I have never seen a park like this. Unfortunately, it was dry on our visit, but I still enjoyed the hills, trees and meadows. There is lots to see and do with camping top of the list hiking, horseback riding and picnic's come to the top. be sure to check out the visitor center. Day use, overnight or stay for a week, it's a relaxed spot not far from the cost. We encountered two employees on our visit, at the gate we got lots of info and welcoming smiles, and then we met up with gloria who seems to be in her element and the love for her park shows with her smile and enthusiasm. read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

Great hiking along the San Juan Creek., numerous trails around to explore. Heats up in the summer, but doesn't get as hot as true desert east of the divide. NO DOMESTIC PETS, service animals and horses only. That's the reason I took a star off, because I think the policy is lame. If I can't have a Dog, Cat, or Bird while camping it's ridiculous to allow a horse. 24/7 Port-A-John's located near hook-up camping. Hookup camping has a water fountain and typical water connection. Gravel pads , very close to being level in Ortega Flats. No sewer connection at sites, free dump in park on your way out. Showers currently down Jul 2025. Water hookups worked at my campsite and in the restroom I went in. Bring diatomaceous earth if you camp to keep ants away. I've seen a lot of campers prop their hoods open or place LED string lighting under their vehicles to prevent rodents from causing damage nesting. Helpful and happy staff, clean park. Gates closed at end of day use for safety. However, campers may still access the park. I like Casper's better than O'neill regional. You will lightly hear 74 traffic from Ortega flats campground. Less midnight racers on HWY 74 than in Trabuco Canyon, but it happens. The other campgrounds should be pretty quiet, they're set back in the hills pretty far. My fire pit at my site h had built in grill. Enjoy the wildlife and scenery, be grateful. Parks personnel keep it clean for us, but don't mess it up. :-) read more

This is a beautiful, well maintained park with great trails and lots of wildlife. If you're camping though, do not show up early! The little guy with stupid little mustache will make you wait until 2. The other downfall is the traffic due to staff constantly driving through. read more

See all

Great place for long hikes. Not much shade on the trail though. The campground live oak grove was ok, large sites, widely spaced between them, but not much trees between sites. read more

Having a relaxing weekend in this beautiful place! We're camping in campsite 14. To a walk up to the Nature Center, great for the kids! There aren't showers, so we brought our own. There are frequently spaced porta potties and nearly every other site has a water faucet and drinking fountain. You may hear coyotes. There are no pets allowed and likely best advised as we saw fresh coyote scat on our walk. Respect! read more

See all

I just got back from a weekend camping at Casper's Regional Park. I used to love this place. It's not lovable at all now. They were always lacking in availability of restroom facilities, but now the showers are locked shut and the sinks have no water! They say their well is inadequate to supply enough water. Drill a new well Orange County! With the taxes and fees you charge, we know you have the money! One other thing: the squirrels were everywhere. We went for a hike and came back to find them under the hood of our cars and trying to get into our tents. Who knows what diseases they carry. Come on Orange County. You can do better! read more

Such a beautiful place! Everything is so nice and campsites are clean! Great hiking spots and picnic areas!

My husband and I decided to come back for another camp trip with our son and friends. We were so disappointed to find that the area is no longer secluded and has been replaced with track homes. I'm not sure that the trails I posted from 8 years ago are even there anymore. It sucks "getting away" only to see houses everywhere. Be aware you're also right next to a busy road and hear cars/bikes, also taking away from the experience. However, they did upgrade the visitor center and built a really cool playground right on site for the littles! read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - Camped at the same site I posted years ago. - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

Restroom showers have been closed for years!!!! I know we can't be in a drought. What's the holdup???

We love this place because it's generally not crowded and easy to get a reservation. It's close to that fun nursery and it has hook ups. We loved riding our bikes all through the campground. There were not very many other people there when we were camping, which made it so nice. read more

A beautiful wilderness area to spend a few days. Great for kids to explore the creek and hike up the hill across the road for amazing views. We have seen tiny snakes here, heard coyote celebrations, survived knee scrapes and eaten dozens of hotdogs....lots of great memories over the years here. The nature center and playground are top-notch. We always drive through the horse camp on our way out. Absolutely recommend. read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - Map my kids made of our campsite - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

What a horrible experience. I call ahead and the man on the phone is confused and confrontational. I show up, same old guy. 30 minutes plus to check in. Then I was woken rudely by a threatening ranger, older bald military guy. Harassing me for even having an e-bike. I can't believe I paid for this experience. Those two need to be fired. I was worried he would attack me. Even after I said I'm leaving right now he continued to force my door open and scream at me. Short bald man with Marine corps patch. read more

I visited yesterday for a 6-8 mile hike and for flower-hunting. After paying $5 (weekend day use) at the gate, I received a map and and permit for parking. I asked the ranger if he knew which trails had wildflowers. To my surprise, he said, "They are all gone." Now, I was here a month ago and with the amount of rain we had this season, I thought- not true. I parked at the farthest northwest parking lot near the windmilll and bathrooms. Unfortunately, these were closed but, portable potties were nearby. I started on the Nature Trail Loop (flat) connected to Bell Canyon Trail, left to the Star Rise Trail (4 crossings with water at boot height), right to West Ridge, returned after about 2 miles then left at Dick Loskorn Trail and back to the lot. Mileage was just under 7 miles total. I found at least 6 to 10 wildflower on the trails! read more

See all

It's the most peaceful place I've been in California. I wish it wasn't so far from where I live now.

We had a great experience with the staff here. We had planned a camping trip for our kids and they were so excited to set up camp and make s'mores. The park is really nice and the sites are big. There's water every few spots but no electricity. Not a big deal if you're staying a night or two or have a generator. There's a few spots up front with electric. Decent clean bathrooms with shower My husband hurt his back badly and we had to leave everything there, planning to come back in the morning. The next day my husband was unable to move and I had a heart episode and was dizzy and couldn't drive. We called and the park rangers said no problem; they cleaned up our stuff and held it for us. We were so grateful. We came later thy evening to get our things and the ranger in maintenance was so helpful and friendly. Hoping we can come back here for a great camping experience at some point. read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - View from tent - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

See all

This was an unexpectedly great stop while I was cruising on the 74. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon as a day visitor; it is $5 for weekends and $3 on weekdays. There are several campgrounds, a visitor center and several trails that zig zag throughout the complex. Several notes as of this writing; the trails are currently closed, and the campgrounds do not have water (they have porta potties.) So no showers and running toilets if you are planning on staying the night. After fjording a creek with a Kia Soul (one inch, maybe, of water,) I made it to the visitor center which sits atop a large hill. You get some amazing views from up there, and inside there are displays that show the various creatures that inhabit the area. California quail, coyotes, cougars, lizards and other types of birds. The ranger on duty was very friendly and answering peoples questions, and they had several items for sale (mostly nature guides.) There is a clean restroom with running water at the visitor center, along with water fountains. The surrounding area though is the real deal; the area has been rapidly developing over the past half century, but I am so glad to see it protected as a park. There are a couple of large creeks, and even with the main trails closed, there were still areas to hike around. I was able to spot some California Quail and while I wasn't quick enough to take photos, I heard their distinctive call. Also, be careful for big cats! I didn't see any but I did spot some scat. For the price I was more than pleased with my visit, and will be considering camping here in the future. read more

I live less than 30 minutes from here, and I was getting pandemic-induced cabin fever. Ronald Caspers is a great place to stay for a quick getaway. The campsite is easily accessible driving-wise and it's definitely well-kept. There's running water within each campsite and there are bathrooms down the road. The campsite is extremely clean and there's enough distance between each lot to maintain social distancing. Would highly recommend it to families or the well-versed camper. Note: Like for all camping trips make sure to bring bug spray ! read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

See all

Normally this is our favorite local campground. Due to water shortages they have closed the restrooms and showers and replaced them with 2 portable restrooms. So they went from 3 womens stalls and 2 mens stalls plus urinals to 2 portable restrooms. Not even close to enough for the size of the park. We wont be back until the water is back on. And before you say the water issue is severe, CA has had decades to build desalinization plants for ocean water. The Libs are more concerned with opening our borders and overextending all of our resources than they are with proper resource mgmt. read more

Come here hiking quite often. So I feel I can say what is the norm here and what is not. I hike at least twice a month. Always great people on the trails, the people that work here are courteous and helpful. I have hiked all the trails here and really depends on my mood if I want a challenge or not which trail I take. They are well kept. There are of course social trails. Some of these trails have now become a trail but the Park has tried to keep people off of them by putting up tape, planting native plants, and putting in rocks. It is sad they actually have to do that because there are enough people that don't care enough about the park that they would leave the trail and cause these social trails. read more

See all

We really enjoyed Casper's Wilderness Park!!! The place is always booked solid on the weekends during summer so reservations a month or two ahead are a must! Campground and Campers We lucked up on a great corner spot in Live Oaks very near a port-a-potty, 3 nearby water spigots, shade for our tent, no neighbor behind us and a cactus patch to the other side. Plenty of room for our 20'x10' tent, an easy up and outdoor games. The showers and actual toilets were a 2 minute drive or 7-10 minute walk from our campsite. The concrete picnic tables are large and the fire pits are large enough to get a raging fire going. The wood sold on site for $5 a bundle burns quite nicely! We had to clean a little bit of trash out of our pit before building a fire but I blame the previous camper more than I blame the rangers. After walking around the campground on foot, we found there is a great mix of even larger campsites than ours with even more shade and a few more open (somewhat shared) areas where multiple tents will fit on one site. You should definitely drive the site before making a reservation. Make sure to choose multiple options since your first option may be booked already. There were a few groups of young kids that played games late into the night and a few loud talking adults here and there but not nearly as bad as the partying teens at Blue Jay campgrounds further up Ortega. We also heard the distant hum of generators well beyond the time they should have been turned off. I honestly don't mind any of the noise but I thought it should be mentioned. Most sites turn over on Sunday even in summer. Sunday night was nice and quiet. Things to do Many sites have enough room for pickle ball, corn hole and tossing a ball around. After some pickle ball and spike ball, we took a nice walk to the nature center. Coincidentally, Verizon data service didn't work in our campground but worked at the nature center. Sprint worked in both places. The Nature Center is small but packed with stuff to see and even touch. Along with a nice observation deck to take in the views of the valley, there is a small 5-10 minute trail loop off the parking lot for anyone wanting to read the plaques and learn about the plants native to the area without a full blown hike. Right near the showers and bathrooms, there is a trailhead that leads to a nice but vigorous uphill walk or a somewhat shady varying trail. Both intersect with other trails deeper in the park so bring a trail map or hiking app if you can. We set out on a 2 mile hike that turned into a pretty rough 5 mile hike because the trail we planned to return on was closed. The bottom line I plan to return here again and again. Great site! The only downside is the squirrels!!! They are as bold as NYC pigeons. They will climb onto your table the first chance they get. One tried to chew through our trash bag while we watched. We made the mistake of leaving a snack bag out over night and a squirrel chewed right through the canvas to get hot dog buns. After that, the squirrels practically moved in. We had to constantly shoo them away and twice while loading the car to leave we opened the door to find a squirrel had hopped in the car when our back was turned. The boldest squirrels I have ever dealt with! read more

What a cool place for camping or hiking...and not that many people even know it exists. I came here for some hiking on a weekday. In this enormous park there were only half a dozen cars parked in the day-use parking area. Cost is $3. on weekdays to park and $5. on weekends. The ranger at the entry gate gave me a free trail map at my request. There are several trails to hike. I chose the Bell Canyon trail. About 100 yards along the trail I found myself face-to-face with a mountain lion (20 yards away). No joke. He was swatting at something in the brush. I froze and he turned toward me then immediately leaped away from me into the brush. I would have taken a photo of this magnificent cat but I was too busy crapping my pants. While it was probably perfectly fine to continue on that trail, my gut feeling was that I should go try a different one. I immediately walked back to the trailhead. So I ended up hiking a nature trail and also a trail that led up to and along a high ridge. A little of the hiking was under trees but it is mostly desert terrain hiking. So go on a cooler day and wear a hat and bring plenty of water. The campgrounds looked great but are better reviewed by others here who actually camped. As far as hiking it is a great spot if you are looking to get away from people and see some wildlife (I also saw deer, squirrels and many different types of birds). But beware the mountain lions and rattlesnakes and know what to do if you encounter them. Rangers I spoke to about my mountain lion encounter said this is a VERY rare occurrence. As others have mentioned, these are horse-friendly trails so there does seem to be an abundance of horse biscuits, both fresh and old, scattered on the trails. You definitely have to pay attention to where you are walking. Better yet, saddle up your horse and don't worry about it! read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - View from a ridge trail - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

It was ok, we booked camping for two nights but left after one. The trails are not for bikes and not too exciting, not much else to do. The nature center was pretty good. The highlight was driving to San Juan Capistrano for lunch and eating at Ellie's table. That was amazing. read more

Casper Wilderness Park is great for those that are new to the concept of camping. You certainly won't be "roughin' it," but you'll experience and use enough survival skills that allow for good stories, good times, and the ability to ignore insects that surround your BBQ pit. Parking here is about $10 per vehicle. Camp grounds come with a campfire pit, BBQ grill, and large spaces for your many, many tents. There are also various porto--potties and a restroom area equipped with showers similair to a residential hall on a university campus. Everything else needs to be provided on your own... so be prepared! Bring sun screen, bug spray, camp fire logs, lighters, etc. There are various trails here that make a great hiking experience. There is a ranch where you can "rent" out a horse to ride on throughout the trail, but walking it is not too vigorous. Be sure to bring plenty of water though to keep yourself hydrated. However, I wish the campsite had more to it such as a river or lake. There is a lake 25 miles away that many people seem to head to while they're here. Despite the warnings of mountain lions, rattle snakes, etc. none of my friends and I ever experienced them. Sure, the lotus sound like they could be rattlesnakes, but don't be psyched out by the sounds of them. It's generally safe if you are mindful about the area you are in. During the daytime there can be a lot of bees flocking around your campsite if you have food lying out, so come prepared. Overall it was a great camping trip, and good for a "one time" visit. Park rangers in the evening enforce the no drugs/alcohol policy, so don't bring any/be smart about having it. If you have T-Mobile for your phone service, you will NOT have reception, but that makes it more of a legit camping experience. read more

See all

Great place for photos. Our family used to do photos in this area when our kids were babies. Worth the drive. Enjoy!

Great spacious campsites. Water spigots nearby and bathrooms and showers are decent. Only bad thing was the enormous amount of Yellowjacket wasps. They swarm you!!! Make sure to have an enclosed ez up or that type of shelter for when you're eating. Otherwise you're better off eating in the car. We will definitely be back and more prepared. read more

See all

This place is a lovely escape from the city! Beautiful sights of trees, campers, and nature. Definitely 5 stars for aesthetics! **$5 parking on weekends** My best friend and I came here to explore the hiking trails. She has been camping and hiking here before with her boyfriend so I figured we were ready for a solid adventure. Well my dear readers, that was sadly not the case. Partly due our both of us being directionally-challenged, partly due to the sucky park map. Kudos to anyone who finds it helpful. We even talked to the woman in the visitor center about how to find the trailhead! It took us about an hour or so to find the 45-60 minutes trail loop. Once we found it we really enjoyed ourselves! Lots to see and even more to explore if you get lost like us. Tip: Someone please make a new map or just make sure you bring someone along who can read the map correctly :) read more

Lovely riding with a day equstrian area as well as a equestrian camping area. Has pipe stalls, round pen and corral. Must being tour own water. ( creeks are full after rain) so nice to have this area to enjoy the great outdoors. No dogs allowed though. read more

It's party time with relentless noise, loud drunken singing and cars driving by until well it's about 10:30 pm and it does not seem like it's slowing down. Kids getting woken up and no curfew in sight. The nieghbor's don't give a shit if they are keeping anyone up..Why two stars instead of one? Well on a night when campers are respectful it's a nice area. Part two. It gets even better. It's almost 11 and our nieghbor's have friends who drive in possibly from a beer run. Totally insane. I guess I advise that's its not family friendly on the weekend. Part three. To be fair it seems that 11pm is the witching hour and I was wrong about the beer run or perhaps its the time to pass out. Other than some couple talking / fighting its pretty quiet. My kids are finally asleep and that's all that matters. read more

This was the first time my 16 year old daughter and I went tent camping and we loved it! We only came for a day yet had a great experience. We only brought a tent, sleeping bags, a chess set, and an igloo filled with water and food. We wanted simple and peaceful and we got it! We tried to reserve online the day we wanted to come but it only lets you reserve 2 days out and beyond ahead of time. I ended up calling and spoke with Cindy who has worked here some 30+ years - yay me! She helped me navigate a spot in Live Oak that was shaded and close to water and a restroom. We didn't know if we could stay 2 nights - busy schedule - but she let us know we can cancel up to 12:00pm on the day of the reservation (which we did for the second night) and our $20 was immediately refunded back to my credit card. Everything is really well maintained and clean. Only about half the campsites were being occupied on this July day. Mostly families tent camping. Only 1 RV. It's too bad the drought has dried up all the waterways though. All in all we had a terrific time chillin out and will definitely come back someday! read more

See all

Caspers wilderness park has a campground which is small but nice. The best camp site (for kids) is site 40. Some other good sites for kids and adults is site #37 and #1. Site 41 is great but it's on a main road not fenced for kids so it's unsafe. Campsite #31 has open access to poison Ivy FYI. Great playground and nature center. Cactus are common are surrounding most campsites FYI. read more

We camped at Live Oaks Grove two weeks ago. We had site 41, which is right next to the restrooms. The restrooms were great, very clean, free showers, soap dispenser at the sink and a hand dryer and paper towels. Great location, and a huge campsite. There was a fire ring and a picnic table. This is a huge campsite, we fit three large tents, three EZ-UPs, and had so much more room left to run around on our site. It was extremely hot the weekend we went. We tried to escape the heat at the nature center, that had great A/C and beautiful displays and lots of information on the local animals in their habitat. One issue we had was the amount of yellow jackets on our site, we had to cover drinks, food and sometimes run. Our site also had two yellow jacket bags/traps hanging low in the trees. I arrived at 9pm, camp was already set up by my family. My face ran into the bag full of the yellow jackets when I arrived the first night... I didn't have a flashlight handy and wasn't warned there were these traps on our site. Next time we are investing in an EZ-UP with a bug net. Great location and site, minus the yellow jackets. Wish it was cooler when we were there so we could have hiked. read more

See all

We camped here, and brought bikes. There are many trails you can bike. There are also hike and equestrian only trails. We found deer and a horned lizard. Rangers are friendly. Nature center has a new microscope with a monitor for viewing which was new and cool. Lots of live snakes in the nature center. Outhouses and bathrooms were well maintained. Our campsite had potable water and a drinking fountain. read more

See all

We have been camping here for years. It is our annual tradition to spend Easter weekend device free. This Saturday we decided to attend the "Campfire" at the Nature Center. What a great decision! Ranger Joe is the absolute best! I couldn't have been happier with the way he interacted with the kids. He is a treasure. We learned a lot and had a blast with all of the interactive activities. I was not expecting anything like that and am so happy we went! On another note....we have been vying for #40 for years but #37 was awesome. I would highly recommend it! Maybe next year 40, maybe next year.... read more

See all

CAMPING WAS A GREAT ESCAPE from the city life, traffic, noisy streets and nosy neighbors and more stressful workplace. A well deserved retreat for the family; a getaway place to get away ..... read more

See all

We stayed two nights from Tues to Thursday. There were only two other campers besides us. There were 30 some spots, so it was very quiet and very private camping. This review is for Live Oak Grove Campground. I walked around to see which campsites are the better for the next time. # 1, 4, 9 and 12 looked good. All of them have shades from trees. 1 and 4 are close to the restroom. 9 and 12 have exclusive water for yourselves. 4, 9 and 12 are on outer ring and you have a view of the creek. Although there was no water in sight. It's October. Restroom is very clean and well equipped. Running water, flush toilet with toilet paper, electric power. There is shower but not available because of drought. Our son liked the playground. It has a nice and big oak tree next to it. read more

See all

Beware of Mountain Lions, Rattlesnakes, and Poison Oak! If you still feel up for it, Caspers Park in the SJC is an awesome place for hiking, camping, picnicking, horseback riding, mountain biking, photography, and wildlife viewing. Like some of the other places I've reviewed, I actually used to lead day trips for elementary school kids here. Teaching outdoor science to 10-year olds is challenging in itself, but throwing deadly animals and annoyingly itchy plants into the mix raises the bar to 'insane.' Located off the 74 freeway/expressway, Caspers holds as many wondrous natural treasures as it does ways to kill yourself. Yes, mountain lions have been seen in this area and are credited with the deaths of several hikers and bikers, but, seriously, what are your chances of actually confronting one of these killer cats in this park? Actually, the odds are pretty good, but who's counting? This park has a campground and numerous trails throughout the chapparal and riparian biomes in the hills of South Orange County. Visit the Interpretive Center for more information on the trails and wildlife. Check with Ranger Rick and Smokey the Bear about park safety. Of course, the biggest draw (for me) is the abundance of wildlife. Migratory birds frequent the park during the spring and fall seasons. I believe I've even seen deer here as well. If you're ever down in South OC, this is definitely a nice stop to take a break or to 'lose' a couple of annoying 'friends.' Poison Oak Wilderness Tip: Leaves of three, let it be. Rattlesnake Wilderness Tip: If you hear the 'death rattle,' stop, and don't make any sudden moves. Then, slowly back away. Do NOT act like a small rodent. Mountain Lion Wilderness Tip: If seen, try to remain calm. Gather your party together, make yourselves seem bigger, and try to scare it away with loud, annoying noises. Do NOT attempt to run away. If you feel a hot searing pain in the back of your neck and knife-like slashing at your arms and legs, you've probably didn't heed my advice... read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

See all

Three years and counting. Our family loves camping at Caspers! As San Clemente locals, we enjoy Caspers Live Oak Campground, and camp here at least twice a year. Our family just spent three nights, and were not ready to call our 4 day tent camping staycation, quits. If time allowed, we would have stayed another 1-2 nights. As for the yellow jackets, yes- they are pesky little jerks. However, all they want is water & maybe a little bacon. With that said, bring traps! The campground Rangers have taken necessary precautions by installing traps within each campsite, but they are resilient little pests!! Luckily, it's only during the warm summer months that you really need to be concerned. The rangers at caspers are helpful & pleasant. There's a nature center open on the weekends, and the park has several hiking trails! If you are a hiker, this is the campground for you! There's a rather large park and picnic area for the young'uns. Only $20 per night, Clean bathrooms and 5 dollar bags of fire wood, You can't beat that! If you run out of propane, or in need of groceries, it's just a 15-20 minute drive to the nearest store. Try caspers live oak campground for a night and see what you think! read more

See all

Rude ranger, I'd pick a park with friendlier staff if you have a choice and flexibility in locations. There are many other wonderful parks in SoCal, go to one of those! read more

Just got back from camping here over night and I must say this place completely exceeded my expectations. I really wish we could have stayed longer, but we originally booked one night because we just wanted to see what the site was like. It was beautiful, not too many people at all.My complaint was that I could hear a baby crying at night but it was far enough where it didn't bother me haha I stayed at the Live Oak campground at #17. There was some shade and lots of room for tents and activities. At night you could hear animals walking around the river bed, it was kind of cool. I highly recommend this place and I can't wait to return. The park rangers at check out were very friendly! Always remember to leave food in the car and NOT in your tent. The park has mountain lion warnings posted throughout the park for our safety. Also they sell bundles of wood for $5 read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - Live Oak Campground #17 - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California

I had a great experience here. I took some of my teenagers for the campfire program they had at the nature center and the gentlemen hosting it was so kind and so was the park ranger. read more

Ronald W Caspers Wilderness Park - Sunset view from the nature center - Parks Near Me - San Juan Capistrano, California