San Felipe has a serious RV culture. Drive down Highway 5 any week between November and April and you will pass a steady convoy of big rigs rolling south from Arizona, Nevada, and California. Some come for a week. Some come for the whole winter. A lot of them come back every year.
The range of what you can pay is wide. Dry camping on the beach starts around $12 a night. Full hookup beachfront with 50 amp and Wi-Fi runs $45 or more. Monthly rates take a big bite out of both ends.
Picking the right park is not about finding the "best" one. It is about matching your rig size, your power needs, and what you actually want to do once you park it. Here are the seven options worth knowing, what each one costs, and who each one is actually right for.
1. Pete's Camp
About 15 miles north of San Felipe on the coast road, Pete's Camp is the oldest established camp in the area. It has been there since 1947. That history shows up in the community. A lot of the people who winter at Pete's have been winter regulars for 20+ years.
The main section has partial hookups, and there are beach sites for people who want toes-in-the-sand views. There is a restaurant and bar on-site, which matters when you have been dry camping and do not feel like cooking. Big-rig friendly. Nightly runs about $55 for a full-hookup site (recent reports fall in a $40-59 band). Weekly is around $350, monthly about $1,350.
Who it fits: older crowd, strong expat community, people who want a social scene without having to drive into town every night. The potluck culture at Pete's is real. Show up with chairs and a dish and you will know half the camp by week two.
The tradeoff is the drive. Every trip into town for groceries or restaurants is 30 minutes round trip on a dirt access road. If you do not want to drive into San Felipe daily, that is fine. If you do, a park closer to town might save you time and gas.
2. Playa de Oro RV Park
In town, walking distance to the malecon. That is the headline. If you want to step out of your rig and be in a taco shop in ten minutes, Playa de Oro is the answer.
Full hookups, 30 and 50 amp. Spaces are tighter than out-of-town parks, so this is not ideal for anything over 40 feet. Nightly is $30-35 per the park's own posted rates, though we have seen guest reports in the low-to-mid $20s for basic sites. Weekly roughly $180-245, monthly $700-930.
Who it fits: short-term visitors who want location over space. Anyone who plans to walk to restaurants and bars rather than drive. Also a good pick if you flew into Mexicali, rented a smaller Class C, and are doing a week-long introduction to the town before committing to a longer stay.
Heads up on the pad configuration: some sites are back-in only and awkward for dually trucks pulling fifth wheels. Ask for a pull-through if that matters to you, and confirm by photo if possible.
3. Ruben's Camp
Beachfront, south side of town. Ruben's is old school, and that is the appeal. Dry camping is the primary setup, with some partial hookups available. Every site has a palapa-style sun shelter, which sounds like a small detail until you have spent an afternoon in 95-degree sun without shade.
Nightly is $15-25. Monthly runs $250-350. That is as cheap as San Felipe beachfront gets.
Who it fits: tent campers, small RVs, and people who came here to be on the beach, not in a parking lot. It is not for big rigs that need 50 amp. The power situation will not work for you.
4. Kiki's RV Camping & Hotel
Midtown, mix of RV spots and hotel rooms. Full hookups, laundry on-site, pool. Nightly runs $40-60 depending on site and season (recent traveler reports cluster around $47). Kiki's is not the cheapest option in town, but it is priced for the amenities. Monthly rates exist but are worth confirming directly since they move with season.
Who it fits: travelers who want amenities. If laundry and a pool matter, Kiki's is a solid pick without paying the beachfront premium. Also a good landing spot for people who are doing a short trip before they commit to a longer stay elsewhere.
The hotel-plus-RV-park setup is unusual and it works in your favor. If guests arrive without a rig (kids, friends flying in from the States), they can book a room on the same property. That is a small thing that matters when you are hosting.
5. Campo San Felipe RV Park
Beachfront, north end of town. Campo San Felipe is the closest thing to a full-service destination RV park in the area. Full hookups, big-rig friendly, Wi-Fi that actually works on most sites.
Nightly is about $35. Monthly runs $500-600. Higher end of the San Felipe range, and priced accordingly. Reservations are not optional if you are coming between November and April. People book months out.
Who it fits: first-timers who want a clean, predictable experience. Anyone with a 40+ foot rig who has been turned away from tighter parks. People who need reliable Wi-Fi to work remote.
One detail worth knowing: the beachfront row at Campo San Felipe is a different price tier than the interior row, and it books out first. If you want that front spot, reserve early and be specific about the site number.
6. La Palapa RV Camp
Further south of town, more secluded. Mix of dry camping and partial hookups. Lower density than the in-town parks, which is the whole point. You can hear the waves instead of your neighbor's generator.
Nightly is $15-25, with basic sites toward the low end and beachfront sites at the top of the range. Monthly is roughly $300-500. Peak season and front-row spots nudge higher.
Who it fits: people staying longer, with solar and tanks set up to handle dry camping. Anyone who came to San Felipe to get away from crowds, not find them in their RV park.
7. Rancho Perchas
Outside town proper, quieter desert setting. Rancho Perchas skews toward longer-stay guests who treat it like a seasonal base rather than a weekend stop.
Small ranch-style camps in this band (Rancho Perchas, Rancho Percebu, and similar) quote in pesos. Expect roughly 250-300 MXN per night for dry camping (around $14-17 USD) and about 400 MXN (around $20) for a site with water and sewer. Weekly and monthly discounts are common. Call directly because individual ranches swing by a few dollars.
Who it fits: snowbirds who want a quiet spot for three or four months. Not for people who want to be on the beach or walk to town. The crowd here tends to be self-sufficient and low-key. You will see a lot of solar panels and very few pool floats.
A note on pricing: Pete's Camp, Campo San Felipe, and Playa de Oro are the most stable reference points, with current posted rates tracking what we listed. The smaller parks (Kiki's, La Palapa, Rancho Perchas, and ranch-style camps in general) move more and are often quoted in pesos. Confirm directly before you show up. Cash is still standard at most of these, and negotiating a weekly or monthly stay in person often beats what gets quoted by email.
Full Hookups vs Dry Camping
Worth spelling out, because people new to this get surprised. Full hookups means water, sewer, and 30 or 50 amp electric at your site. You plug in, fill your fresh tank, and dump directly. No tank management.
Dry camping means none of that. You run on your own water tank, your own battery or solar, and your own waste tanks. When your tanks fill up, you drive to a dump station. When your battery drops, you run a generator or your solar catches up.
A lot of San Felipe regulars mix and match. Two or three nights at a full-hookup park to reset, then a week dry camping on the beach at Ruben's or La Palapa, then back to Campo San Felipe or Playa de Oro to do laundry and top off water. That rhythm works well if your rig is set up for it.
For context on what "set up for it" means: 400 watts of solar minimum, a lithium battery bank sized for two or three days of cloudy weather, and at least 50 gallons of fresh water capacity. If your rig is a weekend warrior with stock batteries and no solar, stick with full hookups. You are not going to enjoy the dry-camp experience.
What to Ask Before Booking
The park websites, where they exist at all, are not reliable. Call or message directly and run through this checklist:
- Is the site you are being offered confirmed 30 amp or 50 amp? Do not assume.
- What is the actual big-rig length limit? A "45 ft" site may have a tight corner that makes it unusable for your specific setup.
- Is the Wi-Fi actually working, or just advertised? Ask how many megabits people are seeing at the site, not just whether there is a signal.
- How do they want the deposit? Very few take credit cards. Most want PayPal or Venmo to the owner personally.
- Beachfront, or one row back? There is a real difference. The front row has views and wind. The second row is calmer and cheaper.
- Dogs allowed? On-leash rules? Some parks are strict, others do not care.
- Pool, laundry, ice on-site? Amenity availability varies a lot day to day, especially in shoulder season.
Seasonal Pricing Reality
November through April pricing is 30-50% higher than summer rates at every park on this list. Semana Santa (Holy Week, usually late March or April) spikes prices again and fills every site in town. If you want a beachfront spot for Semana Santa, book it before Christmas.
Summer (June-August) flips the script. Rates are low, sites are open, and parks will cut deals for a week or a month. But the heat is brutal. Daytime highs run 100-115 F. Most RVs leave by mid-May and do not come back until late October. If you are used to Arizona summers you might be fine. If you are coming from Oregon or Alberta, you are going to want to leave.
The RV-to-Fideicomiso Path
We see this pattern constantly. Someone starts as a weekend RV visitor. The next winter they stay a month. The winter after that they stay three months. Eventually they realize they want a fixed spot, a real kitchen, and no tank management. A lot of San Felipe homeowners came through that exact path, and eventually bought property through a fideicomiso (the bank trust structure that lets foreigners own coastal Mexican property).
RV life is a great way to figure out whether San Felipe is actually for you before you put real money down. A lot of people end up staying.
Our Pick for Your First Trip
If this is your first San Felipe RV trip and you want amenities plus location, go with Campo San Felipe or Playa de Oro. You will have working hookups, reasonable Wi-Fi, and the shortest walk to town.
If you want beachfront and character over polish, Pete's Camp or Ruben's. You trade some infrastructure for a much better view and a community that is going to invite you over for a drink by day three.
If you are staying a month or more and want quiet, La Palapa or Rancho Perchas. Lower density, lower prices, and fewer neighbors running generators at 10pm. For most people, the right answer is one of those three pairs. Pick based on what you actually want your week to look like, not what looks best in photos.