Best Beach Camping, August 2007

McGrath State Beach  offers grassy dunes with Channel Island views and outstanding bird-watching at the adjacent Santa Clara Estuary Natural Preserve, one of the last unspoiled patches of wetlands along California’s coast. Bring the binoculars to espy peregrines, California least terns, and Western snowy plovers. All 174 campsites are on the beach side of the main road. Stands selling local strawberries dot the drive, and the stores and restaurants of Ventura and the harbor are just a few miles away. For reservations, call 800-444-7275 or go to reserveamerica.com.