Los Angeles base camp

[ntar827]

Will be coming from the east through Phoenix to see the Rose Parade.

Would like to have a base camp ( 2 weeks)to use to explore the greater Los Angeles area using our toad.

Recomendations for a campground considering ease of getting there with motorhome and toad would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Atlee]

March of this year I stayed 6 nights in LA. 2 days were at Dockweiler RV Park. Great place, right on the beach. Only draw back is it's at the end of LAX. Lot's of planes. If you sleep well, no problem. If you are a light sleeper, could be a problem.

My other 4 days were at the Balboa RV Park in Van Nuys. This par is relatively small and many of the folks who stay there work in the film/TV industry. The owner keeps a percentage available for tourist like me. It was clean and quiet.

One caveat though. It's so tight that if you have a trailer, you drop it at the entrance and the trailer is put in it's site using a fork lift that had a hitch ball attached. It worked for us.

I liked this park because it was relatively close to a lot of stuff we wanted to visit while in LA.

[missourijan]

The Ventura County park, Tapo Canyon in Simi Valley is a good choice, about 3 miles off the 118 freeway and full hookups. A little closer to Pasadena is Walnut RV park in Northridge, it's right off the 118 freeway. The Valencia Travel Village is right off I 5, also a good location but a little further out for other LA attractions. My 2 cent suggestion would be to get off I 10 when coming in to the LA area, take the 210, it goes across the "top" of LA and avoids the downtown area. Good luck and have patience, the traffic sucks.

[Gonzo42]

Using your toad is the best idea, as parking anywhere near the parade is a nightmare, so be careful not to violate the bizarre parking laws.

The parking police there like to target out-of-towners.

[magnusfide]

Double ditto on Long Beach area. Here are the Long Beach listings at Allstays
http://www.allstays.com/Campgrounds/ca-long-beach-campgrounds.htm

[kalynzoo]

Travel Village RV in Valencia or Castaic RV park, both in the Santa Clarita Valley right off the I-5. Malibu RV park is pricey and lovely. It is on the right side of the mountains for Los Angeles, wrong side of the highway for the beach, and also a long drive to Pasadena. Pomona KOA next to the LA Fairgrounds is a very nice park mentioned by others. All of these will be about an hour drive from the LA tourist attractions. LA itself is not really RV friendly and there are no lovely parks central to the city. There are a few parks in the San Fernando Valley (my neck of the woods) but I personally would not even briefly consider them because of location, most are cheap full time housing.

[padredw]

East Shore is a very nice place..Actually in San Dimas I believe, right next to Pomona....

We stayed here for several days a few years ago. We actually had one of the nicest campsites we have ever had anywhere. All I remember is that it was in Loop A (or Section A). I would definitely go back there if we ever visit the Los Angeles area again.

[Two_Hands]

The Pomona KOA is pretty good.

[sd1209]

East Shore is a very nice place..Actually in San Dimas I believe, right next to Pomona.....

[mikim]

Coming from the East there is East Shore RV Park in Pomona, CA. Down around Disneyland there are a couple that we like....Orangeland RV Park and Anaheim Resort RV Park.

In Long Beach, CA, Newport Beach, CA, Huntington Beach, CA there are private campgrounds as well state campgrounds.

Good luck

[tsetsaf]

Least traffic to and from the Rose Parade Tapo Canyon Simi Valley

Central, nice, reasonable, and near the beach: Long Beach