Santa Margarita Lake County Park

Okay — we rolled into the Santa Margarita Lake Campground 5 minutes before closing. We needed a stop along our road trip and all the campsites along the 101 home were booked. Originally we hoped to stay at the KOA but it was booked and the owner directed us to County Park and told us there were seven spots available. The only spots left were in the Grey Pine Camp area which was okay for $ 25 — it was very open and not much privacy. Unfortunately we had a crying baby in the campsite next to us, but that is not the sites fault. We were pleased with the opportunity to sleep for the night at a low rate and get a spot at a moments notice. Overall, if we were to return we would not pick Grey Pine Camp. There are water spigots to be shared with every two sites, porta potties (clean but smelly), and a fire pits. It is very dry due to the drought. We did see three deer walk through the campsite which was lovely. Lots of holes from the squirrels so watch your step.
The four star rating comes from out walk around the park. We will definitely be coming back when the temperatures climb down and we can explore the plentiful hiking trails. We walked down to the camping store which was well stocked and the manager was super friendly. The manager is knowledgeable about the lake and the fish that are stocked in there, he and my husband had a great conversation. After checking out the store we walked around Mackey Point — boy the lake level is low. If any Californian has a doubt about the drought they need to visit this lake. Lots of Turkey Vultures to view along with squirrels and lots of birds. Mackey Point is a day use area, however there isn’t much water to speak of. We rounded the corner to find the Osprey Camp — this is a concrete site for RV’s and at 9:00 in the morning a couple of them were already running their generators. We also would not select this area.
There is a great pool area — the pool is fenced and I imagine there are lifeguards, it was not open when we walked by. There are outdoor showers at this location as well as five inside showers. The inside showers were super clean and cost $ 1.00 for four minutes and .25 for each additional minute. There were also restrooms with flush toilets at this location. There is a grassy area with a lot of shade and barbques, looked like a great place to hang out. This would be great during the heat for families and people who want to cool off!
Moving forward we found the campsite that we would book into — Coyote Camp. There were several sites that we thought our pop up camper would fit into nicely. It is more remote in this area and there is more privacy. We will definitely be back in this area. It is close to the pool and flush toilets but also has the porta potties for middle of the night emergencies. There are water spigots, fire pits and tables at each spot. Very clean and inviting. The place we would really like to have stayed was at the Roadrunner camp but sadly they do not allow pop up trailers, in fact no trailers of any kind. We walked around and my husband felt that he could get our pop up in their easily. We checked with the ranger and they told us it was a hard and fast NO for trailers in this area. The good spots we would have selected were #2 (best), 1 and 3. Site 7 in the Roadrunner camp is too close to the porta potty so avoid that one.
Due to the heat and the fact that we were on the tail end of a ten day camping excursion we headed out at the 11:00 am check out — but we will be back! After that visit it is likely my rating will bump up to a 5.
Tips: Bring an easy up for shade during summer months, sunscreen and fly spray.

Went camping memorial day weekend 2015 with family. Nice campground, beware of the hole in the campground from the squirrels we fell a few times. Pool was nice and clean big and nice that they have life jackets for the kids to borrow plus 2 life guards.
Lake is very low but nice. Only caught 1 fish but it was big. Playground on site, plenty of trails, and showers were nice and hot. Porta potties in campground for emergencies but flushing toilets with showers near pool are walking distance. Pool area has bbq fire grills, benches, rinse off area and grassy area where we put up a volleyball net. Community spigot in campground GREY PINE. Even numbered spaces had fire pit and BBQ pits raised. Good size spaces. Convinience store and rangers are very nice and helpful. Water was low in lake but it was still nice. No body contact lake since it’s a reservoir but kayaking and slow boating was allowed.
Saw plenty of deer, turkey vultures and turkeys. lots of shade on sites 22, 24 and 20. Nice field for kids to play.
Overall a great time with plenty to do!

We had wonderful moment at water edge. We were met by many Turkey Vulture.

The Park here is lovely. The birds abound, and there is room for almost secluded picnics and camping. Being local we really enjoy coming near the end of the day, watching the lake, taking a walk, and having dinner with the sunset. Follow the roads to Vaca point and all the way to the end and enjoy a private park (except I may already be there!) This place is charming.