Butterfield Ranch Resort is tucked away in the shadow of Mt. Laguna, and is right across the street from Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The weather at Butterfield is fantastic all throughout the winter months. It is warm and sunny, but not hot. Nice breeze. Lots of hiking and biking trails around. There are 3 swimming pools (one of which is solar heated) and 3 hot tubs (which are wonderful on a cool, starry night). The resort is very peaceful. It is a great place to relax, to spend a weekend exploring, or to winter over. We stayed for 4 months and love it. The staff is extremely friendly, too, and very knowledgeable about the vicinity, the hikes and bird-watching opportunities around the area. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 6 / 10 ]
February 2008
$35
Wi-Fi at the office but not in the campground. Only cell service was AT&T. Very quiet park, we were there mid week. It is about 30 miles from the town of Julian. Apparently this is an old park that has just re-opened. We would stay there again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
KQ Ranch is one of my absolute favorite places to go, and we try to take about 3 trips here annually. It's in the local San Diego mountains which offers a great "bounce back" from the normal day-to-day grind. The staff is very friendly and helpful and goes the extra mile to make the guests feel welcomed. Plenty of recreation activities to do whether you have kids or not. But I must admit, I wish I knew about this when my kids were young (they are all adults now). So, I cant wait to have grandchildren old to enough to take along! We camped here in a Motorhome.
This place is great for families. It's got tennis courts, an awesome covered pool, golf, a general store and events like 2 PM root beer floats for $1. It's only a few minutes from downtown Julian where they have cute little stores and places to buy the best apple pie on the planet. We went to KQ to take advantage of the free weekend, did attend the sales meeting but did not buy. We do not have children, which I think is the best way to get your moneys worth at a resort like this. Our specific site was level enough and had water/electric/sewer hookups. The sites did feel a bit cramped though - the site to our left practically looked down on ours. I rated this high because it offers a lot of things but we will not go back. It's anywhere from $6K to $10K to purchase. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a timeshare. I went to activate my free year from my dealer and the sales guy said it was useless...He made us feel like crap cause we didnt want to buy right on the spot. Other than that it was a great place to camp, not near a resort style at all. Nice pool, activities for kids was nice and steak bbq on Saturday was great. It's still worth the free weekend and free year.. I would never pay for this place.. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We camped up on the ridge, and the view was awesome. It can get windy up there, but that was okay. The rest of the campground is at lower elevation and didn't get the winds. We stayed at the top for more privacy. Lots of activities for the kids which is another reason we stayed out of the way. We liked it a lot ,and we go back on a regular basis as we live within three hours. Gravel sites. No water pressure as it is gravity fed. We used on board water to take showers. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This RV park is outstanding. Only 4 miles from downtown Julian. There are always great activities scheduled during the weekends.. Definitely family orientated, but my wife and I had an incredible time even though our kids are grown. The facilities are well maintained, and the staff is always helpful. We purchased LP gas at this location, and saved about 50 cents per gallon compared to price near our house. Had excellent Verizon air card coverage. Will definitely return!! We camped here in a Motorhome.
We stayed for a free weekend in exchange for enduring a time share presentation. The staff gets an A+ for being friendly and helpful. This park has a lot of things for the kids like miniature golf, a game room, a nice pool and a large ball field. There are lots of golf carts around so you have to keep your eyes open when you walk. Also, bands on the weekends play to 11:00pm so if you go to bed early, you'll have a hard time sleeping. Sites vary greatly. Some handle the largest rigs while others are right on top of each other. You'll want to arrive as early as possible to pick a nice spot. Overall it was a nice park but we felt the membership price was unreasonable. If this were a regular "pay as you go" park we would definitely go back. (866)-217-8111 We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Sad little park. The staff was almost too eager to help us to our site, free weekend if we listened to a membership presentation. Perched on a cliff with our back-end lower than front...precarious at best. We don't recommend this park for big-rigs! New management trying to overcome devastating southern California fires which left this place 80% charred. We wish them the best...but will not re-visit. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Stayed here to "activate" a free year of camping here from our RV dealership. Had to sit through a 90 minute sales presentation. Did not buy. Campsite assigned sloped to the back and left making it almost impossible to level. 5 different families all arrived around same time and were all assigned the same area so everyone was trying to back in without hitting each other. Escort never met us at the gate so we had to find our own campsite. Apparently they were shorthanded that day. When we asked for another more level campsite he told us to find one and let him know. It was dark and we'd never been there so how could we? He should have called-in and re-assigned us himself. Then he wanted to put us in a site that was way too small and short for our trailer. We stayed where we were and leveled the best we could. Was told that there would be a Superbowl Party with snacks provided. Never saw a single employee the whole time the game was on - no snacks. Other planned activities never happened. Campground is nice and we'll use our free year but after that we'll find somewhere else to camp near Julian. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We went on a free 3 day and listened to the presentation. The campground was very nice. It was probably a lot nicer before the fires through there. There are a lot of activities for families. There are full meals available, playground, heated pool, and activities. The kids had a great time. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Like many other campers, we stayed here to activate a "free" camping membership. We were greeted by peacocks and a pleasant person at the gate. We were escorted to our site by an employee who assisted in helping us back in. Road was gravel, which was difficult to walk on, but otherwise OK. Site we had was not really big, but OK as well. Probably wouldn't stay here again. Sat thru the 90 minute presentation, but didn't "buy". We camped here in a Motorhome.
We got a free weekend when we purchased our TT. They wanted us to buy their membership, but passed. It was Okay, probably will not return, don't like all the dust. But great for families. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is an RPI park near Julian. Very nice park. Easy to get around in, they only have a few pull thru sites. A park employee escorted me to site and helped guide me into back-in space. Beautiful views from the "Eastern Ridge" of park. Routes 78 & 79 are good 2 lane roads that weave thru the mountains in that area. I had no problems negotiating the curves/hills with my 5th wheel. Julian, CA is a great town to explore. Will stay here again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This is a private and Coast to Coast park. We went by paying $19.95 for 3 nights that
requires a 90 minute tour. The campground has a heated pool, lighted tennis courts, basketball court, a sort of baseball field, a couple play lots with swings and slides, fishing lake, club house, very small store and minature golf course. They have rental trailers and cabins. The current owner just bought it about a year and a half ago and is starting to do upgrades. It is a very family oriented park. There were lots of kids on the weekend. We stayed a few days into the week it was really quiet. You can see the ocean and the Salton Sea from a few campsites on top of a hill on a clean day. Julian is an apple growing area so you can go into town and get fresh apple pie. On Saturday evening they have a steak dinner in the club house for $5 and breakfast Saturaday and Sunday morning for $2.50. I have to admit we bought a membership but we live less than an hour away and have two grandchildren. We hope to come back with them in a couple weeks. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2003
$40
Very nice family campground. Lots of activities for both adults and children. They had olympics for kids, karaoke, pancake breakfast for $2, golf course, basketball,tennis courts, and a miniature golf course. A 90-minute tour was required for our free stay, they try to sell you a membership but it was not bad. It did not even last 90 minutes it was more like 45 minutes. They were not pushy at all and were very nice. We stayed two nights free, plus we got a free dvd player. The sites are not that big they are kinda close to each other but it was fine. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$20
Wonderful scenic park that is member of Coast to Coast and RPI. Very clean and beautiful views from many sites. Year round pool heated at 83 degrees. We camped here in a camper.
This is a nice family park near Julian in San Diego County CA. Our site was quiet with lots of trees and shade. The park is like, well, a park, and that was very good. However, the facilities are not up to what you normally expect. Such as sewer hook ups. There were none. Unless you are a permanent resident. When I say permanent don't think of low level. What you have in this park is a bunch of weekenders or folks escaping the desert heat who have a trailer or RV here. Many have built patios and so on. There is also a large tent area. Also, there is a small fishing lake. If you like to look up at the stars you will like it here. We brought our telescope. It is about four miles from here to Julian. If you want to be in a park like setting this is a great place. Might be a bit cramped to get really huge class A's in. Spaces slope down and that blocks the noise from the road. However, there is some motorcycle noise on weekends. Julian attracts TONS of motorcycle riders on weekends. You can certainly hear when 40 Harleys go by. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Park was very clean. Roads were paved with pebble rock covering the camp sites. Camp spaces were level. We had only partial hookups, all the full hook up are taken by weekend campers that have their RV there full time. Bathrooms were clean as well as the dump stations. Overall the park is very well maintained. People were very nice and we all had a great time. We will be back. We camped here in a Truck Camper.
Review Rating
[ 6 / 10 ]
January 2008
$28
Signed in and paid for two nights, and were given a choice of sites. We checked them out, and a few were very good size. Upon further inspection I realized that they were only water and electric, no sewer. Went back to office and inquired, and found out only permanent residents had sewer, and maybe not all of them. It gets pretty cold up there. The manager said that none of the campgrounds in the area have sewer hook ups. They had 3 dump stations but I didn't feel like dumping to start with and then dumping again before we left. He refunded our money and we went on our way. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Great location just 4 miles from Julian. Unfortunately Hwy 79 is right next to about 1/4 of the sites. Traffic noise was only noticeable when outside and was occasional not constant. Limited sewer hookup sites. We had problems with our air conditioning all weekend, might be inconsistent AC power. Most sites seemed reasonably level, but ours was way off. Our awning area was on a slope covered with gravel. However, the site was very long so we had a lot of space behind the RV. The sites follow the contour of the ground and the trees, which I like better than the new perfectly laid out sites. The best thing about this park is the mature trees and plenty of shade. Just make sure you reserve in advance and pick a nice site. We reserved late on a holiday weekend. There was a nice mix of tent campers, pop up trailers, 5th wheels, Class C and just a few Class A RV's. They allow fires, which is nice. There isn't much to do (no pool, no playground, etc). The streets are paved which led to a lot of kids riding bikes and skateboarding down the steep inclines. They have a large fishing pond but it was closed for renovation. The pond is not visible except from a few sites that seem to be taken by long term residents. There is only one restroom/shower building which requires a long walk uphill. There are only 3 men's showers and 3 women's showers for 230 sites? On the other hand, the showers were empty and clean when I was there. They do have 5 additional portable toilets located throughout the park. The camp store is very nice and offers WiFi internet, movie rentals, laundry, books, and a nice stock of supplies. We camped here in a Motorhome.
The park is very nice. It is surrounded by trees. There is large meadow for kids to play ball or run around. The hiking trails are well-marked and easy enough for family. The RV loop is a bit tight. Some of them are like parking spaces. Others are a little bit farther apart. The no-hookup sites are definitely more spacious. The bathroom and shower is well-maintained. There is hot and cold water, except the water is yellow-ish, probably not good for drinking. The dump site is right next to the bathrooms. Overall we enjoyed the park. Julian is only 10 minutes away for yummy apple pies. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
October 2008
$15
Our stay at William Heise was our first time dry camping in our new TT. While there is one loop of full hook-up sites, I would recommend trying one of the other non-hookup loops if you are self-contained. The non-hook-up sites tend to be much larger and are futher apart from each other. Our site had a large pad area and then a tent and fire pit area down below, giving us a lot of room and privacy. The facilities were very clean. Just walking thru the expansive campground loops in the morning/eveving was very nice. There are also several hiking trails with trailheads in the park. The town of Julian is close by and makes a nice day trip. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Great area to camp. The sites are close together but the area is beautiful. No generators are allowed at any time. We made sure we had electric hookup. We will be going back again. I would have given it a 10 if the sites were further apart and if you could use generators. Generators would give you access to more of the park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Good park, trails, meadows etc. RV loop spots are very close together. (not even rooms for awnings at some rows) Lots of deer/turkey/wildlife. Would definitely recommend it. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a great park. They have electric only hookups. They have potable water, but it is recommended to bring water in the winter, because when we were there the pipes froze. We got a couple of channels with our antenna. The restrooms were not clean, only because there was no water - the showers are free and clean. This is a beautiful park with trails & wildlife - would stay again! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a lovely park in a lovely location. All their hookup sites are grouped around a paved ring, but there's open space around and between them. We were plagued with no-see-ums this trip, but not on other trips. No hummingbirds! Staff was a little less accommodating than at other San Diego County parks. Heise is very popular ... make reservations, and make them early! We camped here in a Truck Camper.
This is a county campground near Julian. There are no hookups but water and dump station
are free. Located at about 5,ooo feet in the oak and pine covered hills by Julian, this campground is quiet and clean. Showers and bathrooms are heated in winter. Every time we stay we see dear and wild turkey, woodpeckers, etc. Nice hiking trails. Group camping available. We camped here in a Motorhome.