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Vacation Planner / Urban
| Newport Dunes RV Resort |
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"The Ritz of RV parks" is just an hour and a half drive from San Diego. The standard spaces are packed close together. If you want more room you can splurge for a waterfront site, but you had better reserve way in advance and be prepared to spend more than for a luxury hotel room. The sprawling RV park sits on its own private lagoon off Newport Bay (called the back bay). This is a kids' paradise, with a water playground (trampolines, climbers, etc.), boat rentals, playgrounds, games and activities, a salt water swimming pool and arcade with pool tables. Movement around the park is slow because of all the golf carts, electric scooters, skateboards, bikes, etc. If you don't get enough exercise walking around the lagoon or into town, you can work out in the marina in a room overlooking the rows of yachts and sailboats. You can bring a boat (extra charge for parking the boat in the far parking lot near the launch ramp) and use it to sight-see around Newport Beach and Balboa Island. This is a leisurely tour, as the speed limit throughout the Bay is 5 miles per hour. But this gives you more time to view the 100 foot yachts bobbing in front of the movie star homes along the water. Park at one of the public docks and walk around the shops and mansions, or take the ferry over to Newport Beach and rent a bike or surrey.
Newport Dunes
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| Santee Lakes |
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Driving through downtown Santee, past Starbucks and McDonald's, you turn down a tree-lined winding road and end up at a relaxing lakefront campsite. Santee Lakes is a series of reservoirs run by the Padre Dam Water District. Three hundred campsites with full hookups and amenities like swimming pools, fishing, boating, playgrounds, laundry, convenience store, wi-fi, etc. Bring bikes and scooters to get around in this long, narrow park. Between campers and day users, the park is quite busy, especially on weekends, making it difficult to drive through. There are gates at each end (the front gate is closed after hours), with campers given access codes. Use the convenient on-line reservation system to pick your preferred campsite from a map (the sites are different sizes) and reserve it. Cost: $36 to $44 per night, with a small extra fee for pets and extra vehicles. Dogs are allowed in certain areas, on leashes, with a dog walking area.
Santee Lakes
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| Lake Jennings |
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The Lake Jennings recreation area is run by the Helix Water District. The primary activity here is fishing (they even have kids' fishing classes). You can rent a boat or bring your own boat, but only for fishing - the speed limit is 10 miles per hour throughout the lake. This is yet another San Diego County park where it looks like you are out in the middle of nowhere, but you can get to a Starbucks in 5 minutes. Price: $23 for primitive sites, $26 for partial hookup sites (no sewer) and $30 for full hookup sites.
Lake Jennings
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