With a rich history of excellence dating back to the 1950’s, Mission Bay’s iconic, waterfront campgrounds have done more to facilitate coastal access than any other city-leased attraction.
Each year, millions of locals and visitors flock to the nation’s largest constructed aquatic park — not just for the views, but for unique recreation experiences. Campland on the Bay and Mission Bay RV Resort, located in the northeast corner of the park, offer overnight lodging mere steps away from the beach and wetlands, year-round aquatic activities, campfire gatherings and resort-grade amenities. All at prices dramatically more affordable than the park’s luxury hotels.
San Diego’s most beloved campgrounds embody a form of public coastal access that has all but vanished. As the cost of living continues to rise nationwide, Campland and Mission Bay RV Resort preserve the family- and wallet–friendly experience of waterfront camping for everyday people. From basic tent camping to toy-hauling RVs, we offer recreation access to a diverse cross-section of our community.
City officials, community leaders, and lessees have worked together to overcome obstacles in order to maintain and improve these facilities and the public access they provide.
In 2019, the City Council extended Campland’s lease and offered a new lease for Mission Bay RV Resort. Despite cynical opposition, our team succeeded in protecting the environment by safely removing long-abandoned, contaminated mobile homes and repairing eroding public pathways.
More recently, the council unanimously approved 15-year lease extensions that will ensure waterfront camping in northeast Mission Bay remains available while the city continues its long-term planning process for the area.
To avoid further delays, we voluntarily entered into an agreement with the Coastal Commission to improve access to our coast by expanding public parking and restroom access. We launched an unprecedented free camping program for youth and families facing barriers to coastal access. And as another measure of good faith, we recently walked away from millions of dollars in remaining city rent credits.
As many may have noticed, there has been no shortage of debate over the future of Northeast Mission Bay in recent years. The city’s De Anza Natural Plan, which proposes the costly conversion of Campland on the Bay into wetlands, continues to move forward. The planning process, however, has been stalled by the need for independent, objective expert analysis of the plan’s technical feasibility, especially when it comes to hydrology and water quality concerns.
Wetlands projects of the scale and complexity envisioned by the city take decades to fully study, permit and construct. That’s why the recent extensions for Campland and Mission Bay RV Resort are so important — they ensure public access is preserved while the city works through further planning, funding and permitting processes.
This milestone also provides important context for the city’s new Coastal Resilience Master Plan, expected to be considered this year. Climate adaptation goals like flood protection, shoreline preservation and habitat enhancement are admirable goals that must be balanced with the public’s right to access and enjoy the bay’s waterways, not just admire them from a distance.
Campland and Mission Bay RV Resort exemplify that balance, contributing to all three pillars the Mission Bay Master Plan: recreation, economics and environmental stewardship.
As lessees with a 50+ year track record of conscientious success, we appreciate the city Council’s vote of confidence in our role as stewards of these public treasures. We relish the opportunity to facilitate recreation experiences for the tens of thousands of families who visits us each year, and for the city itself, which funds environmental restoration and park improvements though the millions of dollars in rent and tax revenue generated by our operations.
The dedicated professionals operating Mission Bay’s campgrounds have routinely embraced extraordinary challenges to ensure families maintain meaningful access to coastal lodging and recreation. In the coming years, we look forward to furthering that commitment.
The life-altering experience of waterfront camping has played an essential role in making Mission Bay a world-renowned public resource. It must be preserved for future generations.
Jacob Gelfand is chief operating officer of Mission Bay RV Resort and Campland on the Bay.
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