Mecca Beach Campground

I've camped here for years, in fact that's my rig pictured above with the solar panels. Late Feb 2021 had 2 Honda generators stolen, and 3 gas cans. That hurts. They brought bolt cutters. Be careful.

As for noise, you do get used to the constant trains. I have a cat and she loves the trees which are easy to climb. Phone service is good.

We stayed here for three nights in a tent. There are flush toilets and a solar shower, but that doesn’t get warm in the winter. There were also mirrors, but they were very foggy, so you couldn’t really see yourself to groom. There weren’t many other people there, so that was nice. Though we did have a neighbor one of the nights that was up partying with their friends till after midnight, so that was annoying. The views were great, but you can’t really go in the water and there weren’t many things to do besides a little hiking. Not much of a town either.

There were also fire pits and a bench at the site, so it did have some nice aspects.

We almost didn’t stay here because of previous reviews but I’m glad we came in to see it in person anyway. For 20$ a night we were able to dry camp with the beach at our doorstep. We had a fire pit, a picnic table near a shady spot and a beautiful view of the Salton Sea. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because of the fish smell. We were there in January and the smell was stronger when the wind picked up and less noticeable at other times. In spite of this, the unique experience of camping right on the Salton Sea, given its ecological history and questionable future, was like no other.

Oh and the sound of passing trains didn’t bother us at all.

Showed up and traded my HQ spot for Mecca Beach when I saw that the spots have beautiful views across the dirt/sand/barnacles to the sea. Camp hosts friendly and made the switch with the rangers, saving me a trip back to the main ranger station.

The RV spots are just pavement, very wide (you can park a 31-foot Class A sideways for the view, as my next door neighbor did) so easy to fit both car and trailer or RV into the space and not be hard up against your neighbors.

Clean bathrooms and showers, trash and recycling emptied daily.

Yes, there are trains. They mostly stop at 10PM, with one in the middle of the night, and most of them are in the afternoon.

The smell wasn't too bad, due to time of year and the recent rain. The kayak rental crew was great, and I enjoyed going out for a few hours and paddling around spotting pelicans and herons.

I'll just add my two cents to the review that came before me:

I arrived ready to go tent camping, so the price I paid was $20. Since it was Christmas Eve, there was hardly anyone there. It was extremely windy due to a storm, so I was unable to setup my tent. Instead, my dog and I slept in the back of my SUV. The temperature got down into the high 30s, but we did just fine with our nice, comfy sleeping bag.

When it rains heavily, like it did the day before I arrived, the ground becomes very soggy. I saw several people get their shoes stuck in the mud. So stay on the pavement if you plan to go in these conditions.

There are three rows of camping sites: one behind the other. The closest row is about 100 yards up from the water line. Only the front row gets an unobstructed view of the water. There are plenty of shade trees and fire rings situated between the picnic tables. There is also an area of picnic tables located closer to the beach, but no camping is allowed there.

By Christmas day, the wind had gone away, and all the birds had returned. You can walk as far as the eye can see along the beach, but you can't take your dog there. Pets are only allowed in the camping area.

A final note of importance: The campground is situated right across the street from a train track . . . a heavily used train track. There were long trains passing by the campground about every 30 minutes, all night long. Every time a train passed, the ground rumbled like a minor earthquake. It kept me awake most of the night.

Would I go again? No!

We were first going here but ended up camping at the Headquarters campground up the road. The prices are the same as HQ, which is $30 for hookups and $20 for dry camping (so the $ indicated is incorrect). There are only 4 hookup sites and they are all packed closed to each other on what looks like a parking lot with lines painted for sites. If you want a more secluded beach experience and are willing to make a reservation in advance, this might be your spot.