Questions about Carpenteria State Beach Calif

We were there last year and it was pretty run down and seemed to be full of regulars who must reserve spots as soon as they open up. In the beach row, the maximum rv length is 24' but we saw rvs that were up to 32' in the beach row. One was a class A gas, and its rear overhang was about 8' onto the beach, so it fit the 24' rule! In the second row, the length limit is 30' and there were 40' diesel pushers in there, one of them right next to us. Obviously, the park does not enforce the length rules, or much of anything else. It is a beautiful beach, but no pets are allowed on the beach, UNLESS, you are in the beach row, and then your picnic table is on the sand, and you can tie your pet up to the picnic table! Unless California spends more money or their state parks, I doubt that we will go back to any of them. It is a shame, because they are in beautiful locations but really run down. We now go to the Oregon coast and their beautiful state parks.

Sure, Carp has some of the same negatives any state beach facility has on the coast in Cally. Here are some positives. :)

We like it for short getaways from LA when we don't feel like going all out to a more remote destination. Plenty of easy path biking and short hikes. Lovely, very safe beach. Easy to walk into town to eat or get supplies or to shop if you need a break from the camping scene. Surprisingly quiet given the location close to town and the train and the popularity. Very family friendly! My 6 yr old loves it there and so does my wife. Has a nice beach town vacation feel. The locals are always very friendly. Decent restaurants and pretty affdable too close by. Nice playground. Clean. The town itself is pretty charming.

I am surprised that we enjoy it so much as we generally desire more remote locations away from humanity. I guess sometimes you just wanna get away but don't want to go whole hog with the camping thing. Carpenteria is good for that. No need to prepare anything as Carpenteria is small enough to still be charming and big enough to allow for affordable dining and shopping if you don't feel like prepping before you go.

Thanks for the info folks.

Also the spaces are very close together.

If I remember, I think there is a waste water treatment facility (sewer) also just across the tracks from the park.

Off shore winds you can get an odor..

35' max length per web site. My brother in law loved this RV park and went every year. Train runs close to the RV's however so take that into consideration.