Sweetwater Summit Regional Park Campground

Great public campground close to Bonita with a nice Vons for groceries. The park has 2 loops - the North Loop is much newer and offered full hookups and 2 different bathhouses. The bathhouses each had 6 Unisex rooms that offered a very nice size shower, toilet, sink and mirror. The restrooms were maintained but did seem to be a place where the earwigs liked to gather if people left the doors propped open. The showers are paid and for 50 cents you can get 4 minutes, get another 2 minutes for each 25 cents. The showers were quick to get hot water and we seemed to get a decent water pressure out of them. We stayed in the North loop with full hookups for 18 days. The Campground is next to Sweetwater Reservoir and you can see some nice water views from trails to the West. There are several long walking trails. The trails are shared with horses and bicycles. It was fun to see the horseback riders coming through using the trails. We took the dogs several times. There are signs that warn of Rattlesnakes. In the time we were at the campgrounds, we saw 1 snake but it was not on the hiking trail and luckily it was not a rattlesnake. There are a significant amount of rabbits and ground squirrels that roam the park - mostly early and late in the day but you will see them during the day as well. The North loop sites are very nice—level, asphalt and concrete. Most are a pretty good size and have a fire ring and picnic table. It would seem some of the sites would have a lot of noise from the freeway. We did not hear the freeway inside our Airstream but we did hear the occasional plane flying overhead. We took long walks around the 2 “loops” of the campground several times and it appeared the sites in the South loop appeal to a very different group of camper. The sites there have trees and grass and some sites seem very nice. Most of the RVs/trailersin this loop were dated and also seemed to be the area that attracted the tent campers. The checkin process felt slow and with only 1 entry to the park slows down everyone entering if someone is checking in. The park has multiple playgrounds - one with a small rock climbing wall, a small water sprinkler park that is free for campers, several picnic areas, an amphitheater they rent out to groups and an exercise loop with workout stations. There is no camp store but they do sell firewood at the checkin station. We enjoyed our stay as it was convenient commute into San Diego, Coronado Island and the sights we were interested in visiting.

When looking for an RV Park in San Diego, Most are very expensive. We were pretty excited to find Sweetwater Regional Park. At $33/night we were able to get a spot with 50amp, water, and sewer. Most spots have a view of the valley below, and there is enough space between RV's to feel comfortable. If you can get it, spot 129 is the best in the park. There is also free access to a small splash pad area and park for the kids. We stayed here in a 41' Fifth Wheel.

We weren't quite sure what to expect before arriving, but we were pleasantly surprised by this immaculate park! It looks brand new, with lots of pull through sites overlooking the valley. The sites in the upper loop (where we camped) are wide open, spacious, with full hook-ups, but no shade. It randomly got 90 degrees in the middle of February and we were baking in the sun - not sure what we would have done without air conditioning! But the cooler days were perfect with a gentle breeze in the afternoon. Down below, the majority of the hook ups are water and electric, with lesser views of the valley and sites are closer together, but there are trees and shade. AMAZING playgrounds, one in the upper loop, one in the lower, complete with a huge water splash pad area (so sad it was off season when we camped). Not to mention are a plethora of hiking trails around the lake!

I would highly recommend this park! A hidden gem.

We've stayed here twice, once for a week and once for 2 weeks. The first time we booked, we were in the older side of the park (with a slightly cheaper rate). On the older side, the sites aren't extremely well maintained, and the facilities make a prison bathroom look ritzy...seriously, though, did they buy the fixtures at a prison outlet store? The 2nd time we stayed, we knew to book the newer side of the park at the $30 a night rate (site 72). That side is MUCH nicer. The sites are brand new, paved parking, nice landscaping, new hookups and the showers/bathrooms are top notch (though you have to pay $0.75 for a shower). There is some light hiking nearby in the park which is nice if you have dogs.

While driving in, we were a little apprehensive at what we would find but were VERY pleasantly surprised! Great park and friendly staff. We hooked up without a problem and the spaces are huge!!! They all have a bench and fire pit. The only downside we found were the planes that fly overhead (in a flight path) but we eventually got used to it. If I were to be in this area again I would definitely stay and would recommend to everyone. Cheap but not nasty :)

This park is located 15 - 20 minutes from downtown San Diego -- convenient for visiting the USS Midway Museum, San Diego Zoo, etc.

We chose a partial-hookup site since we have a composting toilet. The sites were adequate, but I would not describe them as "spacious". We did not experience much aircraft noise, but the nearby freeway was audible. Also, where we were, the site was not level, but it was "level-able".

The staff appears to be almost completely volunteer. Our site had a spring loaded "convenience" faucet for filling jugs & buckets, and a second faucet for connecting water to the trailer ... unfortunately, this second faucet had a non-standard connector and a normal fresh-water hose would not connect to it. We were fine, we could fill our fresh water tank using the convenience faucet, and work from our tanks... but it was not as convenient as being connected to the city water.

This is a small park which adjoins a fairly large "green-space" area, including hiking trails, running paths, golf course, equestrian trails, etc. It certainly met our needs as we visited the sights in San Diego.

We really wanted to enjoy this park, but the ants ruined it for us. We'd read various reviews that mentioned them so we chose a site in the new section with concrete pads hoping for the best. But first, the rest of the review. When we arrived we were told that the site we reserved (#126) was going to be too short for our 37' motorhome, so they moved us into a spare site (#70) which was much longer. Great service! The sites in the new section are wide with good spacing between sites, sites ranging from short (35') to super long (probably 80'). Although our site was a pull-through, we had to back-out due to a steep and uneven crest at the front of the site where we would have bottomed out. There's lots of low-lying desert vegetation between sites which provides a green barrier, but there are no trees, so sites don't have any privacy. The older section is heavily wooded with tall trees, but the sites are smaller and closer together. In the new section the western-most sites (#115-#135) get some constant highway noise from route 125. We also had helicopters flying right overhead quite often, many times per day. The adjacent lake is actually a water reservoir, so it's completely fenced off, much to our dog's dismay. Instead we drove him downtown to one of the dog beaches several times during our stay so he could swim. There's a supermarket (Vons) and some stores a few miles west in Bonita, but for big box stores, malls, theaters, etc. you'll need to drive around 15 minutes south. AT&T and Verizon both worked well. When using your GPS, be sure to specify "Sweetwater Summit Regional Park". If you leave off "Summit" it will take you to a different park a mile away. Now for the ants: they were out in force in July, including in the new section. We surrounded our site, power, water, and sewer with diatomaceous earth but still had swarms of ants inside the rig several times. Unfortunately, this is the main reason we don't plan to return. It was too hard to keep them out, and many other campers we spoke with were facing the same battle.

After reading the reviews, we decided to try out Sweetwater for a few days. The volunteer at the front gate was super helpful, giving us a list of full hookup sites that were available and letting us take our pick.

I was thinking I would follow the advice of the reviewers and stick with the new loop, but quickly saw it wouldn't work as there were no mature trees. Being 2 of us in a 15ft. teardrop with 2 animals, we need to be outside. So even though the reviews knocked the old loop, we decided to give that a shot and picked a nice end spot that had at least some trees. I'd say if you were fully AC'd up in a big rig and didn't need to be outside in the summer from like 11-4 then the newer loop would be perfect. The sites were large, level, and the amenities up there were great - so was the view!

Down in the old loop, yes, the cleanliness of the bathrooms and showers left something to be desired. And yes, you have to be aware of the ants. Peppermint oil did the trick for the first two nights, and once we ran out, we had to go get some ant traps and spray. But, still worth it to not be in the blazing sun. Besides, they were tiny sugar ants that didn't bite.

The location is great, price is super reasonable, and again, I'm finding that CA county parks are the way to go when traveling through. It was easy for us to extend our reservation an extra night to see a concert in Chula Vista, which was only about 20 minutes away.

We stayed here back in January for a FTF rally. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to review this campground. It is convenient to downtown San Diego. For perspective, it is about 30/35 minutes from Del Mar Heights Rd in Del Mar, off of the 5 freeway. The park is very clean and run efficiently. After years of searching for an affordable option to camp near family in San Diego...we finally found it! The reservation system online was simple and by far...this is your best option for camping in south county. It was a 15 minute drive to the laundromat that had good reviews. Plan ahead and book your reservation. Have your kids bring bikes to cruise through this fairly large park. Loved our large site and how well kept-up it was.
*UPDATE*: stayed here again in September 2017. Stayed in site 70 with FHU, great pull-through site with a nice view and shrubs for privacy. ***PLEASE NOTE*** that site 126 is way to steep for larger RV's to manage. We saw an RV drag their bottom there in 2016 and then we tried it this year, not by choice, and the way the site sits....I would not try over 30 feet, unless you have raised suspension. We were unable to park in this space and thankfully were able to move to another spot.

For the price and location, this park can't be beat. It's minutes to most anything you could want and only about a 15 minute drive to the ocean. We stayed in site 77 and had an awesome view.
All of the sites in the upper loops were spacious and level. The pull throughs were extremely long, too. A few of the pull throughs seemed to have a steep entrance or exit but, with care, it would probably be fine.

The entire campground is extremely clean and trash cans are emptied daily. We had a great signal with AT&T (not boosted). The bathrooms with showers looked clean but we did not use them. They sell firewood for $5 per bundle at the front gate. The day use area was very busy on the weekend but it was nearly empty during the week (our daughter loved the playgrounds).

Some reviews said that there was an ant problem but we didn't see any... then again it was February when we visited. There were the tell-tail signs of powder being sprinkled for them, though.

The park is directly under the flight path for the air port but the planes were still high enough to not bother us. At night they seem to stop, so no big deal.

There are two routes that you can take to get to the front gate and both are a bit tight but certainly doable even in larger rigs. We came in off of 125 at San Miguel Ranch Road. At places, it seems like you're really off route because you're on a residential back road (minus 1 access star for this) but it's easily navigable and plenty of clearance. If you're in the San Diego area, this a great place to stay.