After our three-day excursion to Valle de Guadalupe, we needed to come back to Ensenada to stock up on groceries and purified water, as well as get some laundry done. Prior to wine tasting, we had said “hasta luego” to the fellow travelers we had met at The Van Life app meetup. Since they were a day or two on the route ahead of us, we had the advantage of learning which campgrounds they liked through a group thread we had going on Instagram. It was great to have reviews in real time from this group, which we added as part of our existing resources.
Our third campground in Ensenada came at their recommendation: La Jolla Beach Camp. It was on the southern end of Ensenada, close to La Bufadora, the second largest marine geyser in the world. Near the campground, the low tide revealed an opportunity to dig up a natural hot springs – right there on the beach! It sounded perfect.
The Campground
The camping area at La Jolla is right along the beach, just behind a series of small homes and vacation rentals. The colors of these rentals popped against the backdrop of Ensenada’s bright blue sky, making for a picturesque view. It seemed as though the rentals were geared towards snowbirds or retirees, so it appeared to be a safe spot to settle in.
There weren’t any designated spots for camping, and we arrived mid-morning when it was completely empty. We don’t mind any empty campground, so we found a good spot for some Instagram-worthy shots. Steven put out our camping mat, which helps keep the sand out of the van, while I set out Ruby’s dog food and water. After claiming our spot, we dropped off our clothes at a nearby lavanderia and enjoyed some treats at Pueblo Bonito Café, a really cute little coffee shop with WiFi (and bomb mini cinnamon rolls).
A few hours later, we went back to our campsite to hang out and walk along the beach. While the coastline views were stunning, we were horrified to see dog poop everywhere. At a closer look, we saw it along the camping area as well! YUCK. Farther down the beach, we noticed a couple sitting in a deep hole of the hot springs. As we approached, they let us test the temperature. It was very hot! Pretty cool, but we weren’t in the mood to take over their spot (they were leaving) or dig our own hole.
We were getting pretty close to our laundry pick-up time, so we headed out one last time for the day. After picking up our clothes, we quickly took showers and headed back to our campsite. Except… there was nothing there. Our mat and Ruby’s dog bowls were gone! Steven and I instantly went on guard, scouring the camping area for our stuff. Nada. Steven even went around and asked a couple people if they had seen it, or had witnessed anyone taking our stuff. No such luck. While I’m grateful all three items are easily replaceable, it still made our blood boil. And yes – we shouldn’t have left our stuff right there on the beach. In hindsight, it was the only way to designate our spot – and we had been doing it at many other campgrounds (two in Baja, in fact) in the past. Oh well.
And because we didn’t have anything designating our spot, another large RV had come in and swooped up our perfect spot! I don’t think I’ve ever seen our kids so damn mad at the entire situation. Needless to say, we decided that we’d spend the one night and head out of town the next day.
The next morning, we woke up early and made our way towards the exit of the campground. We came up on an expat named Bucky who was happy to chat us up. We asked if he saw our stuff, and lo and behold, he had! Bucky had watched a couple take our mat and dog bowls, figuring it was theirs. He didn’t know who they were, but was quick to say that the couple must have assumed previous campers had left it behind. We were only gone for 40 minutes or so during the time it was taken. But… lesson learned. Don’t leave your stuff out!
Amenities
There appeared to be plenty of bathrooms and showers available, although we learned that the hot showers were located closer to the rentals. While the bathrooms were pretty clean, I can’t say the same for the hot showers. Now mind you, if you’ve ever been camping, you know that the campground showers always leave something to be desired. We weren’t expecting much, but this remains the worst shower we encountered in Baja – which is saying a lot considering we showered from a 4 gallon bucket and a plastic cup at an ecocamp outside San Ignacio. Each shower was located in a small stall, and I took a peek at each one to see which was the most ideal. (This has sort of become natural behavior to me when at a campground. I want the cleanest, nicest shower possible!) Unfortunately, all of the showers were incredibly dirty. It definitely looked like no one had come to clean these in awhile. On top of that, the hot water that came out was scalding! For the life of me, I couldn’t bear to jump in to turn it off (or the cold water on). Steven came to my rescue, but by that time the water had been running for 3-4 minutes. So when he and the boys finally got into their shower, the hot water had ran out. It was a total bummer.
Cost
La Jolla Beach Camp was fairly expensive by Baja standards — $20 a night. After our less-than-24-hour experience there, we found the price to unjustifiable given the location and amenities.
I’d like to believe that our experience at La Jolla Beach Camp might have been different in the high season, or at least if there were other campers there as well. But our experience left a bad taste in our mouth. It was such a bummer, because the views there really were beautiful. However, there are so many other campgrounds and RV parks near Ensenada with similar views and cheaper rates, so we recommend finding another place to stay.
