We stayed at Ocean Mesa RV Resort near Santa Barbara, California, mainly as a base for a Channel Islands day cruise. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-02-20
- Check out: 2022-02-27
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Sunny, some drizzle
- High temps ranging between 57 and 68°F, lows around 30-40°F
- Breezy for the first few days (gusts up to 35 mph)
Noise:
- Background road noise
- Occasional train horns
- Lots of neighbor noise on the day we arrived, then the place emptied out
Site:
- Back in, diagonal, concrete, had to disconnect toad
- Medium-sized, about 66 feet long by 30 feet wide, but concrete pad was 35 long by 12 wide, so the back hung over the end (which was fine); included an asphalt pad for the toad beside the RV
- Full hookups: 50 amp power, good water pressure, no sewer connection issues
- Picnic table on gravel, wood fire pit
Internet:
- Campground Wi-Fi: 5 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 30 ms ping ($15 for a week; slower available free)
- T-Mobile: 2 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 65 ms ping
- AT&T: 3 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
- Verizon: 1 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 52 ms ping
Amenities:
- Garbage pickup from bins out front of each site
- Pool; hot tub
- Rec room
- Various outdoor games
Here’s the review Jenn wrote on Campground Reviews:
Hillside oasis on the California coast
A very nice park that is very popular on the weekends. We arrived on Sunday of a 3-day weekend and the place was packed with groups having parties, so it was rather noisy. It cleared out Monday and the place was quiet and lovely until Thursday when it filled up again. When it wasn’t full of weekenders, we enjoyed the serenity of the beautifully landscaped and maintained grounds. Getting into and out of our site with our 40′ motorhome was a little challenging due to the shrubs and trees and proximity to the neighbors across the road, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Spots are a little close together, but it felt relatively private due to the hedges between them. Our motorhome just fit on the pad with our back end hanging over and the tow vehicle parked alongside. We camped at Ocean Mesa Campground at El Capitan in a Motorhome.
Here’s the park map:
Satellite view:
An expanded satellite view, that includes the RV park, the neighoring one with a cafe, and the El Capitan State Beach:
Here’s a screenshot of the Carrot weather app covering the duration of our stay:
The week started with a bit of wind, then it calmed down:
The Ocean Mesa sign at the entrance:
Our site:
Is that a reflection on our coach windscreen? Nope, it’s a custom-printed Magne Shade. I’ll have a post about that soon.
Convenient utility hookups, though the concrete pad could have been longer; plenty of room behind, so we could have been further back:
This site was one of the few we’ve stayed at that included a fire pit (with some wood provided; not sure if left by a previous occupant, or the campground):
Our griddle and rug, plus the provided table:
Me working outside; it wasn’t super warm, but the sun was nice:
Though I did use the umbrella attached to the chair to keep the sun out of my eyes:
While sitting there, I took some pictures of our coach, including looking up at the bedroom slide-out:
And looking along the base of the coach:
A hummingbird enjoying the the flowers next to our site:
On our first night, they set up a movie screen in the green space behind our site:
On another night, we used the fire pit; here’s a GIF:
Toasting masrshmallows:
S’more (much as I like sweet treats, s’mores aren’t a favorite, as I inevitably get sticky marshmallow in my mustache… as I did then):
Let’s walk around the resort, starting with the office:
The pool area, with a swimming pool and hot tub. It was too cold for us to want to partake, though:
A playground in the green space:
Dog area:
They have several tent sites, which were vacant during the week, but filled up on the weekend:
Other RVs:
A murder of crows:
A glimpse of the ocean and Channel Islands:
Back to our site:
A nice resort; we’d stay here again.
