Dixon Lake Campground

We pulled in for a 4-night stay at Lake Dixon. You enter through a residential neighborhood and a narrow windy road through the park. We found our site on the ridge at overlooking the lake on one side and the city of Escondido on the other. We had full hookups (yes water, electric AND sewer).

Sites vary greatly in size and amenities so be sure to pay attention to what the park recommends. We fit into our site but did need a few blocks for leveling. At 30 feet we had no issue getting in the park - but this is not a park that can accommodate 40' rigs.

There is a nice group site, dry camp area that would be fun to book with friends and could fit a few bigger rigs.

Cell service was good but our AT&T did vary at times. We had a full day of rain and I think it was too crowded. Our booster wasn't much help. Most of the time we could stream, but occasionally it would crap out. Not the ideal situation for someone who must have internet.

The park is on a lake with lots of weekend activity of fishing and boating. We enjoyed hiking/mountain biking in Daley Ranch located next door to the park.

Stores, fuel and of course a few craft breweries are close by.

They need more signage here and warning a about steep, narrow roads and dead ends.. I ended up nearly stuck on a dead end after a steep drop which meant either I had to back up on a steep road or wiggle myself to get turned around (ram 2500 towing a 25’ trailer). Many of not all the campsites are at the edge of a drop off which can be dangerous for kids. Not only that but a lot of bs sites here are not level, which is dangerous for the trailer and anyone in it considering this whole camp area is perched atop a ridge..better bring some serious chocks, x chocks or don’t unhook and risk your rig rolling down the mountain.. also my site didn’t even have a wheel stop at the end, made me super paranoid about the trailer rolling away. It’s an old park but there is a large draw of visitors due to the scenic lake and panoramic views from the campsites..I will not come here again in my trailer and I would warn anyone else with a trailer to keep out. Also the road to get into the park is a 10% grade.. I barely made it up. There was no warning about this and by the time I saw the sign there was no turning back. It’s a one lane road with no shoulder and people were behind me. If I had known these things i would not have stayed here. If they could have given me a refund I would not have stayed here, but I really didn’t have much choice but to make it work.

Showed up and got a spot day of. We have a 40’ fifth wheel, the number of available spots for this large of a rig were limited, but spot 15 was great for us. Awesome views of the city, right at the end of a road. Plenty of room to turn around. The road into the park was a bit twisty and narrow, but we just took it slow and it wasn’t a big deal. Someone mentioned that dogs aren’t allowed, that’s not true. They allow up to 3 dogs per site, $1 per day extra. Lovely campground.

Great place to stay the night, beautiful natural lake views and trails. Restrooms, showers, water, dump station.

The only downsides were the concession had mostly just processed foods that kill baby cows. Fishing kills. So many people are not barbaric anymore. Please leave others alone - all animals have families, feelings and want to live free from harm, as much as humans do.

It’s a steep climb in but well worth it. The site we stayed in was #19 a fairly level spot with full hookups and fantastic views of Escondido.

No problem finding the park. Just use the link on their web site. Road a bit windy but no real issue. Sites are mixed. Some with full hookups..#19 did. Some electricity and water. Great view of Escondido from Our site. Quite private. Would definitively stay again

I really like this place, it's a nice getaway from the city. IMO the sites are really nice. Some sites, like the 11, are basically on the campground road, though, but most have nice private tent pads. If you have a large Class A and are pulling a car, there can be some tough spots to turn-around.

They used to not allow dogs, but now you can have up to 3 for $1 per day per dog. If you want to fish, you'll have to get a daily permit at $9. They will not allow you to drop your boat or SUP in the lake, but they do rent boats. There is no swimming or wading in the lake.

I've only been here on weekdays and it's nice and quiet. Check in at the concession stand, which is about 1/2 mile from the entrance. They would not allow me to check in before 2, even though my site was empty.

If you want a very private (dry) site, try 45 or 31. Site 6 has a fantastic view of the lake. Next to the lake is Daley Ranch, which has 20+ miles of hiking/biking/equestrian trails. There's also a rock climbing area, but I think permits are needed.

Note: If you have one of those racks that attaches via your hitch, like I do, chances are you will NOT be able to get into site #17. There is a transition from the road to the site that you can tell others did not make it, or if they did, they ground down their rack. There's gouges in the pavement. My Class C with the rack can not get into #17.

One thing I noticed...there are park rangers constantly patrolling the grounds, which is a good thing.

First: although I had 5 bars of 5G service using Google Fi, the internet was so slow it was mostly unusable. I believe there is an issue with the local cell towers - hopefully temporary.
Second, there was a lot of construction on the residential streets leading up to the campground and an active Trout Derby. Both led to a lot of uncomfortably narrow roads barely wide enough for my modest airstream. Wouldn’t stop me from going back again though.

I grew up in San Diego county and lived in Escondido for a few years - never knew about this place. Got a great site. No hookups but very private, shady, beautiful view. Pad was just long enough to fit the trailer + car. My trailer rides low and just barely scraped the dirt when leaving. Some distant noise from folks there for day use but wasn’t distracting and cleared promptly at dusk. Bugs seem like they could be an issue, but want a problem for my one-night stay.

I struggled to find any availability at the local beaches or even at the better options up in the mountains like Julian. From now on this will be the first place I look when in the SD area.

Also $50 dump fee for non campers seems extremely unreasonable. Don’t go here just for that!

Nice city campground overlooking Escondido and Lake Dixon. Site 19 is level within 2” & full hookups.

We stayed there in November. The weather was great. You are basically staying top of the hill where one side has the lake and other side has the city view. Definitely would stay there again.

Spot #17 is so steep that we couldn’t park our rig. Thankfully staff was so helpful and was able to arrange another spot.