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Leo Carrillo State Park Camping

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Leo Carrillo State Park - Wikipedia
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Campgrounds

Campgrounds in Leo Carrillo SP

Overview

A brief introduction to Leo Carrillo SP

Leo Carrillo State Park is a state park in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Situated along the Malibu coast, the park is a component of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. With 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of beach, the parkland stretches into the Santa Monica Mountains. The park has expanded into Ventura County and also includes management of County Line Beach. California State Route 1 runs through the park, where it intersects with the western terminus of the Mulholland Highway. The 2,513-acre (1,017 ha) park was established in 1953. It is named for actor and conservationist Leo Carrillo (1880–1961), who served on the State Parks commission.

The Woolsey Fire was a destructive wildfire that started inland many miles away and raced through canyons and mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties to the coastline. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018 and burned 96,949 acres (39,234 hectares) of land. The fire destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people. It was one of several fires in California that ignited on the same day.
The 2018 fire burned through almost the entire park. The equipment for the Junior Lifeguard program that was destroyed in the fire was replaced by a donation from a group of Australian surf lifeguard associations, led by the Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club. The campgrounds reopened after work crews spent seven months removing debris and cleaning up.

Leo Carrillo State Park offers swimming, surfing, windsurfing, surf fishing, and beachcombing. Beachgoers can explore tide pools, sea caves, and reefs. Inland there is a campground and backcountry hiking trails.

Actors such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lewis, Nancy Sinatra, Dick Clark and other celebrities have been featured in films shot here.
In the popular 1970s TV show The Rockford Files, starring James Garner, it was the first season's opening scene of episode 1 (The Kirkoff Case) airing September 13, 1974.
It was featured in an episode of Huell Howser's TV series California's Golden Parks.
During the final scenes of the Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance" music video, Petty is seen carrying Kim Basinger through a cave before placing her in the water.
In Better Call Saul, it was featured in the final season during the opening of the episode “Point and Shoot”. This sequence is thus far the only scene from the “Breaking Bad” universe not to be shot in New Mexico.
In ‘’The Big Lebowski’’, it was mentioned by Walter Sobchak John Goodman during the eulogy of Theodore Donald Kerabatsos Steve Buscemi as one of the many places Donny surfed.
Other movies filmed here include:

List of beaches in California
List of California state parks

Leo Carrillo State Park
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Read more about Leo Carrillo State Park at Wikipedia

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Other nearby parks

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Reviews

Camper reviews for Leo Carrillo SP

FOOD TRUCK!

You made it to Malibu and you don't want to spend $180 a night at the Malibu RV park? Here you go! Reservations are a must, and often last minute sites are available (cough cough campnab). Most sites have electrical (so you can charge your Tesla, which is what I usually see). The store is open during the summer, and there's often a good food truck in their lot.

Cell service isn't so great, and the trails into the mountains aren't that fun. One side of the campground is adjacent to Mulholland Speedway, I mean highway. The upper canyon is usually loud, and full of RVs in various stages of questionable maintenance. It's a great way to meet a legit surfer who bought a Class A back in the 1990s, and peaked.

This campground is awesome for beachcombing. Flipping all the rocks, and putting them back...it's great.

Ginny Brideau
Ginny Brideau reviewed Leo Carrillo SP
on March 6th, 2023

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