03/21/2022
We haven’t talked camping in a while, so let’s talk about a campground we haven’t posted about before, Sweetwater Summit Campground, which is a San Diego County park. We have camped at Sweetwater twice and our review while perhaps not as glowing as our previous posts, is what it is.
The good: the grounds of the campground are well cared for, especially the upper sections which are newer. Sites have a concrete pad and compressed dirt patio areas which are nice and level. Each site has a fixed fire ring with plenty of room for chairs to be pulled up around it. The location is a bit off the beaten path but it is within driving distance of downtown San Diego which means you can take in all the local attractions. The campground is on a bluff which does have nice views. The best part about the park is that it is pretty inexpensive.
The bad: You can count on a fair bit of air traffic because the campground is in the traffic pattern for San Diego Airport. The check in times are inflexible. Nobody will be entering the park a minute prior to 2PM, so make sure you calculate your drive as you aren’t permitted to wait at the gate for check in. When you do check in have insurance and registration ready. They will not let you in without it (I forgot to put my sticker on my truck and this caused a fair bit of unnecessary headache). Because people aren’t allowed to filter in through the day the line to check in at 2PM is very long. It takes quite some time to traverse this.
The ugly: we have visited the park twice in the span of three years and in an effort to be nice, both visits have been less enjoyable due to the way the park is managed. Rules are VERY overbearing and leave you feeling like a child rather than a guest. This campground has a lot of great potential but there needs to be some managerial interest in changing for the better. We have had several talks with employees and it seems upper management is the problem. We may consider returning but unfortunately it won’t be anytime soon, there are so many other more enjoyable options out there.
