Name: River Park RV Campground
Item: River Park RV Campground
Rating: 3
Author: Camping Pro

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This is a really tough park to rate. The City of Lompoc has a lot of homeless living in the city. As a result a number of homeless live in the campground within the confines of the posted 3 week in 1 week out rules. Being what it is we never had any issues with our neighbors and ended up meeting some nice folks who have found themselves in tough circumstances. That being said I feel it is important to let you know this is what is going on at the park so you don’t stumble upon it like we did.

The city homeless shelter is located across Hwy 246 and is only open during the evenings; this forces the residents to stay somewhere else during the day so there is a population of people meandering through the park that are less fortunate than the majority of Americans.

A big unrelated problem is that the city does not have a camp host at this park. Many of the posted rules are completely ignored and un-enforced including parking and site cleanliness. Truth be told when we pulled in our first reaction was “what the heck are we getting in to”. As a result of this neglect and mismanagement we were the unfortunate witnesses to a violent pitbull attack against another camper’s small dog. The small dog eventually died from the injuries and was a tragic experience to witness (our hearts go out to the owner who was devastated).

A final “bad” is that the RV sites are located along the main access road to the community park area of this city run park. They have a newer play area and a nice fishing lake back there so a lot of traffic, notably on weekends, flows in and out. There are large speed bumps so speeds are relatively slow but nonetheless there is a steady stream of traffic.

Now on to the “good”. Lompoc is a pretty city in a pretty area. The climate is nearly perfect and the area is surrounded by scenic farmland and rolling hills. We were able to hop on the bikes and make several very scenic rides in and around the area including a tough out and back ride by crossing Hwy 246 and riding Sweeney Road to the end. We were only 20 minutes from Solvang, 40 minutes from Pismo and close to some amazing secluded beaches including Surf CA and Jalama.

We paid $200 for the week with a large backin site that accommodated our long 5th wheel and 2 vehicles. The site has a fire pit and picnic table. The only tough part was arriving on a weekend and trying to backin to the site. There is a fence across the road that makes it tough. It took some work getting in and was made worse by the dirty looks from some of the folks traveling to and from the city park area. We had a pretty view out the windows looking west across farmland towards the mountains.

Regarding the above mentioned homeless camp, it is a serious issue that became all too obvious during the dog attack and in the lack of response from local authorities; staying here you are lumped in with a population that is not treated at the same level as “regular” citizens. There is a private RV park 15 miles away at the Highway West location in Buellton BUT you will be paying a premium to stay there.

Before coming here we did some research online and read some reviews on Google that were completely false. First off one reviewer stated that the sites only have water and electric; this is untrue the sites are all full hookups. Another reviewer stated that there was no flush toilets or showers; this is also untrue. There is a shower house that is open during daylight hours only (closes at 6pm).

The tent camping area was on a little spur off the main road with sites on mowed grass. There were some homeless camping there just not the scary kind (that sounds bad I know).

Verizon 4G worked well and we would stay here again in the future… maybe and only if the city improves the conditions of the campground/ park.

With all the above I give the park 3 stars as an affordable option in the central coast area.
9 years ago

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River Park RV Campground consists of 45 developed acres and lies adjacent to the Santa Ynez River on the eastern border of Lompoc. The city managed park has an RV park and campground with 35 RV campsites with full hook-ups (30 amp) and a designated tent camping area. The sites are paved backins and pull ins perpendicular to the main paved park road. Access is a bit tight due to a fence on the opposite side of the roadway. Sites are available on a first come first served basis.

A city owned and run park there is a 21 day stay limit. The campsites are located along the main, and only, access road to the public park area in the back. The roadway has a series of large speed bumps to manage speed, caution is suggested. The park in the back has a new playground, dirt loop path, picnic area, large grass area and fishing pond.

The sites back up to green space and the Santa Ynez Riverbed. Dependent upon season and rain totals the river can be dry or flowing (it tends to be dry). Sites have a picnic table, fire ring and trash pole.

Convenient to Lompoc, Solvang, and Buellton the RV park is reasonably priced ($30 per night and $200 per week as of 2017) and tends to not be full. Verizon 4G is solid.