Camping near San Diego, California

Camping near San Diego at a glance

Public campgrounds

2 (1 BLM, 1 National Forest)

Getting a site

1 first-come

Cost

1 free

Distance from San Diego

45 miles (Indian Flats Group Camp (closed)) to 46 miles (Cottonwood Campground) in a straight line; none within 15 miles

Elevation

3,629 ft (Indian Flats Group Camp (closed)) to 4,314 ft (Cottonwood Campground), 2 of 2 on record

Distances are straight-line miles from San Diego's point in the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2025), not driving distances. Every other fact comes from each campground's own sourced record, linked from its page.

Things to do near San Diego

Public land and water within 30 miles of San Diego, the public land its campgrounds sit in, and landmarks at those campgrounds, nearest first.

• Lake Murray fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 5.4 miles from San Diego; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, a state park whose mapped point is 6.9 miles from San Diego; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Chollas Park Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 7.3 miles from San Diego; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Torrey Pines State Beach, a state park whose mapped point is 11 miles from San Diego; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, a state park whose mapped point is 11 miles from San Diego; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• San Vicente Reservoir water level, a reservoir whose mapped point is 13 miles from San Diego; current water level on reservoirfinder.com.
• Cabrillo National Monument, a National Park Service unit whose mapped point is 13 miles from San Diego; its entrance fees, current alerts and fire restrictions, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a national wildlife refuge whose mapped point is 13 miles from San Diego; its hours, camping, hunting and fishing rules, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Silver Strand State Beach, a state park whose mapped point is 13 miles from San Diego; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Lake Jennings fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 14 miles from San Diego; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.

Supplies and emergencies near San Diego

Groceries

• 7-Eleven convenience store · 0.6 miles · (858) 874-6629
• Refill Pantry SD convenience store · 1 mile · (858) 737-4320 · Hours Mo,Tu,We,Fr,Sa 10:00-16:00
• Vons supermarket · 1 mile · (858) 560-4565 · Hours Mo-Su 06:00-23:00

Fuel

• Arco fuel station · 1 mile
• mobil fuel station · 1 mile
• EBK Fuel fuel station · 1.1 miles

Propane

• Airgas propane dealer · 9 miles · (619) 442-6605
• Mobil fuel station · 14 miles
• Baja Gas propane dealer · 23 miles

RV dump station

• Marriot Marquee Marina service point · 8.9 miles
• San Diego KOA Campground RV park · 12 miles
• Surf and Turf RV Park RV park · 13 miles

Pharmacy

• San Diego Compounding Pharmacy pharmacy · 0.3 miles
• Rite Aid pharmacy · 3 miles
• CVS Pharmacy pharmacy · 3.4 miles · (858) 279-2860

Laundromat

• Laundry Basket laundromat · 1 mile
• Card Op Coin Laundry laundromat · 2.9 miles · Hours 05:30-22:00
• The Normal Laundry laundromat · 4.6 miles

Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of San Diego: potable water fill and ice. Stores, fuel, propane, dump stations, water fill, laundromats, and pharmacies are the nearest few mapped within 25 miles, straight-line, © OpenStreetMap contributors (data as of 2026-10-01; this extract under the ODbL). Hours are as mapped; call ahead.