Camping at William Heise County Park in Julian, California
This week we’re focusing on Camping with Kids over on Instagram, so I wanted to share about one of our favorite Southern California camping trips!
A couple Thanksgivings ago, we realized a week or two ahead of time that my husband would be getting off work that Tuesday at 12pm and had the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving. Feeling spontaneous, we planned a last-minute camping trip!
I asked on Instagram for ideas for a last-minute booking, and so many great comments came in. Thanks to those suggestions, we quickly landed on William Heise in Julian and booked a site.
In the meantime, I had a friend text me asking for a suggestion for where to camp in Joshua Tree during that same week. We didn’t know each other super well at that point, but thankfully I decided to ask her if they wanted to pivot their trip and join us in Julian instead. They booked the site next to us and we had a wonderful time together! (And, our families ended up traveling together on two more trips that year before they moved out of state.)
We drove up on Tuesday. As always, it took forever to get packed up and I was stressed about getting there before dark. (One downside of camping in November is the time change means dark comes early!) To be honest, I am a stress-y camper (especially packing up and getting ready). I am still working on figuring out the best options for camping in a way that is fun for all involved, including me… hoping to share more about this on Instagram this week!
As always, we ended up getting there just fine and then I felt silly for being stressed. We spread out a “charcuterie tray” of snacks while we put up the tent. I learned this tip from Everyday Adventure Family - it’s so nice to have food ready as soon as we arrive so kids are somewhat occupied and adults have some sustenance as they set up, plus it makes the whole thing feel a little sophisticated! (We usually do still build a fire and make a dinner meal later on, though not always.)
Our friends play guitar and did a wonderful job leading some campfire songs and telling campfire stories!
Eventually we settled into bed. We have a big REI Kingdom 8 tent which works well for our family of six. Back at home before we left, as we were pulling out of the driveway to head up to Julian, I had a special package arrive - an air mattress/cot for me! It sits up high like a real bed and is so much more comfortable than the thinner pads we had before. (We stopped on the drive to get C batteries to run the air mattress pump).
Even with the cot, I didn’t sleep great, so I listened to podcasts for much of the night - but my family slept well!
The next morning (Wednesday) after breakfast we headed out on a hike - we appreciated the educational signs that told about local wildlife we could see.
We didn’t make it all the way up the ridge, but apparently if you hike to the top, you can look down over the Anza Borrego Desert!
We had lunch back at the playground - my kids’ favorite camping meal is rolls, turkey, cucumber, and cheese, along with cookies and veggies. It was delicious!
In the afternoon we went into town for some apple pie and a stroll through town - since it was Thanksgiving week, there were already lots of Christmas decorations up, which was fun (it was also pretty busy).
We had another dinner and campfire (though unfortunately one of my children got sick - we think from altitude / maybe too many s’mores - which was a real bummer!)
And then Thursday morning we were up bright and early to get packed up, drive home, shower, and head to my sister’s for Thanksgiving!
Here are some things we liked about camping at William Heise:
the campground is well-maintained and, when we were there, was very quiet. It’s a little out of the way so not quite as likely to be a “party campground” (though of course, conditions may vary!)
We were in Site 101, which was perfect. There were not people in any of the nearby campsites (besides our friends), since it was midweek. It was a short walk to the bathrooms.
the view of the stars was incredible, especially for Southern California!
It feels very forested and we saw deer!
There is a nice playground near the park entrance, along with hiking trails. My children also really enjoyed getting a Junior Ranger kit (free!) at the entrance.
You’re also about a 10 minute drive from downtown Julian - we stopped into “town” for a few hours to get some apple pie and check out a used bookstore.
We camped in tents, but there are cabins available too! (Be aware the cabins are very close to the playground and bathrooms. Fun for your kids and convenient, but could be noisy especially during the day.)
We took a specific route from Riverside that didn’t involve many windy roads. (I am pretty sure we took the 15 South to Temecula, then the 79, and then the 76. There was maybe 5 minutes of slightly windy/slight cliffs between Santa Isabel and Wynola, but it wasn’t bad. The drive from San Diego is, in my memory, much more windy.)
Temperatures in Julian can be cooler than in the rest of San Diego (since it’s in the mountains).
Here are some things to be aware of when camping at William Heise:
On the last morning, there were no campfires allowed due to high winds/Santa Ana conditions. I’m not sure how often that happens, but we were grateful we were leaving!
Most routes into Julian are very curvy and windy.
There is not a camp store or many other amenities within the campground (though the town of Julian isn’t far).
The town of Julian can be very busy in the fall for apple picking, apple pie, and into the holidays. Just be prepared!
In the winter, Julian can be very cold - we wore gloves, parkas, etc.
Be mindful of the higher elevation and drinking plenty of water!
FYI, you can also visit William Heise just for the day.
My favorite resource for Julian info in general is Mountain Made - a blog by a local mama.