“Fun for whole family day or night”
This large recreational lake includes 29 miles of shoreline and the 425-foot tall Castaic Dam. Lower Lake is reserved for non-power boating, canoeing and kayaking. Swim season in Lower Lake begins mid-May and lasts through mid-September. The park operates weekends on a seasonal basis. Sailing, power boating, water and jet skiing, and fishing can be done on Upper Lake. Boast rentals and tackle supplies are available within the park. The Recreation Area offers a wide range of activities including trails for cycling, hiking and horseback riding. Campsites are also available.
Reviews of Castaic Lake State Recreation Area
11 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 6 users | Last reported on March 27, 2023AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on January 17, 2024T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on March 05, 2018We found ourselves pulling in after dark and searching for a site. At the 3rd loop (Lot C) we found a place lakeside and late that night realized we were next to a singing/chanting girl scout group. By 10pm all was quiet and it was not a problem.
The sites are tight in loop C and we were a little big for our site. In fact we hit a picnic table while pulling in in the dark. Luckily we could pick the table up and move it and no permeant damage was done to either the table, the RV or either spouse.
Sites are not level, each contains a fire pit, picnic table and garbage can. We had an issue with fearless squirrels nibbling on anything we left outside - even the grill (who knew that metal was tasty).
The lake is so low there is no launching or swimming directly in front of the sites. You will need to drive or bike around to the beach area for access.
We enjoyed the area and found it not too far from stores for resupply and a nice break after going over the Grapevine.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: Lot C
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This place is a really nice little relaxing spot.
One minor drawback...I called on the phone and was told they had potable water. So, I drove out from LA with the intentions of dumping my tanks and filling up my fresh water tanks with water.
No such luck they have water fountain type spickets, but no way to fill an RV even though they do have a dump station on the property.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile 4G
We stayed here after our Passport America stint was up at another nearby park. I wish we had stayed here for the entire week, though. It is very peaceful and the lake views are nice. We stayed in C17 which is at the very end of the C loop. It's the largest site and faces the lake. It was not even close to level but we managed using all of our blocks.
There are no hookups and the bathrooms aren't that great. They're clean but the toilet stalls had no doors. The showers were private but were $1 for 3 minutes. The water was HOT, though, so there's that.
There is a dump station with potable water (a previous review said there wasn't but there is now). Town is just a quick drive away. Mostly truck stops and fast food but bigger stores are close enough to drive to for groceries and such.
The entire place was clean and trash cans at every site. The park empties them daily. Beware of the squirrels.. some are fearless. LOL
We'll definitely stay here again if we're in the area.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: C17
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
Ugh...no idea what the appeal of this place is. It was a convenient stopover for us but I can't imagine spending more than one night here. Basically, it is a parking lot with "sites" along the edges of the pavement. The lake was dirty looking and unappealing. We will not be back.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Good short stay camp out site. A little over crowded on the shore side.
Nightly Rate: $40.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: B33
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Great find just out of the city of LA. Beautiful lake with dry camping on the lagoon below lake. No one here. Paved lot with parallel parking and door opens to lagoon. Swimming on one side fishing on the campground side. Reservations are a little difficult to figure out but worth it.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: B19
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This place was horrible in every way. OK. The lake is beautiful, but it is closed to swimming and wading, and it is about 100 feet straight down from the "campsite." It's almost a straight drop down, so it is quite difficult to get to it, and much worse coming back up. The "campsite" is not really a campsite, but a parking space. Parallel parking. Against a curb! On the other side of the curb is dirt. Dry, dusty, blowing dirt! There is a fire pit, but fires are prohibited , so you cannot use it, just like you cannot use the lake. Across the street in the median strip are about 50 adolescent girls camping in half a dozen tents, on the DIRT, of course, because this is California and a drought and there is not a hint of grass anywhere. Cars are parked along the pot-holed street, up against a curb. The spaces are numbered and called "campsites." It's a joke. You could park in a nicer parking space anywhere in L.A. for free. This place charges $30. There are no park attendants. I reserved my "campsite" on line, and got a confirmation number. When I arrived the guard shack (and it was indeed a SHACK) was locked up. No attendant. Instructions to find your spot if you reserved, and if not, then show up at the shack in the morning to pay. Apparently there is an attendant only from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. every day.
Seriously, this place is a joke. An extremely HIDEOUS joke. You are basically paying $30 to park on a street, next to dirt. I was not being facetious when I said to just find street parking in L.A. It would be nicer.
But then it got even WORSE! At 8:00 p.m. flood lights came on. I was in B 27, and there were two huge halogen lights high over B 29. They lit up the road like a baseball stadium. There are 20 people at the campsite next to me. There are about 50 adolescent girls on the median strip across from me. They are all squealing and giggling and screaming. In fairness, they are just being adolescent girls, but so are their so-called chaperones. It would have been nice if a park employee came around and asked them politely to be a little considerate of the other campers, but even though it was a Saturday night, there was nobody from the park on duty.
I swear, Walmart parking lots are elegant compared to this sh*thole! And WalMart is FREE.
Find another spot. This one sucks big time.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: B 27
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Its almost 2 miles from the highway and is very good spot to stay overnight.
I travel often from Bay area to San Diego (son studies there) and this camping spot is right in the middle ~5 hours drive from home.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: A06
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 5G
Check in and arrival were easy. The site was somewhat level and all dirt. There were a couple utility-style wood poles lying on the ground the separated sites. The best part was the view overlooking the Castaic Lagoon. The worst part was the trash at the campsite. It didn’t seem like there was much care provided; I had to keep my kids from picking up the old bottle caps lying around in the dirt, there was trash in the fire pit, and trash scattered around the surrounding foliage. It was good for a one-night stop, but I suppose I would’ve been picking up garbage if I were to make it a longer stay.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
This place is super close to I5 but you don’t hear the traffic at all. I suppose when the weather gets warmer, it is much busier, but I’m the only camper in the B loop. I don’t know if I would stay more than a couple of days because there is no water, but for a night or 2 of dry camping, it’s perfect. There’s a dump station and coin operated showers. It’s 4 quarters for 3 minutes.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 30
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 5G
Be the first to add a review to the Castaic Lake State Recreation Area.
Castaic Lake State Recreation Area
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm
Problem with this listing? Let us know.
Has RV parking changed? Let us know.
-
Parking
-
Pets Allowed
-
Restrooms
-
Wifi
-
Wheelchair Accessible
-
Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- Other public land (TVA, DOD, county parks with campgrounds)
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 20
- Check In
- 4 pm
- Check Out
- 11 am
- Last Nightly Rate
- 30.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 31.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 60
- Standard Tent Sites Count
- 30
-
Swimming Pool
-
Paved Sites
-
Rec Facilities
-
Pull Through
-
Tent Sites
-
Dump Station
-
Big Rigs
-
Open Seasonally
-
Age Restricted
-
Back In RV Sites
-
Boondock
-
Cabin Sites
-
Dispersed Sites
-
Firewood
-
Fulltime Residents
-
Group Tent Sites
-
Laundry
-
Mobile Homes
-
Permit Required
-
Propane
-
Public Water
-
Pull Through RV Sites
-
Sewer Hookup
-
Showers
-
Sites
-
Standard Tent Sites
-
Vehicle Wash Permitted
Campground, Parking
Nearby Hotels
Related Trip Guides
The Ultimate Guide To Joshua Tree National Park
- 53 Places
- 11:44
- 408 mi
The top things to do on an I-40 road trip
- 35 Places
- 49:44
- 2,851 mi
The top things to do on an I-10 road trip
- 55 Places
- 56:13
- 3,026 mi