Soledad Canyon Campground
Soledad Canyon campground is only 30 minutes from Los Angeles and yet worlds away. Surrounded by hills and mountains, this was the perfect Easter family getaway. Yes, I know Easter is long gone but hey, better late than never…right?
We had never been to Soledad Canyon before and were just hoping it was going to be a good place for Jason’s crazy family. They’re not exactly a quiet bunch…especially when Jason’s mom and Aunt Cindy get together.
We We couldn’t have picked a better spot! It’s a sprawling campground with tons of room to roam around and has the largest swimming pool in the west. Plus, they had just gotten brand spankin’ new rental cabins, which Jason’s mom was very happy about. Instead of my failing attempt’s to write about the campground, I suggest you take a peek at the video we created for the campground. Visuals are always better.
It’s a great campground for groups, events and families. It is in the middle of nowhere so stock up before you head out and don’t expect internet because the cell reception is slim to none (who needs internet anyway, right?). Don’t expect all the amenities to be in perfect shape, on the other hand they were in the middle of major construction while we were there to give the place a big face-lift.
Have you been to Soledad Canyon? What did you think of the campground?
Disclaimer: While we were compensated to film the campground (thanks Thousand Trails!)…all of our experiences and opinions are NOT purchased and are still our own.
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How do Ifind information regarding camping at you campground?
Gary
We have been members of Thousand Trails since 1982, joined at Soledad. I even sold upgrades out of Soledad when Naco was acquired.
Now, we are planning on going back in the next few weeks to see if anything changed. I sent a DVD to the CEO of the Company,no reply, sent certified so I know they got it. I sent 3 years of photos of deplorable conditions and neglect. It is the definition of Trailer Trash. The lake/pond was drained, june 2014, and full of trash. Golf destroyed, water features full of moss and mosquitoes. Dozens of camp sites, the better locations, chained off with signs saying private site. Storage sheds on sites, some big enough to live in, and are. The store was closed and no hours posted, looked like it was closed for some time. I saw no employees working on anything anywhere except at the entrance. Oh, the “Encore” sign had been removed. We are paying monthly dues and upgrade payments and cannot stay in our home park.
If you are thinking of staying here, don’t unless it is a last resort. The Walmart parking lots are much better. Not worth more than $10 per night.
My question to you is, were you working for Encore when shooting the video? We are planing on traveling across the U.S. and staying in many of the Thousand Trails Parks. We are truly hoping that Soledad is the BAD EXCEPTION to Encore Parks. We will also be putting up a web site covering conditions at Thousand Trails Parks, however it will show the good and the bad.
Jason Wynn
Gary,
We were hired by Encore to film this video as we mentioned in the article. The way we filmed this project was to feature the good and ignore the bad. Management told us they were investing millions into getting this property up to snuff. Sad the putt-putt was closed when we visited they had construction crews planting new grass, updating the concrete and putting surfaces. Overall we had a great time there because our family was in town and the cabins they were staying in were brand new! I do know the park is under new management so there are high hopes for the future.
As for the quality of other TT parks, we saw only a few that were in as bad a shape as Soledad, but we saw many that needed some serious love on the amenities. We personally still feel it’s the best value camping around considering you can purchase a zone pass for around $500. I hope you have a good experience, and please feel free to update us on any great or less-than-great parks you visit.
Jodee
We went by this park today as it is about 20 minutes from our house and we are looking for a campground to start our fulltiming next year. It is like a different world from your video! Seriously I can’t believe that place could ever have been the same one that you stayed at. It was more than a little run down, lots of very old, rundown trailers and motorhomes. Broke down fences, roads and sites. There is one section that looks a little better, is away from the highway and better maintained, but very dirty. True we only drove through for about 25 minutes but it was creepy.
Know that we are not “resort” campers and not uppity folks but this is not someplace we would feel safe.
I thought you should know it has gone very downhill and is not the place you represent in your video.
Nikki Wynn
Jodee, I know when we were there last spring they were putting a ton of money into renovating and I would have thought that would have made a big difference. So sad to hear it looked so terrible when you were there. I will pass along your comment to corporate so they know. thanks so much for the update.
Richard Peterson
I am so glad I found you guys, your my new inspiration. We drove across country this summer from North Carolina to the Grand Canyon, Az with my wife and three children in our 24′ Class C Tioga. My wife and I drove it about the same and realized that with cruise control On the RV down shifts to climb “small hills” to maintain 65 mph. We found that by turning the cruise control Off and just let the RV slow down to 55 or so and not go into a lower gear to get over “small hills” we got better gas mileage. We averaged 10 mpg, with 9 in the mountains and sometimes 12 on a good highway. I also see this when watching Nascar racing. Its not always the fastest car, but the car with enough gas to finish the race that wins.
Laurie
I checked about a week ago, and it is $42 per night. And, you can live there for $500 per month. 🙂
Jason, my dream is to full-time. My family tried it in 2002…but we made some mistakes and our kids were too old. My oldest was 14 and miserable. It lasted only 3 weeks…
Now, I am almost an empty nester and divorced. I take care of my mom, but she is on hospice. I am just dying to figure out a way to do this in the future. I just discovered your blog this afternoon…I’m drooling over all your fun adventures and the website is amazing!! I have a camping group on Facebook, if anyone is interested. It’s “Campers and Glampers of So Cal.” (Join us!!:)
I actually live in the town next to Acton…
Nikki Wynn
Welcome Laurie! So glad you found us, now we are going to have to find you on facebook!
Laurie
Nikki, I have to tell you, my ex husband is a writer, speaker and computer genius. But, this blog/website is the nicest one I have ever seen. It is userfriendly and so informative!!
We too tried to do video-blog (vlog). At the time I homeschooled our four kids, and we had a website of videos where we interviewed various homeschooling families to use as a resource for new homeschoolers. I asked questions such as “why did you choose to homeschool?” and “what does a typical homeschool day look like at your house?” It was a GREAT idea but your videos are OUTSTANDING!!!! I keep sharing links on my camping group page.
Kudos to you and your husband!!!
I love your life!!!
Angela
We camped there about 2 years ago, in our 24 foot travel trailer with our 3 children. I like the campground, it was well laid out and had decent amenities; like a pool (except it was fall so they had drained it for the winter)… 2 big turn offs however. was the train tracks that ran right along the side where we were parked, and the fact that Acton, the town where this campground is located must have been built on the worlds largest ant hill!!! Within 30 minutes of parking we were infested! When we went to the campground store to get some ant bait they didn’t sell any, And upon inquiring what was up with all the ants, they basically said ‘that Acton was built on the worlds largest ant hill’ with a very ‘you’ll get used to it ‘ attitude. If you go, take provisions for battling ants.
Jason Wynn
Angela,
We did not have the same experience with the Ants, nor did our family who stayed in 2 cabins.
As for the train, it was a little annoying for my grandparents who sleep lightly but for Nikki and I we slept right through it.
Good news is the manager said they’re pouring a ton of money into upgrading all the amenities, so if you pass through you might want to swing in and check it out.
Shirley
My dad camped for years and he taught me to put scouring powder around the tires and trailer hitch wheel. No ants. I just buy the cheapest I can find and pour it every time we relocate.
Redds
That was a nice looking place. Are you guys able to mention prices when you do your videos on campgrounds? Thanks for the video.
Redds
Jason Wynn
Redds,
If you’re a Thousand Trails member it’s basically free to stay. As for the non-member rate I think it varies based on the site you choose and the time of year.
As for pricing on the video we don’t like to say because we hope our videos will be watched for years, and we don’t want people to say “hey you said it was only $30 per night but they charged us $50”.
I do think you can find pricing at RVontheGO.com