Camping in Los Angeles? It may seem slightly absurd, but we’ll all agree it’s much less absurd than camping in New York.
When I think of LA, the word “urban sprawl” comes to mind. It’s just a ridiculously large and diverse landscape. Back in the roaring 1990s, I lived in LA for a couple of years. Those were good years! I had a small apartment in Santa Monica not far from the 3rd Street Promenade. Since I generally worked solo, at times I conducted conference calls while sitting on the beach.
We’ve since returned to LA many times. In the pre-Airstream days, we stayed at hotels and corporate apartments.
With our Airstream, we’ve stayed in at least three different RV parks.
The most expensive was Malibu RV Park. This place has the prestigious address, located on Malibu cliff that offers none-too-shabby views of the Pacific. I’ve got to be honest about this park. While we liked the location, we thought it was overpriced (a campsite literally cost more than our room at the Beverly Hilton) and snobby. We had a couple of strange encounters with the campground staff, who seemed to think they were working at the Waldorf Astoria (although staffers at the Waldorf, by contrast, are quite friendly). I give Malibu RV Park an “A” for location, but an “F” for attitude and value. Plus, it was overrun by ravenous swarms of thirsty ants.
Next up we have Anaheim Resort RV Park. This so called park is really more of a park-ing lot. But compared to Malibu, the staff was quite friendly and helpful. The park is located about a mile from Disneyland. Sites were level, paved, and spacious. Really, this is an Anaheim parking lot with a few trees scattered throughout. But hey, at least they have a good attitude.
Finally, there’s Birmingham RV Park. This park has a distinctly full-timer vibe. I mean, some of the RVs here probably have not moved in years. And campers are crammed together quite tightly. But the campground staff is friendly, and the location (in north central LA) makes for a decent launching pad into the heart of Hollywood. No, the ambiance isn’t exactly Yellowstone, but in the city of angels, it’ll do.