Carpinteria State Beach

Nice beach, plenty of sand, long stretch of beach. Does get very crowded. Slightly breezy at all times.

So, it’s our first day & we’ve been robbed, tent attacked & now a pack of raccoons tried to jack some Oreos… not a great first day but, the beach is awesome…

Love love love this beach! Tons of space, bathrooms and parking. Cost is $ 10 per car (senior discount $ 9) be warned… no water due to drought… so bring your own water! The sand is sure hot walking down so make sure to wear flip flops! There is a boardwalk from the bathrooms to the start of the beach. Picnic tables and grills are plenty AND covered!

Second time I came here, & I loved both visit.
Just bring a jacket and some shoes.
** Recent visit was in May, was super COLD obviously there haven’t been any Sunshine in Socal. **
this trip was awesome, water was freezing cold, but I finally walked the trail they have to go see the Sea Lions. Pretty Coooool!
* but leaving in the morning with a trailer is a hassle and everyone trying to get out at the same time.

We stayed in site 201, near the ranger kiosk and beach access. The site
is huge and shaded with bathrooms and showers within 50 feet. Arrival
May 31, 2016, departure June 5, 2016. Site has squirrels and you need
to protect your food. They will tear bags and boxes open.
Weather was very pleasant with an overnight mist that left everything wet,
so cover things up.
Bathrooms are attended to first thing in the morning with the campground
host checking on things during the day. The crew and the host Doug do a
great job. Doug also sells firewood and is knowledgeable about things if
you need info. B, J, at the kiosk checked me in and wasvery busy with phones
and questions from folks, He juggles his responsibilities as a Park
Ranger Assistant and takes his job seriously and does a good job.
The park is located close to many restaurants and shopping. We had a very nice trip to a well managed park.
Again only negatives were the squirrels and also a mockingbird that sang in the middle of the night for like three hours above where we were sleeping, Camping is getting close to nature, so be it.

Great area and could be an amazing place if it was privately owned. I have come here every summer since I was about 5 and every year the place is more and more neglected. Prices go up and up and quality down and down. $ 85 per night for sites that are buried under 2 feet of sand while the park staff sits there on their tractors not doing anything productive. Paid $ 1.25 for a cold shower and the camp host who was sleeping says sorry we don’t deal with that. What exactly do the camp hosts do other that take up space for free?
Such a beautiful place ruined by poor state management. I wish the California Park system would just sell out to someone who could actually manage such a nice piece of real estate.

I’d love to say this was the best campground we’ve ever stayed at, but there is some baggage to be aware of. I really must give ratings of several items for this review:
Price: 1 star
Location: 5 stars
Layout: 2 stars
Hosts: 3 stars
Bathrooms: 3 stars
Campsites: 3 stars
$ 70/​night for a 20×20 slab of asphalt?!? Way overpriced in my opinion. Spots were tiny and the RVs were literally crammed in like sardines.
I see a lot of complaints about the staff. We didn’t have any issues with them. They don’t go out if there way to assist you buy they have 2 people running 150 camp spots. They are busy.
Overall the kids loved the location and we really enjoyed ourselves, but as far as the campground layout and price, it was just OK. Probably will not visit again.

A family member was camping here this weekend… I visited him on Saturday afternoon. There were no visitor parking spots available, so I parked in one of the 70 empty camping spots until something opened up. So here come Barney the guy in the green park uniform. He tells me you have to move your car. ??? I asked where do I park? The place was less than half full, was someone really going to need my parking spot? If your looking for a pleasant spot to hang out go somewhere else. The place is run by a few BOZOs rude volunteers and crazy want to be cops guys in green uniforms. Oh I must say the beach was nice.

The campgrounds are a short walk away! The beach is clean. They have showers available. Just beware, there a gophers and squirrels everywhere. So be careful where you step cause you can fall into a gopher hole. Also the seagulls and squirrels are very daring. So don’t leave food out.
Unilocal 100 Challenge (30 out of 100)

Over the past 60 years, My family has been to numerous camp sites throughout California, and although this is one of the most beautiful, the park rangers created the worst experience for me both times I went.
You are immediately «profiled» the moment you register, followed by them taking notes on their camp site map in your spot section to check on you frequently when they feel your appearance does not fit the mold of their desired camper. Yes, I am being serious.
During my first time here I was told less than 10 minutes after arrival, that my truck was parked incorrectly and that I would be fined if I did not move it. My front bumper was literally two inches over the line. Next, I was told to lower my music (during the day) when I was playing it through my phone only, yes, with without speaker. Being that I had a spot in the back, I was not harassed as frequent this time, but it got worse as the spot I had improved.
The next time I went, I had a spot up front. I was greeted as I mentioned before, but this time, was immediately given the impression that these are considered somewhat of their «flagship» spots. The park ranger gave me a double take, like, what am I doing with one of these. As I began to settle in, less than an hour after I arrived, two rangers came straight to the spot I rented with urgency and gave me a speech, basically reciting the park rules, regulations and consequences, and questioning my intentions as if I was already in some sort of violation, but was not. I was extremely embarrassed as my family and the tenants of the other near by spots watched. They made a spectacle out of me for absolutely no reason. I have gone my entire life without having a police record, but I feel I was treated otherwise here.
I believe their actions to be unjust and will never camp there again. I also have not been camping at all since. Our 60 year long family tradition has now been ruined. If you who are reading this has ever been wrongly profiled by law enforcement at any point in your life, expect it to be taken to a whole new level at the Carpinteria camp grounds. This place is not for you.

Very beautiful beach. The kids always have a great time. Lots of beautiful people. The only down side of this beach is when you lay or sit in the sand, you smell like an oil can afterwards. I guess to the offshore drilling. I also had a laughable movement with my children when I stepped in a glob of oil. Besides that, its a beautiful beach.

Carpinteria is a simple easy going beach. The waves were huge.
Simple. We walked the beach & yes it might not be the cleanest beach. Had tar all over my feet but any beach is heaven & zen.
I do know the camp grounds are awesome. They have a lot of spots. The have local restrooms that’s were clean.
$ 6 for firewood.
One volleyball court & ping pong table.
Train goes right through there.
Intimate beach. Small.

Summer in winter and the place was empty with prime beach spots available.
Nothing like the sound of waves and wind lulling you to sleep… plus the train.
This is a perfect spot to take a break from life as you know it.
Beautiful park. When it’s not packed.

This beach serves a peaceful purpose. I love hearing, watching and enjoying the waves crash. I especially like walking the beach when it’s not really crowded. I’ve taken my art supplies and have just been inspired to paint whatever comes to mind at the beach.

I want to say 5 stars cause this is a GORGEOUS beach! But I took 3 stars off because the people who work at the campground aren’t interested in helping or making things easy for you.
When we wanted a spot with hookups, they had us pay the $ 50, then sent us driving around to see if the one open spot would be big enough. It wasn’t, so then we went back to the front, and they sent us to drive around the other section of the campground that’s dry/​no hookups and said if we find a spot NOT to setup and unhitch but to come back and tell them the spot, then go back and setup. Which then ended up also being $ 50 for the dry camp spot because I guess some of their spots range in price which they didn’t tell us? And we didn’t wanna drive around again to assess the cheaper spots, so we didn’t get a refund.
Doesn’t sound so bad except the entire park is narrow winding roads like a maze and we are a 31 foot trailer, maneuvering was slow and difficult. So then after 45 mins and finally getting set up, they tell us some mysterious rule about having to be parked so our vehicle wasn’t over the number on the pavement, not even a little. There goes another 45 mins to pack back up and rehitch, move a few feet, then unhitch and set back up again, just so I can spend a single night here, cause they don’t allow you to stay more than one night unless you reserve in advance. And these spots are as narrow as a Walmart parking spot, and they expect to fit 3 RV’s next to each other in these narrow spots… Not even close to worth $ 50 if I have to feel like a cow in a pen.
So all in all, I’m left in a bad mood with my day mostly over which I had paid for to come relax at the beach. When travel is your life, these ridiculous rules and difficult employees make it quite a nuisance to stay at their parks. For charging an arm and a leg during the off season, the least they could do is be more helpful and less irritating.

This is the safest, cleanest and most swim friendly beach I’ve ever been to. We have been coming here since 1997 and still as wonderful as ever.
Here’s a tip: You will get the natural tar from the beach on our feet so make sure to have some goo gone on hand as it can be sticky and you don’t want to track that into your car or rental while you stay here.

Located within walking distance of downtown Carpinteria, the camping sites are small, typical for California State Campgrounds located on the Pacific Ocean. Sites are about $ 50 a night which is not cheap. Inland state park camping is much cheaper.
The beach is quite pleasant and street parking is convenient if you don’t want to pay the day fee at the actual park.
Carpinteria is small, quaint town with a short drive to busy Santa Barbara, excellent for day trips.

Okay, so this review is probably (okay, it is) a bit on the negative side because it was so freakishly hot. While yes, it was freakishly hotter in the LA area, we thought it might have been exponentially cooler while camping by the beach. Such was not the case.
My partner in crime, Unilocaler JL, booked this site about 6+ months ago when the state parks opened up their reservations for the upcoming months. Being an avid beach camper, he made sure to nab as many locations as possible and within reason. Little did he know that this weekend would melt our face off. On the bright side, we ended up exploring this great little town and discovering fantastic breweries and eateries while finding ways to escape the oppressive heat.
We nabbed slot 417 on the San Miguel Loop of the grounds. Super close and within seconds to the restrooms and hot showers. Always a plus! Of course, there’s the downside of the bathroom traffic, but I’d rather be close to a restroom. The showers take quarters, so bring your own or make the trek to the main kiosk upon entry. Other than that, decent beach access and fantastic views. If you can, stay on the Anacapa grounds, as the showers and restroom are private. After that, the Santa Rosa and San Miguel loops are communal.
Now for the beach: Lots of sand fleas (yuck) and very little surf. We didn’t bother to bring the boards, as they weren’t worth the weight for flat conditions. Additionally, due to the recent oil spill, there was tar all over the beach. This was terrible. We didn’t realize it until we looked at the bottom of our feet and saw the huge globs. One fellow camper said mayonnaise would take it right off. We didn’t pack any in our coolers so we ended up using olive oil, plastic knives, and Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap to scrape that toxic sludge off. That tested our patience to no end.
Maybe it was the heat that that got to me, maybe it was the tar, but I’d wait a long while before camping here again. As noted above, the discovery and accessibility of a great town made this experience tolerable.

This beach is one of my favorite go to parks on the central coast. It’s a great walking beach plus Linden Street in Carpinteria with shops and restaurants connects with the beach. There is camping, picnic tables, bathrooms and showers as well. If you walk south on the beach you end up connecting with the seal sanctuary trail, one of my other favorite walks.
The island views are fabulous (ignore the oil rigs) and the tar seeps near the campground are cool. I usually see Harbor Seals bobbing around in the gentle surf and sometimes dolphins. There are lots of birds on the wide sandy beach, so guard your potato chips from marauding seagulls.

After 18 years in SB, I finally came to this famous beach.
It’s utter perfection from a swimmer’s perspective. It is the sandiest beach in the area and the rocky part in the water is very short.
The water is glassy and there is no current or undertow, so it’s like swimming in a pool with gentle swells.
I am in love! Parking is easy and free, even on a holiday weekend.
Carp circa 2014 is not Carp circa 1996. There are lots of food options and the liquor store by The Spot has good wine and beer, that is, 12/​six-​pack IPA and 10 buck Estancia Sauvignon
I will swim here year-​round and can’t wait to pickup the used wetsuit I just took to Perfect Fit to remove the sleeves. It’s essentially a triathlete spring suit except that the neck isn’t cut out as in the triathlete suits the lifeguard described to me.
Just 15 min in no traffic from Montecito, it’s a nothing drive.
Apparently until last weekend, the city had wooden buoys so kids could dive or jump – which attests to its lake properties.
Carp is smoke-​free but saw plenty pf people smoking on street, though few vapers like myself.
The second day I came, the water was a bit rougher but still placid enough when you get out toward the swimming buoys.