This place fills up fast but we booked several months out and were able to choose our campsites based on proximity to the dumpsters, bathrooms, and even based on whether the sites had shade. We reserved campsites 89 and 90. Campsites were about $37 per night, after the reservation fee, and could fit a maximum of eight people in two tents. Several of us had car set-ups and when we called the reservation office, they confirmed that sleeping in the car wouldn't count towards the two tent limit. Each site also has two dedicated parking spots. If you have additional cars, it'll be $6 per car/night and there's overflow parking scattered around the campground. Quiet hours start at 10PM and all campfires must be out (no embers) by 11PM. The bathrooms were fine, considering this was a campground. Showers are coin-operated and you can get 4 minutes for 50 cents. Make sure to exchange your cash at the ranger station before the sun sets! From my friend group, I heard mixed reviews on the showers. It seemed like the girl's side had poor water pressure and usually was cold. But both times I showered, I had decent pressure and the water eventually turned warm. There's also potable water throughout the campground, with a specific spout with filtered water (for taste). Our campsites were pretty great especially site 90. It's flat and right under a huge tree so it was the perfect spot to hang out and escape the sun. For tents, the ground was kind of rocky so make sure to bring a pad or air mattress if you can. Each site comes with a table and a fire pit. For firewood, you have to purchase from the campground because they don't want you to accidentally introduce any invasive species. Overall, great campsite with decent bathrooms! We didn't get a chance to explore the campground and the trails around it so I would love to come back one day. Oh and dogs are allowed as long as they're on a leash! read more

First time at this campground! It's been a while since I've been camping, but this campground seems to be much nicer compared to what I remember from campgrounds I've been to in the past. The bathrooms were clean and fully stocked with toilet paper and free tampons on the women's side. There were 2 men's and 2 women's showers at the bathroom closest to our site. One of the women's showers didn't have the best water pressure and sprayed more of a mist...but the other was fine. Neither appeared to have warm water, but it wasn't freezing either, so it was bearable. We heard the men's showers did have warm water though. Showers were 50 cents for 4 minutes, and then you could add additional quarters to add on 2 minutes each. There were spigots and bottle refill stations too near the campsites. I'd probably avoid the sites right next to the restrooms unless you want to hear toilets flushing, the loud hand dryer, and foot traffic throughout the night.  There were plenty of trees so most of the campsites around us at least had at least some shade during the daytime. The only issue I really noticed was that some campgrounds were pretty close together so you will probably hear noise from neighboring sites. There was plenty of parking too, but these were also close to the sites, so one night we heard the sound of cars constantly locking throughout the night. Not the biggest issue though and you should probably bring earplugs while camping if you're a light sleeper. Overall, these campgrounds are nicer than a lot of other ones I've been there where you have to drive into town to shower. The tradeoff though is that with the nicer facilities and proximity to neighboring sites, it doesn't feel as remote and sort of feels like you're one step away from civilization. So maybe not the best place to camp if you're looking for a more true camping experience. read more

We just got here today but overall we enjoy it. Pros- big camping spots, three trails, bathrooms that are clean with showers, water refill stations, water spigot at your camp site, and they allow dogs! Rangers are super friendly Cons- very close to neighbors, loud children at times, strict quiet hours at 10 and fires out at 11, loud hand dryer in women's bathroom you hear all day and night. Even with the cons we still enjoy it and will most likely come back. It's so nice to be in the trees and the rangers are so kind. It's also a very nice camping we can take our dog. read more

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Went camping here. Really did like the area. Bathrooms were clean. Spaces are big. No problem with parking. Took a nice hike.

Came for the first time Mothers Day weekend. Beautiful campground in Julian, CA. Paid less than $80 for two nights with partial hookups (no sewer hookup but there is a convenient and free dump station to use before you leave). Beautiful large trees and flowers all around. We got spot #13 which unfortunately had someone parked right next to us but turned out not to be too bad. Behind the spot was a beautiful oak tree where we set up chairs and it was the perfect spot to play bocce ball! The spot had a picnic table and fire pit. Quiet hours are from 10pm to 8am and everyone adhered to that. Fires must be doused by 11pm. Star gazing at night was epic. The showers and bathrooms were nice. Coin operated showers but the first one my husband got settled in to cost him a quarter and didn't work. He had to take a quick one with his remaining 50 cents, ha. Definitely coming back and hopefully can request spots next to each other because my brother was in a tent spot a ways away, #73. We played hide and seek around his site which was fun for kids and adults! This place was awesome. read more

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May 2025 - first time visiting and camping here. Beyond our expectations, loved it, will definitely stay here again in the future. Clean grounds and bathrooms. RV, Tent, and Cabin sites. I saw some wild turkeys walking around and right before check out a park employee came by warning about 3 bobcats nearby. Did tent camping and it was great. Quite, peaceful, serene. Trees all around flowing in the wind. Fire rings and fires allowed. Wood to purchase on site for $6. Check in is 2 pm, check out 12 noon. Easy hikes nearby and several trails to choose from. Less than 6 miles or so from the main street in Julian. read more

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We really like this campground. It is about 10 minutes from the cute town of Julian. The camp sites are clean and well maintained. There are lots of mature oak trees around to offer plenty of shade. Each site has a designated parking spot plus extra parking spaces nearby. The rangers are present, friendly, and do their rounds throughout the day. Check in was a breeze. There are pretty trails around the campground. The restrooms by our campsite #98 was ok. It could be cleaner but it was a busy weekend. The shower took quarters and it was $1 for 8 mins. It was quite dirty and you couldn't adjust the temperature. My friend took a shower during the evening and there was warm water. I took my shower later that night and it was pretty cold. read more

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It's a lovely park and we enjoyed the spot that we snagged (#45) however, we wouldn't have been happy in any other spot in the campground. They were all really close to each other, without any privacy. Quite a few drawbacks to this park, IMHO. For one, it's 5 miles outside of Julian, which means you have to drive 10 miles RT just to stay there and it's only one way in, and one way out. Secondly, there is no camp store, so if you forgot anything or just wanted a snack, you're driving 10 miles to get it. Third, you're not permitted to hang anything from the trees, so if you packed your hammock, you can't use it. One of the reasons we enjoy camping is to relax in a hammock, with tree straps, mind you, that do not harm the trees. And lastly, all fires need to be out by 10pm, even if it's a contained, propane fire pit that is absolutely harmless to the environment. As two adults in our mid 50s, having the camp host storm into our site at 10pm to order us to turn off the fire was jarring. We're both quiet, respectful people who don't even turn up our music. We won't visit again. Too many other wonderful campgrounds in the area. read more

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Have been enjoying this lovely campground for many years - the park is beautiful and extremely well maintained. The rangers take great pride in keeping the campground safe and respected. Peaceful, secluded dark sky community, about ten minutes from downtown Julian, with a plethora of wild birds including roaming turkeys. It is an excellent place for nature lovers with fall warm days and chilly nights. And don't forget to try Mom's crumble apple pie! read more

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If you're looking for a quiet place to camp where you can hear your neighbor unzip their tent, whisper, breathe and snore , then William Heise is the place for you. The campsites are extremely close together with very little privacy, and quiet hours are enforced very strictly -- which would be fine if the sites weren't basically on top of each other. You can hear every conversation around you, and I'm sure they can hear yours too. This leads to very strict quiet hours and not so friendly rangers. We also had a lot of ants at our campsite, which made it stressful with a dog because he ended up getting bitten and very uncomfortable. The park itself is pretty and the bathrooms were clean, but the overall camping experience felt more like a parking lot with trees than a relaxing camping trip. If you're camping with family and want a very controlled, very quiet environment, this might be a good fit. But if you're looking for a more private, relaxed camping experience where you can have fun and still enjoy a camp, I would recommend looking elsewhere. read more

We have camp here year for 10 yrs straight now. We love the scenery the camp site and of course the rangers. They are all very friendly and go out of their way to make you visit memorable. Ranger Ruben thank you for alway being kind see you again next year. read more

William Heise County Park - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

Beautiful hidden gem! Clean and spacious sites with full hookups. Bathrooms aren't really close to the sites but that doesn't change how much we love this place. read more

William Heise County Park - Entrance - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

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The rangers here are so nice. They scheduled Fun activities like sprinklers in the meadow to help the kids to cool down from the heat. Group 1 site is recommended! There's lot of shade from the large trees to set up your tents but no shade at the tables. Recommend to bring at least 3 canopies, as the concrete tables do get really hot during the day. Though there are two port-a potty on site, it's a short enough drive to either of the main bathrooms/showers. Showers at the main bathroom near the entrance required quarters, $1 for 8 minutes, $1.25 for 10 minutes etc. couldn't get the water to heat up, even after the long explanation from the rangers. You can also buy fire wood for $6 (cash only). Take into consideration that there's no place for electricity at group 1 site. It's recommended to bring a wagon to help transferring equipments from your car since you cannot drive all the way up on site. Last but not least, 5G internet was great! read more

William Heise County Park - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

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It is beautiful place we stay two night and it was great experience the place was clean and they had the wood for the fire pit

Found my new favorite local campground here! Love the paved roads and spacious campsites. Family and dog friendly (as long as you keep them leashed and not tied up to the trees). Amenities were a bit iffy when we went. The women's restrooms near us had one toilet that overflowed and puddles of water on the ground. Showers were also flooded so luckily for us, we went when it was cold so a shower was not necessary. As for the men's restrooms they were closed for a bit so the guys had to drive to the next one that's closest to us. Aside from that, I definitely still recommend this spot! Already scouted out a few spots for our next camping trip. It's also only 15 min away from downtown Julian which means 15 min away from some yummy ice cream and apple pie along with hard cider. read more

Park is pretty nice but if you camp at the far end there's only one bathroom close by. We specifically camped near it. They locked it on our first day here with no indication of when it would open. The next closest bathroom is at least a 10 minute walk away. read more

This is my favorite place to camp. The Pine Oak forest and the large sites are amazing

I've been going here for years, it's we're my family and I grew up camping. I love the camp spots, the restroom & showers are nicely kept and the rangers are super friendly. They do sell firewood. I don't believe we're able to bring our own due to unwanted pest. If you're looking for things to do besides the awesome hike, there's a town called Julian! ALSO they allow dogs! read more

William Heise County Park - Our friends and our doggos - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

Site #19 (Partial hookups) I wanted to do an update review sharing my camping experience I had in snow versus my last camping experience summer of last year. I reserved the same spot, knowing my friends also with teardrop trailers would by nearby and can fit in these spaces. This has been one of my camping wishes, to camp (glamp) in snow! Boy, did this wish come true and I loved every minute I spent in or near the snow. Granted being in a trailer made it doable/tolerable. I knew I was going to be in snow so I was prepared for the cold and snow as much as I could be. Therefore, I was warm and enjoyed every minute there. I made sure that I called the campground directly and got weather updates before and the day of arriving. Chains was highly recommended on the way there. A friend and I driving our own trailers were heading to the campground on a Thursday. Ranger said that the road leading to the campground had not yet been plowed, but the 79 was. We almost made it to the campground (1/2 mile) when our tires began to spin at a slight incline. I had to place the chains on.... The unplowed roads made for a beautiful picture though. My first time to actually put chains on and use them! I'm guessing the snow was about 6 - 8 inches in the area. Luckily I brought a snow shovel to carve out some area's of my reserved site that the plow did not/could not get to. But the plows were constantly clearing the roads so that was helpful, especially if you were walking to the restrooms. By the time we left on Sunday all the roads had been plowed so chains were not necessary. Where a lot of people taking advantage for snow fun was the overflow parking and restroom area. A great open field for sledding, snowman building, playing with the dogs, snowball fights and making snow angels. But believe me, you could have done it anywhere. There was so much snow! I would love to return in the winter again! I loved that there were no flying insects trying to enjoying your food or circling your face! Just saying! Hope you could gauge what my level of happiness may have been by my pics of the snow. read more

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Fantastic place to spend a few days camping. Wide sites room for the kids to play and relax

Very nice park to camp at. Camped in Dec. cold but really nice. Julian is only 10 min. away.

This is a picturesque serene park. Some camp spots are tight, others have more room. We stayed for 4 days and would return. Close to Julian, CA . Bathrooms/showers are decent and saw several campers taking advantage of them. Dump station on site with easy pull thru. Only electric/water hook ups. Would recommend for a weeks stay. Beautiful nature with birds singing. read more

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First time camping with the family (two small children 3 and 5), and we had a blast! Every campsite has a fire pit and table, and you can have up to two tents per site. We were at campsite 76, which was super shaded, parking was super close, and bathrooms were just the right distance to say we were close but could barely hear the flushing. There's a cool playground for the kiddos near the entrance and hiking trails all around, and it's a short 15 minute drive to town to get some famous Julian apple pie! There are also restaurants and breweries along the highway so you have plenty of options! We can't wait to go back.. we're hoping to make this an annual thing! Bonus points: when you reserve your spot online, you can see how shaded your area is and how close you'll be to the other amenities! read more

We stayed here on site #25 with an RV and a tent. My in laws have a fifth wheel and a large truck and it was very tricky getting into the site due to several trees and a large tree stump. Additionally, we were disappointed when there wasn't an additional parking space available as every other site seemed to have two marked parking spots. Otherwise it was a nice stay, they are strict about noise and putting out your fires on time but that is understandable. read more

William Heise County Park - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

Went during the off-season in the beginning of March. It was cold, foggy, and very misty but it was so incredibly beautiful. I have T-mobile but did not get signal until I drove a quarter of a mile outside of the park. You can buy bundles of firewood for 5 or 6 dollars at the park entrance. I think each RV site has its own fire pit. (Mine did!) Nightly stay was around 36 dollars. There are hookups for electricity, and water as well as a dump station that you can use free of charge. There are multiple bathrooms that have there own shows stalls and several really beautiful trails that are very easy to walk. The park is very safe and clean. I saw one of the park rangers driving around checking in on everyone multiple times a day. I definitely want to go back here! read more

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Came here to play in the snow and was not disappointed. Beautifully kept and clean bathrooms. read more

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Such a nice and well kept campsite- would definitely come back here. So convenient that it's not far from the city part of Julian and the apple picking farm too! We stayed at campsite 93 which we really liked it was conveniently next to the bathrooms (which are super clean and not stinky- including the showers) and it has a water spout near to clean your hands/dishes. What I liked too is that it's super close to 3 hiking trails and at the start of the trails is a clean water station to fill your water bottles. read more

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Heise is a beautiful campground located near Julian, so there's a lot to do for the day trips, short drive of about 15 minutes. We went into town and wine taste, ate some pizza and ate their delicious apple pies. The campground itself is pretty private. Comes with a big lot of land. Plenty of parking but you can't just pull your car right up to the site. Only 2 tents per campground, 8 people limit, $4 each day for parking for extra car. Showers were cold and 50 cent for 4 minutes. Bathrooms were clean. Plenty of short hikes, not a really good view but it's pretty isolated and peaceful when you get away from the campsite. Downside: campfires out at 11, with water poured on it. During fire season absolutely no fires. Quiet hours at 11pm-8am, they will come around and tell you... which is strange bc they should enforce that rule in the morning too because those kids man... HELLA KIDS. Super loud at 6am. Like an extremely oddly amount of kids at William Heise. At the crack of dawn... 6 effing AM... they wake up and scream and howl at the top of their lungs. Ummm... why not enforce the quiet hours for kids as well?? until 8am??? Make the adults shut up but let the kids scream like crazy animals? It was very annoying and frustrating bc you wake up thinking someone got murder but realized that it's just the 100s of kids around you playing and screaming at 6am and running thru your campsite. Yes running thru your campsite at 6am. No respect for privacy. And their parents don't care. More like a 3.5 but I think all those kids there might be like a one off thing... hopefully year round it's not that noisy. We went first week of November. read more

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Our favorite place to have a retreat in the mountains with friends. The kids enjoy riding their bikes around the cabin loop and I enjoy nature walks among the pines and the fresh air. Book cabins months to a year in advance. read more

William Heise County Park - Flowers blooming in May - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

This park is beautiful and well kept. Tent camping sites are decent sizes and great for large family camping weekends. The trails arent hard and has beautiful scenery. Only complaint is the hands dryer in the women's bathroom is super loud and unnecessary. Hearing 100 women drying their hands next to your campsite is really annoying. Please remove it if possible! The men's bathroom doesn't have one, the women's doesn't need one either. read more

Well kept and clean facilities. The campground section was well organized and plenty of spots were available on arrival. Cabins, tent sites, and RV sites available here! read more

William Heise County Park - Park User Fees - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

Amazing camp grounds that is well taken care of. I can't applaud the park rangers enough. I ran out of fire starter and all my logs that I acquired from the front weren't quite dried out yet (not their fault, they have a vendor they get their stock from) and the on duty ranger helped out with some dried out logs and stayed to make sure I got the fire roaring. Deer were actively grazing as I pulled into my assigned camp grounds. Please take care of these lands, amazing photo opportunities out here don't ruin it for others. read more

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Another great stay! Don't forget to bring a camping pad for the beds and cash fire wood. read more

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Gorgeous area and easy to navigate in. The trails weren't very far from the campgrounds although I wish they had signs to which trails they were and how long each were. There was one sign we found coming down from the self guided nature trail but that was after the hike lol FYI. It was only 0.6 miles and absolutely beautiful. It's not very maintained however so there's a few very narrow spots and some steep inclines but nothing im sure most people can't handle. We were at site 101 which was a good distance away from most other sites so there was decent privacy but the site behind us(102) was a little creepy. It was kinda secluded and there was no one there yet we kept hearing something like heavy steps, but again, there was no one there! Lol The bathrooms from 101 was a slight walk away. Day time to the bathroom was fine but nighttime since it was so dark was a little scary. Bathrooms were clean and fully stocked. Nighttime it is full of mosquitos and moths but most of the mosquitoes were the large ones that don't bite. Rangers were all nice, any time some drove buy they'd just wave and continue on. Our campfire we put out with literally the whole ice chest came back on after we already went to the tent but around 1050ish a ranger knocked on out tent to give us a heads up it was still on but was super nice about it. If you need firewood, heads up you should drive. It's quite a walk and the wood is a lil heavy. Each bundle is only $5 cash only. Overall, I do recommend these campgrounds but possibly more closer to the center near the bathrooms. read more

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RV camper here. Decided on a whim to try this campground out. It was winter so there were plenty of spots. They offer electric / water hookups. The park is absolutely gorgeous. I stayed in the upper rv loop and had a great view. Since there weren't too many people there, I had several choices of very nice sites. My guess is that this place is really busy in the spring and summer. Facilities are well maintained and clean. Rangers were very friendly. I'm chuckling at all the bad reviews where visitors are angry they can't make a ton of noise or act like irresponsible a-holes ruining the park for everyone else. I want to personally thank the rangers for keeping this a beautiful and peaceful place to visit. read more

Our first trip with our RV. Very nice campground. No rowdies. Clean. Showers and public restroom. Dump station. Firewood for sale. Rangers are pleasant. Non-Smoking campground. Firepits. Nice trails to walk or bring your bikes. I've been going to Julian for 50 years and never knew this campground was there. Looking forward to going back read more

Key notes: - NO OPEN FIRES AT ALL (during fire season) in effect for our stay through Labor Day weekend. - RV CAMP SITE 25 is taken over by WASPS. We notified the rangers as we checked out of the campsite so hopefully they've taken care of the problem. - SAP. SAP EVERYWHERE. Everything was covered in sap and at night it sounded like raindrops which was cool but really everything was sticky and not cool. It's fire season so absolutely NO. FIRES. So while that's always a possibility when camping in Southern California, it still sucked to have our camping experience restricted. If it weren't for the wasps and tree sap, the campsite itself was pretty nice. It's in a little area down the slope from the road and is framed by a couple of trees. Privacy a bit of a concern 'cause the next campsite was less than 50ft away from ours and we can easily hear their conversations. That wasn't a big deal as they had disappeared into their trailer later in the night. The surrounding area was pretty nice. We hiked a 2.5mi trail to Glen's View and that was pretty fun. The hike itself was easy, with long switchbacks and nice views if you decide to take a break on the way to the peak of the mountain. On a clear day you could see all the way to the ocean. But we didn't have the luck. Regardless, it was a fun hike. As always, bring plenty of water and some snacks to fuel your way up and back down the mountain. I probably won't be back. There's just not enough to warrant "exploring" the place further. The campsites are cramped (if you want privacy, nudgenudge), the destination hikes are underwhelming, and strict fire rules takes away from the camping experience. read more

William Heise County Park - Glen's View - Campgrounds Near Me - Julian, California

Camped here in sites 3 and 4 over the past weekend...there were 10 of us total (2 kids, young adults, and fully mature adults) Campground and bathrooms were clean and well maintained. Sites had H2O and electric hookups, and a dump station easily accessible. Short drive from Julian were we enjoyed some pizza, microbrew and apple pie. Nice weekend, 5 stars!! read more

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This is one of my favorite camping spots near San Diego! It's easy to make reservations. The campgrounds and bathrooms are clean. It is usually quiet and peaceful. There is a lot of wild life like birds, bunnies, wild turkeys, and deer. There are fire pits and tables to use. The camp spots are spaced out a lot and you can almost feel like you are the only one there! read more

Wedding Review, Overall the park is beautiful. However, I don't recommend doing your wedding at this location. My Wife and I rented out the entire RV Loop with the intent of having our reception in the center. The park rangers told us we were not allowed to have a PA system, they were fine with us playing music but the commentary was not allowed. I was confused about why the park promotes weddings however they don't allow the PA system. I was very disappointed. The Ranger Annette was extremely rude to us. As we were having our reception she went driving around the loop looking for issues, when she didn't find any problems after driving around in the loud gas-powered cart disrupting the ceremony she then inforced the no PA system. This is unacceptable action for a country-represented ranger. I am very disappointed in the outcome, we will never get this day back. It took us countless hours and a lot of funding to set this up just to get harassed by the rangers. Not to mention the funds we paid for all the sites as well. Thank you Annette much appreciated. read more