside is you’re right next to Ortega highway so it can get a loud. There’s port-​a-​potties within walking distance, but if you want to a real toilet or shower, you’ll have to drive.
I can’t wait to come back to this hikers paradise :)

Absolutely stunning! I love how places like this still exist. It’s a quiet and remote place to go camping with the family. I myself have not hiked nor camped here but I love hiking and the outdoors. You can imagine how badly I wanted to hike these trails when I visited but have not had the chance to do so. I visited here with my fiancé for our engagement photos. We drove about close to 3 hours from the San Fernando Valley just to check this place out and I fell in love. I wish I lived in S.J.C. Our pictures came out amazing and I can’t wait to go back soon to finally hike!

The kiddo and I really REALLY needed to get some fresh air so I decided to check this place out. UMMM WHY have I not come here before!!! We had a great day exploring a few trails and also the playground and nature center. The weather was perfect and the wind rustling through the leaves sounded so blissful. This was totally the escape we needed. We walked the nature trail & part of Bell Canyon, both were really nice. I will definitely be back! :)

Got greatest experience Here with family and friends I spent 2 nights and ½ day. The 1 night was awsome we had fire pit going& smores yummy. When it was bed time for me it was kinda of scary You would hear howling at night. I really worried about some animals coming down our place. But I know everthing was going to be okay! The next day We woke to a morning Hike ! I think that was the best part Yes it was a long hike best really love enjoying the view!! Really beautiful The only part I really hated was using! protta potties eww But After all it worth a drive!! I would definitely would recommend this place !!!
Cleanness~perfect
People~Friendly
Rangers ~Always checking up on you

Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park is a gem of a park and a hiker’s paradise, located within an hour’s drive of the OC and much of the IE, with dozens of trails winding through and above the beautiful and serene Bell Canyon. One could camp an entire week here and never hike the same trail twice. Take the high road and hike the scenic East or West Ridge Trails and enjoy the views along the way. Or take the low road and enjoy the oak woodlands of Bell Canyon or one of the many trails that intersect it. Or hike one of the countless loop trails through shady riparian habitat. Wherever you decide to hike, you’re sure to take in plenty of nature along the way.
Alcohol is prohibited here, so don’t think you’re gonna come here and whoop it up. Please respect your neighbors. Also, pets (excluding horses) are not allowed within the park.
The park is located about a half mile from the highway (as the crow flies), so most of the traffic cannot be heard from the campgrounds. Large trucks and emergency vehicles are the exceptions. Also, if the stream is flowing good and your site is close to it, it may be enough to drown out all of the road noise. Unfortunately, it’s rare that the stream is flowing at all.
The park has a day-​use area and 4 campgrounds: Ortega Flats (13 RV only sites), Live Oak Campground (tents and campers), Star Mesa Equestrian Campground, and Owl/​Quail Group Campground.
Not only does the campground have running water, but hot showers as well… a definite plus for extended stays.
The only thing I can think of that would make Casper’s a better place would be if the individual camp sites were a little more private…
«The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.» — Robert Frost

My gf has been talking my ear off about going camping for… ever? Seems like it. And this was her ideal location for our inaugural trip because they have bathrooms, showers, running water, and sinks. You know, the accoutrements that tend to negate the whole «roughing it» ethos. But, hey, I’m not going to complain a bit because as much as I enjoy nature I’m not going to dig a hole three times a day or shower with bottled water. I don’t even pretend to be a hair on Bear Grylls’ ass. This is how a white guy roughs it in Orange County.
We arrived around the 2pm check-​in time and quickly found out that there would be no running water. Apparently the well dropped down to 26% and they didn’t want to run out. I don’t know how these things work. Can’t they just pump more into it? We were informed that porta-​pottys would be forthcoming, but for now there was ONE SINGLE facility for the campsite to use. Oh, joy of joys.
Our spot at the campsite was gorgeous. We picked the perfect location (the ranger had told my gf last time she was here it was his favorite), and it was a little more secluded than the others. As we got to setting up the tent, we heard a sound and saw something that I never thought could excite me: new porta-​pottys being delivered. And lucky me, I get to christen one of them.
The campsite had a fire pit, with a grate over top for cooking. The first night my chick made an insanely delicious chicken soup. I might have been careless and tossed some of my extra broth into a nearby bush. This action is likely what caused us to be ATTACKED BY SKUNKS. Ok, maybe «attack» is hyperbole, but one of those little fuckers tried to sneak up on me from behind, only scurrying off when I shined a light on him. Being in the dark of night, surrounded by creatures in their own habitat, and having no light source aside from a dying fire and a couple flashlights really puts things into perspective. We quickly made a couple s’mores and hightailed it into the tent.
Downside to camping: having to pee at 3am. I need to invest in one of those disposable toilets for next time. The shock from our multiple skunk encounter hadn’t worn off yet.
We got a trail map and hit one of the easy ones. Neither of us hike, ever, so I thought tackling even a moderate trail would be a bad idea. I know the odds of running into a mountain lion are slim, but it can and has happened, so I walked around with a two-​foot machete in my hand. Overkill? Yea, probably, but also very empowering. Anyway, we made it about 1.5 miles into the trail before deciding we should head back. Along the way, we heard a squirrel making a weird barking sound. He seemed pissed at something.
Caspers was fun for a camping neophyte such as myself. The campsites are equipped with the essentials, and restrooms (when working) are nearby. It feels wilderness-​y without being so far removed from civilization that you can’t drive into Ladera Ranch real quick to buy more food and a Frisbee.

What a cool place for camping or hiking… and not that many people even know it exists.
I came here for some hiking on a weekday. In this enormous park there were only half a dozen cars parked in the day-​use parking area. Cost is $ 3. on weekdays to park and $ 5. on weekends. The ranger at the entry gate gave me a free trail map at my request.
There are several trails to hike. I chose the Bell Canyon trail. About 100 yards along the trail I found myself face-​to-​face with a mountain lion (20 yards away). No joke. He was swatting at something in the brush. I froze and he turned toward me then immediately leaped away from me into the brush. I would have taken a photo of this magnificent cat but I was too busy crapping my pants. While it was probably perfectly fine to continue on that trail, my gut feeling was that I should go try a different one. I immediately walked back to the trailhead.
So I ended up hiking a nature trail and also a trail that led up to and along a high ridge. A little of the hiking was under trees but it is mostly desert terrain hiking. So go on a cooler day and wear a hat and bring plenty of water.
The campgrounds looked great but are better reviewed by others here who actually camped. As far as hiking it is a great spot if you are looking to get away from people and see some wildlife (I also saw deer, squirrels and many different types of birds). But beware the mountain lions and rattlesnakes and know what to do if you encounter them. Rangers I spoke to about my mountain lion encounter said this is a VERY rare occurrence.
As others have mentioned, these are horse-​friendly trails so there does seem to be an abundance of horse biscuits, both fresh and old, scattered on the trails. You definitely have to pay attention to where you are walking. Better yet, saddle up your horse and don’t worry about it!