Dome Asylum Sweet Orchard Spot

Great place to relax, camp and rejuvenate. Dawn was so helpful, kind & welcoming. The peaceful vibe at the goldfish pond & the cabana area was a wonderful place to reset.

Dawn greeted us when we got there and showed us around. This place was so quiet and peaceful. One of highlights was the Western Screeching Owl flying over at night and letting his presence be known. The natural pool was a hit with my kid. You are close to some of the best hikes in San Diego. Dawn was also an fascinating person to talk.

Response from Dawn, the Host, on June 4th, 2021

Thanks for staying with us, Heather! It was nice meeting you and your family, and we look forward to hosting you again!

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Nice spot to group camp (I had 6 ppl). Host amenities: common area/seating area, shower/flushable tiolet, fresh eggs ($), and onsite parking. You can feed fish in the pool-pond and birds. There are chickens and roosters that roam around. You are camping on grass so make sure to bring waterproof gear bc things will get dewy/muddy in the night. Also bring earplugs bc the roosters like to have long distance conversations with other roosters in the area. Lol. She even let me feed one! Fun night highly recommend!

Good people! And the property felt communal and private. The swimming pond/pool was awesome FYI Not everything you read advertised or in comments may be up and running at the moment (pumpkin patch).

Response from Dawn, the Host, on June 4th, 2021

That's true, thank you for bringing it up, and for staying with us, Chase! I'm glad you had a great time! Our Punkin Project, featured in lots of pics and reviews is in the shop getting its most recent upgrade, its own engine!

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This was a sweet spot to set up for a few days! I felt like I was in the tropics, with the greenery and citrus blossoms in the yard.

Both Dawn and her partner were lovely and warm, and their little dog was super sweet and checked up on us.

We were here for Easter and stashed eggs around the yard for my kiddo to hunt down; it was perfect.

Response from Dawn, the Host, on April 8th, 2021

So glad to hear you and your family got to enjoy your time at the Dome! Thanks for staying with us!

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My clan and I had an awesome stay! It was our first time taking our camper van for a real weekend adventure and the Dome Asylum was the perfect spot for it! Exactly what we needed to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors without straying too far from necessities. The outdoor bathroom was so accessible and clean, and the patio area and fire pits were very nice to have access too. Our 2 year old loved the chickens, and we all couldn’t get enough of the pumpkin carriage, tractor, and fish pond. Dawn was amazing before we even booked our stay and was very personable, attentive, and helpful when we arrived. This was our first time using Hipcamp and I hope most bookings work out as well as this one did!
Many of the other reviews are very accurate and during our stay I noticed they have taken special care to make sure the shared spaces feel safe during the pandemic.

Truly a special experience! Had the best time over the weekend at the Dome. It was everything we could have wished for and more. Dawn was super cool and nice, the other people staying their were friendly and chill. Would absolutely recommend this place

Awesome!!!

This was our first stay using the Hipcamp app and it did not disappoint! We took our 3 year old and 2 “city dogs” on their first camping trip and this was a great place for that experience. It’s woodsy but not remote (just about 1/2 mile from downtown Ramona) so should you forget something, you can likely grab it in town. The whole place is enclosed so toddlers and dogs cannot escape! It felt very safe and “easy”.

The place itself is so unique and cool! There are several camp options. We stayed in the Garden and it was very nice. It’s right next to the horseshoe game so other campers were sometime playing in what we’d made our “front yard”. We didn’t mind and there are other areas to set up a tent farther away if you’re really trying to avoid people.

There’s also a “cactus” spot and a “pumpkin” spot which each have their own special vibe. The pumpkin spot has a Cinderella pumpkin carriage pulled by a (stationary) tractor. It lights up at night. Our daughter just about lost her mind over this and we could barely tear her away. We’d probably stay in this spot if we came back because she was just in little girl heaven!

All the sites surround the pond/pool and most of the campers gathered around this area. It had shade, tables, a grill, music, cool fire displays, artwork... really awesome. This is also where the bathroom is so you naturally run into the other campers here.

They also have a nice resident dog, Klondike, who is just a sweetie. And chickens, chickens everywhere!! Baby chickens, big chickens, spotted chickens... any chicken your heart desires! Our dogs ended up having to be leashed the whole time bc they’d never seen a chicken and they could NOT handle it. We would probably leave them home if we came back because it was just sort of a pain having to watch them so closely. But if you have a dog that won’t chase the chickens, it’s a fun place for a dog too.

The ONLY negative was that the aforementioned chickens are noisy. As other reviewers mentioned, the roosters start at about 4am and they go on for awhile. And then the neighborhood roosters get in on the action and it’s a rooster opera all morning. If you have earplugs or headphones, problem solved. If you have a toddler, problem not solved. Ours got up with the roosters and would NOT go back to sleep. Obviously this isn’t the hosts fault - chickens/roosters are gonna do their thing - but I just want to let other parents know that you may have similar issues.

Oh, and there was also some street noise. It’s near a road so we heard a lot of loud trucks coming and going late into the evening. It’s not so loud that it really disrupts anything but, again, just something to be aware of so you’re not expecting isolation.

Overall a really really cool spot with lots of great surprises everywhere. The host is very welcoming and you can tell she likes hosting people. But she also gives you space. We had a great time, made some new friends, and will hopefully be back!!

Response from Dawn, the Host, on September 16th, 2020

Thanks for staying with us, and taking the time to leave a thoughtful review, Suzanne! We really do enjoy hosting, and watching campers like you and your little one enjoy our space makes us smile!

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