Roughing It : But Suburbia Is Sprawling to Where the Wild Things Are

“Getting away from it all” is the battle cry of campers everywhere, but escape is not always easy at some of Orange County’s more popular camping areas, where the trappings of suburbia can prove hard to shake.

At O’Neill Regional Park, once an isolated slice of backcountry, the view from sites in the upper Mesa Campground now includes the suburban back yards of the Rancho Santa Margarita development. Campers pitch tents and build fires within a stone’s throw of $300,000 homes on the other side of a chain-link fence that is topped by strands of barbed wire.

Featherly Regional Park along the county’s last “wild” stretch of the Santa Ana River has been cut in half by construction of a mammoth freeway overpass, while campers at San Clemente State Beach are more likely to be lulled to sleep by the roar of Interstate 5 than by crashing waves.

But even if these parks do not provide a pure wilderness experience, they do offer some measure of escape. More than 378,000 people camped at the county’s state parks and beaches last year (with another 117,000 at San Onofre State Beach, just south of the San Diego County line); more than 159,000 campers used facilities at the county’s regional parks.

“We do provide a needed service for a lot of people here in Orange County,” said Richard Dyer, O’Neill’s supervising ranger. “There are an awful lot of working people who can’t get in the car for 4 or 5 days” to camp in such outdoor meccas as Sequoia and Yosemite national parks.

“Within an hour or less, they have a camping experience,” Dyer said. “They cook outdoors; they sleep in a tent; they go for hikes.”

The camping experience at O’Neill, however, is being diluted by the county’s continuing growth. There is no buffer between the park and new residential development near its upper section, leading increasingly to conflicts. The park receives complaints almost daily from neighbors over noise, smoke from campfires and aesthetics.

Some residents in expensive neighborhoods simply don’t like living close enough to see people camping, Dyer said.

While some campers still enjoy camping on the ridge because of the sweeping views that remain to the north and east, others increasingly object to pitching their tents in view of the tract homes. “I don’t blame them,” Dyer said. “I don’t camp in areas like this.”

Complaints from neighbors have already forced the closing of 40 sites in Mesa Campground. Dyer fears that all camping in the upper park may have to end.

Below the ridgeline, the homes in Rancho Santa Margarita are out of sight, so the park remains much as it has for years. Oaks and sycamores still spread their leaves over campsites, hiking trails and picnic grounds, while Saddleback towers in the distance. The Trabuco Creek Trail, which winds through the lush vegetation on the hillside above Trabuco Creek, remains one of the best short nature walks in the county.

Featherly Regional Park, likewise, has retained much of its charm in the face of less-than-ideal conditions. But these days, fewer visitors are enjoying the camping-only park’s stands of cottonwood and sycamore, which make up a rich riparian habitat that has dwindled to almost nothing elsewhere in the county.

The culprit at Featherly is a towering freeway overpass, being built to help ease congestion on the nightmarish Riverside Freeway through Santa Ana Canyon. The work is expected to continue through the rest of the year.

Many park regulars think the park is closed because of the construction. “It’s not true; we’re here,” said Linda McKelvie, the park’s secretary. “We have a very nice camping park.”

Featherly Park has lost just two campsites to the project, but daytime noise has increased somewhat, in addition to noise already generated by the nearby freeway. But McKelvie said the park is still “a nice place to camp” and has many new facilities.

The third county regional park that offers camping has problems of a different nature. The threat of cougar attacks--two have occurred in recent years--has led the county to make camping at Caspers Regional Park off limits to minors. Visitors must be 18 or older to enjoy the park’s campgrounds and wilderness trails.

While that is bad news for families, the wilderness preserve’s 7,600 acres offer an excellent camping opportunity for adults, with drive-in and equestrian camping available.

So far, development has not encroached on the area, although there was controversy recently over construction of a medical research facility on county land surrounded by the park. (Despite opposition from environmentalists, a ruling last October finally cleared the way for construction of the Nichols Institute Reference Laboratory, a 100-acre biomedical research facility, at this site.)

Elsewhere in the county backcountry, opportunities for camping at some of the lesser-known parks have increased. Just last month, Crystal Cove State Park north of Laguna Beach opened three new off-road environmental campgrounds, two for hikers and one for equestrians. Chemical toilets are the only amenities at the primitive site; users must even pack their own water. Reservations are available through the state’s Mistix reservation number: (800) 444-7275.

Chino Hills State Park, opened in 1984, preserves more than 10,000 acres of hill country, encompassing parts of four counties. Chino Hills offers opportunities for car and equestrian camping, although the sites are not within the county. The park’s main entrance is in Riverside County, from Pomona Rincon Road off the Corona Expressway. For information, call (714) 780-6222.

The National Forest Service operates two of the county’s most remote camping areas in Cleveland National Forest. Bluejay, 3 miles north of Ortega Highway near the Riverside County border, is at 3,400 feet in the chaparral country of the Santa Ana Mountains. The nearby Falcon Group Camp has three sites. Both seasonal campgrounds will be open May 20 through Labor Day this year.

This year for the first time, half of the campsites at Bluejay and all of the Falcon sites may be reserved through the Mistix system. The rest of Bluejay’s sites will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

The county’s state beach campgrounds are the most popular of local camping areas and are often sold out weeks in advance in spring and summer. The nearest beach camping facilities to the north are at Leo Carrillo State Beach south of Oxnard.

Sand and sun--not solitude--are the big attractions at these parks, which, in addition to local beach-lovers, draw many campers from out of town.

Huntington and Bolsa Chica state beaches offer “en route” camping. En route campsites are day-use parking areas that can be used by self-contained trailers, campers or motor homes on an overnight basis. The campsites must be vacated by 9 a.m. after a night’s stay.

Long-term beach camping is available at Doheny, San Clemente and San Onofre state beaches, all of which offer tent sites and hookup sites for trailers, campers and motor homes. Walk-in sites were eliminated this year at Doheny and San Onofre.

San Clemente State Beach’s bluff-top camping area has been taken off the state’s reservation system, pending a major rehabilitation of the park, with work scheduled to begin Tuesday. The park will be open during the yearlong project on a first-come, first-served basis, although some campsites will be closed at various times during construction.

Doheny State Beach is also scheduled for rehabilitation, but a date has not yet been set, so the park remains on the state’s Mistix reservation system for the time being. Camping at San Onofre is also on the Mistix system.

Campsites can be reserved up to 8 weeks in advance. Weekend dates often sell out within a few days after availability. The competition for campsites is expected to increase because of San Clemente’s removal from the reservation system. Camping is in designated campsites only--no camping is allowed on the sand.

BLUE JAY

Next to Long Canyon Road and 3 miles north of Ortega Highway. 51 sites,

seasonal, no reservations. Water, tables, pedestal grills and pit toilets. 5 primitive sites (water and pit toilets).

(714) 736-1811

What Campsites offer:Family campsites

Picknicking

Hiking and-or nature trails

Equestrian camping

Fire pits

BOLSA CHICA STATE BEACH

3 miles west of Huntington Beach (upcoast) on Highway 1. Bicycle trail and paved

ramp for beach wheelchair access.

(714) 536-1454

What Campsites offer:Enroute campsites*

Picknicking

Fishing

Swimming

Showers

CASPERS REGIONAL PARK

7 miles east of Interstate 5 on Ortega Highway. 72 developed sites. Trailers and campers up to

35 feet. 1 group site. 18 years and older only.

(714) 831-2174

What Campsites offer:Family campsites

Picknicking

Hiking and-or nature trails

Equestrian camping

Exhibits and-or programs

Sanitation or dump stations

Showers

Fire pits

DOHENY STATE BEACH

Near intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 1. 120 developed sites. Trailers up to 24

feet and campers 28 feet.

(714) 496-6171

What Campsites offer:Family campsites

Picknicking

Sites by foot or bike only

Exhibits and-or programs

Sanitation or dump stations

Showers

Swimming

Food service

Fire pits

FALCON GROUP CAMP

Adjacent to Long Canyon Road and 4 miles northwest of the Ortega Highway. 3

group sites (30, 40 and 70 people) seasonal, by reservation. Water, tables and pit toilets.

(714) 736-1811

What Campsites offer:Family campsites

Picknicking

Hiking and-or nature trails

Equestrian camping

Fire pits

FEATHERLY REGIONAL PARK

Intersection of Highway 91 and Gypsum Canyon Road. 119 developed sites. Trailers

and campers up to 40 feet. 3 group sites and 22 youth group sites.

(714) 637-0210

What Campsites offer:Family campsites

Hiking and-or nature trails

Sanitation or dump stations

Exhibits and-or programs

Fire pits

Showers

HUNTINGTON STATE BEACH

Highway 1 at Beach Blvd. Bicycle trail and paved ramp for beach wheelchair access.

(714) 536-1454

What Campsites offer:Enroute campsites*

Picknicking

Swimming

Food service

Showers

Fire pits

O’NEILL REGIONAL PARK

10 miles northeast on El Toro Road to Live Oak Canyon Road. 102 developed sites. Trailers and campers up to 50 feet. 4 group sites and 1 youth group site.

(714) 858-9365

What Campsites offer:Family campsites

Picknicking

Hiking and-or nature trails

Equestrian camping

Exhibits and-or programs

Sanitation or dump stations

Showers

Fire pits

SAN CLEMENTE STATE BEACH

South end of San Clemente on Interstate 5. 85 developed sites. Trailers and campers up to 28 feet. 72 sites with electricity, water and sewer hookups.

(714) 492-3156

What Campsites offer:Family campsites

Hiking and-or nature trails

Picknicking

Fishing

Sites by foot or bike only

Swimming

Showers

Fire pits

SAN ONOFRE STATE BEACH

3 miles south of San Clemente on Interstate 5. 221 developed sites. Trailers and campers up to 30 feet. 20 primitive walk-in sites (summer).

(714) 492-4872

Family campsites

Hiking and-or nature trails

Enroute campsites*

Fishing

Sites by foot or bike only

Swimming

Sanitation or dump stations

Showers

Fire pits