Campo is a small unincorporated community in the Mountain Empire region of eastern San Diego County, California, set among oak-covered hills, granite boulders, and open ranchland near the U.S.-Mexico border. The area was originally inhabited by the Kumeyaay people, known in early records as the Diegueño, and later became a ranching and agricultural district. Campo's defining historical chapter came with the railroad: in the early twentieth century, the town was an important transportation hub where the San Diego and Arizona Railway crossed the backcountry, and its depot and railroad heritage remain central to its identity. Today the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum preserves that legacy with historic locomotives, railcars, and excursion operations. The community sits along State Route 94, roughly fifty miles east of downtown San Diego and a short distance north of the Tecate border crossing, and it is flanked by the Cleveland National Forest and the open lands of the Campo and Lake Morena area. Housing is a mix of ranch-style residences, manufactured homes, custom homes, and larger acreage properties, reflecting the area's rural, spacious character. Daily life is quiet and outdoors-oriented, with horseback riding, hiking, and off-road recreation among the local pastimes. The climate is high-desert and mountainous, with cooler, greener conditions than the coastal plain and occasional winter snow at higher elevations. For residents, Campo offers a rural, spacious alternative to coastal San Diego County while keeping the city within commuting distance. The community's location near the border and the railroad gives it a distinctive character within San Diego County, and the surrounding backcountry attracts those seeking privacy, open space, and a connection to the region's ranching and railroading past. Campo remains sparsely developed, with services concentrated along the highway and much of the surrounding land given over to ranch and forest uses. Its combination of history, open landscape, and relative proximity to San Diego defines its appeal.