This Popular California State Beach Is A Great Spot For An Incredible Camping Adventure

California's famous coastline is home to some of the most beautiful beachside campsites in the country. One of the state's most picture-perfect camping locations is at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California. This Southern Californian spot is situated in Orange County, just about midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Campers at Doheny State Beach can choose from over 100 sites, a little more than a third of which are equipped with ocean views.

Beyond camping, Doheny State Beach offers a myriad of fun, beachy activities for visitors to enjoy during their stay. Across its 62 acres of land, there's surfing, hiking, and more to explore after campers have spent a night underneath the So-Cal stars. Camping out in Doheny State Beach will give you the quintessential, Californian beach experience. In fact, when it opened its gates in the 1930s, Doheny became the very first state beach in all of California. If you're looking for an incredible adventure camping on California's shores, it's time you plan a trip to Doheny.

The set-up at Doheny State Beach makes camping a breeze for its guests. Located at the southern end of the state beach, the campsites offer a variety of amenities. You'll find that each site offers fire rings, picnic tables, hot showers, and toilets for camper use. Additionally, 16 of the sites permit RVs at a maximum length of 35 feet. However, though Doheny State Beach provides a sanitation station it does not provide hookups and is considered a dry campground.

Doheny State Beach campsites accommodate eight people per site. But if you're coming with an even larger group, you can reserve the park's group campsite, which allows up to 40 campers. With moderate temperatures ranging from 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit all year long, it's always a good time to camp out at this iconic state beach. You can make a reservation for your campsite up to six months in advance with Reserve California.

Beyond its incredible camping facilities, Doheny State Beach offers campers a long list of adventures to choose from. The beach is probably most famous for its surfing. In fact, the area was shot and featured in the surf film "Endless Summer" (1966). For years and years, the beach was considered a hub for surf legends. Doheny is even referenced in one of the Beach Boys' greatest hits, "Surfin' USA," when they sing "Down Doheny Way."

Due to more recent construction, Doheny State Beach no longer boasts the massive waves it once had. However, it's now the perfect beach for seasoned surfers to enjoy easy cruising and beginner surfers to ride their first waves. If you're in the second camp, we recommend you book a surf lesson with the Girl in the Curl, where expert guides offer instruction right on Doheny State Beach. If you have no interest in attempting a surf adventure but still want to stay active, volleyball, swimming, sunbathing, and kayaking are all also available.

After spending the night in the park, if you're interested in learning more about the area's flora and fauna, be sure to stop at the Visitor's Center. There you can observe various aquariums with local marine life as well as a natural tide pool.