San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.comA Day On The Bay

A Day On The Bay

It's a city inside a city - a 40-acre dichotomy, in constant motion and at perfect rest. That's the way it's always been for the past 40 years at Campland on the Bay.

"You have $300,000 RVs right here and right over here we'll have a $14 tent, so you get a nice mixture of everybody," director Kenny Johnson said.

With our shaky economy and the high price of travel, many locals are choosing to have what a "stay-cation" right in their own backyard.

"Eighty percent of our business out here at Campland on the Bay is San Diego locals," Johnson said.

"You can come out here with five or six kids. You don't need three or four hotel rooms. You load up your trailer and you let them go, they're safe. They can just run around and play. We have activities all day long."

One group came down with their families from Newport Beach and Corona.

"Because we could afford it. It was close, it wasn't too far away. They had a ton of stuff to do," a visitor said.

But most here are locals like Annette, who's been coming to Campland for 22 years.

"As a kid, it was just so many memories, and now I get to share it with all my little kids too," she said.

In fact, most of the campers are not only locals, they're also repeat customers.

"This is our third time this year and we'll come in August and September, so it's just our favorite place," a visitor said.

Craig and his family traveled here from Normal Heights.

"It's 12 miles, so even if you get 12 miles to the gallon it's four bucks each way," he said.

He knows another reason why locals keep coming back to Campland on the Bay.

"We get a 20 percent discount for being a San Diego County resident," he said.

For these folks, saving vacation dollars just makes sense.

Campland On The Bay
2211 Pacific Beach Drive
San Diego, CA 92109
1 (800) 422-9386