Camping and Cooking at San Elijo State Beach — A Camp Kitchen Menu

A menu for cooking at the campsite at San Elijo State Beach — built around local ingredients, the campsite fire ring and grill, and the particular pleasure of eating well on the California coast.

San Elijo State Beach sits on a bluff above Cardiff-by-the-Sea, roughly a third of its 171 campsites looking straight out over the Pacific. The Coaster runs nearby and the sites aren’t exactly secluded — but the views are real, the beach access is immediate, and you’re within walking distance of one of the best markets on the North County coast. It’s not a wilderness experience. It’s a California coast experience, which is a different and equally good thing.

This is a menu designed around what’s available locally, what travels well, and what tastes right eaten outside with the sound of the surf below. Everything comes together in under 45 minutes of active cooking. The point isn’t technique — it’s good ingredients treated with some care, eaten at the right time of day, in the right place.

What You Need to Know Before You Go

Reservations are essential and fill fast. Book up to six months in advance through ReserveCalifornia.com. Summer weekends book out within minutes of the reservation window opening. Spring and fall are more manageable — and honestly better for this kind of trip. Cooler evenings, fewer neighbors, better light. Rates run $55–$75 per night depending on hookups.

For the best ocean views, aim for sites 145–171 in the north section — no hookups but the most space and the most unobstructed views. Sites 10–22 and 101–116 have full hookups and ocean views. Check individual site photos at campsitephotos.com before booking — some bluff sites have shrubbery that partially blocks the water view.

On fires and cooking: Each campsite at San Elijo has a concrete fire ring with a rustic grate and a fixed BBQ grill — everything you need for this menu. Wood and charcoal fires are permitted within the campsite fire rings. The fire ring grate is ideal for grilling directly and for foil packet cooking nestled into the coals. The fixed BBQ grill handles the bread and anything else that benefits from more controlled heat. A good fire, a grate, and a grill — that’s the full setup.

On the beach itself, the rules are different: open fires and charcoal are prohibited on the San Elijo beach. If you want to cook down at the waterline, a propane or butane burner is permitted on the beach if self-standing with at least six inches of clearance from the ground. For this menu, stay at the campsite — the fire ring is where the real cooking happens.

The camp store is currently closed. This actually works in your favor — it means a walk across Chesterfield Drive to Seaside Market, which is a far better outcome than a camp store anyway. More on that below.

Dogs are allowed in the campground on leash but not on the beach — with the exception of the dog beach area south of the campground between Tower 16 and the San Elijo Lagoon mouth. Dogs are also allowed south all the way past Cardiff Reef surf break to the lifeguard station on the bluff at the beginning of Solana Beach. It makes for a great walk with your dog. More details on dog friendly San Diego beaches

Address: 2050 S Coast Highway 101, Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The campground entrance is on the ocean side of the 101, just south of the VG Donuts plaza.

The Provisions Run — Seaside Market and Prager Brothers

This is part of the trip. On the morning you arrive — or the afternoon of the day before — do the provisions run before you set up camp. It’s within easy walking distance from the campground for the quick pop over for forgotten items.

Seaside Market is a ten-minute walk from the campground entrance, across Chesterfield Drive in the small Cardiff plaza. It’s a genuine independent market with a serious butcher counter, a good fish section, local produce, a wine and beer selection that punches above its weight, and prepared foods for the nights you don’t want to cook. This is where you source the fish, the produce, the burrata, and anything else the menu calls for. Tell the butcher or fishmonger what you’re doing and ask what came in fresh that day. They will have a good answer.

Prager Brothers Artisan Breads is ten minutes up the 101 in downtown Encinitas at 543 South Coast Highway 101 — open daily 8am to 5pm. Two brothers from Carlsbad who started baking naturally leavened, hand-shaped bread in their parents’ backyard and eventually opened one of the best bakeries in San Diego County. Pick up a sourdough country loaf or their seeded miche the morning of your trip. It will hold through the day and be better for it by the time you grill it at the campsite.

The full provisions run — Prager Brothers for the bread, Seaside Market for everything else — takes about an hour and sets you up entirely. Bring a cooler for the fish, burrata, and anything else that needs to stay cold.

The Menu

Serves four. Built around the campsite fire ring and grill — foil cooking in the coals for the corn, direct heat on the grate for the fish and bread.

Grilled whole fish with herbs, lemon, and olive oil
Corn with chili butter
Grilled bread with burrata and heirloom tomatoes
Shaved fennel and citrus salad
Stone fruit with honey and sea salt

The salad and chili butter are made at home before you leave. Get the fire going when you arrive at camp — it needs about 45 minutes to burn down to proper cooking coals. That’s the setup time. Once the coals are ready, everything is on the table in under 30 minutes.

The Recipes

Whole Fish on the Fire Ring Grate with Herbs, Lemon, and Olive Oil

A whole fish cooked over a wood fire is one of the better things you can do at a campsite. It’s faster than most people expect, the smoke adds something a propane grill never will, and the result — brought to the picnic table on a board, finished with olive oil and lemon — looks and tastes like something from a good restaurant. Ask the fishmonger at Seaside Market what came in that day. Branzino is ideal: clean, white, mild enough to let the herbs and the fire speak. Local rockfish or snapper is equally good and will likely be whatever was caught closest to where you’re sitting.

At home, before you leave: Score the fish three times on each side with a sharp knife, cutting down to the bone. Rub generously inside and out with olive oil and sea salt. Stuff the cavity with a halved lemon, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and a handful of flat-leaf parsley. Wrap tightly in foil and pack in the cooler.

At the campsite: Let the fire ring burn down to a bed of steady coals — you want glowing embers, not active flame, for even heat. Oil the campsite grate well. Place the fish directly on the grate and cook eight to ten minutes per side for a fish in the one-to-two pound range, flipping once. The skin releases cleanly from the grate when it’s ready — don’t force it. The fish is done when the flesh at the thickest point pulls away from the bone without resistance.

If you prefer more control, the fish can also be cooked in its foil wrapping directly on the grate or nestled into the coals — about fifteen minutes total, turning once halfway through. Unwrap at the table for a dramatic reveal.

Finish with a squeeze of lemon and a pour of good olive oil. Eat at the picnic table while the sun drops toward the water.

What to get at Seaside Market: Whole branzino or local rockfish (1.5–2 lbs per fish, one fish per two people). Ask them to scale and clean it for you.

What to bring from home: Good olive oil, one lemon, fresh thyme and flat-leaf parsley, flaky sea salt, a fish spatula wide enough to support the whole fish when turning.

Corn in Foil with Chili Butter

This is the campfire recipe that earns its place on every menu. The corn goes into the coals wrapped in foil — no fussing, no watching — and comes out steamed in its own moisture with a concentrated sweetness that nothing else achieves. The chili butter is made at home and packed in a small jar. Spread it on while the corn is still hot enough to melt it immediately.

Chili butter — make at home: Soften four tablespoons of good unsalted butter. Mix in half a teaspoon of ancho chili powder, a pinch of smoked paprika, the zest of half a lime, a squeeze of lime juice, and a generous pinch of flaky salt. Pack into a small jar and refrigerate. It will hold in the cooler for the trip.

At the campsite: Pull back the outer husks, remove the silk, and spread a generous amount of chili butter directly onto the kernels. Fold the husks back up and wrap the whole ear tightly in a double layer of heavy-duty foil. Nestle the foil packets directly into the hot coals — not above them, in them — and cook for fifteen to eighteen minutes, turning once or twice with tongs. The foil will balloon slightly as the corn steams inside. Unwrap carefully — the steam is very hot. Finish with another pat of chili butter and a squeeze of lime.

What to get at Seaside Market: Four ears of corn in the husk. Lime if you didn’t bring one.

What to bring from home: Heavy-duty foil, chili butter in a jar.

Grilled Bread with Burrata and Heirloom Tomatoes

This is the starter — served while the fish is on the grate and people are finding their chairs. It takes three minutes on the campsite BBQ grill and the quality of the ingredients is the recipe.

Pick up a sourdough country loaf or seeded miche from Prager Brothers the morning of the trip — 543 South Coast Highway 101, downtown Encinitas, open from 8am. Two brothers from Carlsbad who started baking naturally leavened, hand-shaped bread in their parents’ backyard. Slice it thick at the campsite. Quarter two or three ripe heirloom tomatoes from Seaside Market and season with olive oil, salt, and torn basil. Pick up one or two balls of fresh burrata from Seaside while you’re there — keep them cold in the cooler until you’re ready.

Brush the bread slices with olive oil and place directly on the hot BBQ grill grate. Two minutes per side until marked and lightly charred at the edges. Remove, rub with a halved raw garlic clove if you like, top with torn burrata and the seasoned tomatoes, finish with olive oil and flaky salt.

What to get at Seaside Market: Burrata (keep cold), heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic.

What to get at Prager Brothers: Sourdough country loaf or seeded miche.

Shaved Fennel and Citrus Salad

Make this at home and pack it dressed. The fennel softens slightly in the dressing and improves for it — one of the few salads that actually benefits from sitting. The acidity and crunch balance the richness of the fish and the butter on the corn.

At home: Shave two fennel bulbs as thin as possible — a mandoline is ideal, a sharp knife works fine. Segment two navel or blood oranges over the bowl to catch the juice. Add a handful of arugula. Dress with the juice of half a lemon, a generous pour of olive oil, flaky salt, and cracked black pepper. Add a handful of roughly chopped olives if you want something briny. Pack in a sealed container in the cooler.

What to get at Seaside Market: Fennel, oranges, arugula and olives. Everything else from home.

Stone Fruit with Honey and Sea Salt

Three ingredients. White peaches, nectarines, or apricots from late spring through September — ask at Seaside Market what’s best that week. In early fall, plums. Halve and pit the fruit, place cut-side down on the campsite BBQ grill for two minutes until caramelized, or wrap in foil and tuck into the edge of the dying coals for four to five minutes. Pile onto a plate or a board, drizzle with good honey from a small jar, finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt.

If the fruit is exceptional — which it often is in Southern California in late summer — skip the heat entirely and eat it raw. Honey and salt still. Same result, better fruit.

What to get at Seaside Market: Four to six pieces of stone fruit. Whatever looks best.

The Camp Kitchen Packing List

Firewood — available at Seaside Market or the Encinitas Home Depot. The camp store is currently closed so bring your own or pick up en route
Matches or a lighter — two of each, in separate bags in case one gets wet
Heavy-duty foil — essential for the corn packets and useful throughout
A cooler with enough ice for the full trip — fish, burrata, butter, and anything cold goes in here
A cutting board — a small wooden one doubles as a serving board
A sharp knife and a fish spatula wide enough to support a whole fish
Long tongs for managing coals and the fire ring grate
A small bottle of good olive oil — decant from a larger bottle at home
Flaky sea salt in a small jar
A lemon and a lime
The chili butter, pre-made, in a jar
The fennel salad, pre-dressed, in a sealed container
Small jar of honey for dessert
Metal cups or glasses — glass is allowed within the campground but prohibited on the beach
Paper towels and a small bottle of dish soap
A headlamp for cooking after dark
A bucket for water to fully extinguish the fire ring before you sleep

What to Drink

Seaside Market carries a solid selection of wine and beer — pick something up while you’re doing the provisions run. A cold Modelo or Stone Buenaveza with the corn is not a bad call. And think about bringing a thermos of something warm for after the sun drops — the temperature at a Cardiff bluff campsite falls fast after dark, and a warm drink at the end of the evening is one of those details that matters more than it seems like it should.

On Timing

Golden hour at San Elijo in summer runs around 7:30–8pm. Arrive at camp, set up, and get the fire going by 5pm — wood fires need about 45 minutes to burn down to the steady coals you want for cooking. That hour between lighting the fire and cooking is for the bread on the BBQ grill, the fennel salad coming out of the cooler, and the first drink. It’s not waiting time. It’s the best part of the evening.

Corn packets go into the coals first — they can sit there while the fish goes on the grate. Dinner on the table by 7pm, early enough to eat in the light. The stone fruit goes on after, when the coals are still warm enough and the sky has moved from orange to deep blue. Extinguish the fire properly with water before you turn in — never sand, which traps heat and stays dangerous for hours.

The best campsite meals aren’t rushed or complicated. They’re timed right, made from good ingredients, and eaten in a place that earns the effort.

Getting There and Where to Camp Nearby

San Elijo State Beach Campground is at 2050 S Coast Highway 101 in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Reserve through ReserveCalifornia.com — up to six months in advance. Rates $55–$75/night. Book early, especially for summer and weekends. Spring and fall have more availability and are genuinely the better seasons for this trip.

If San Elijo is full, South Carlsbad State Beach — eight miles north — is the closest comparable campground. Also on a bluff above the ocean, also with fire rings in the campsites, slightly larger and with more availability in the shoulder seasons.