I'll weigh in here, as this is actually my domain...
The Day Use Fee for the park is $5 - good from 6am to 11PM. The overnight fee is $10 - good for 1 vehicle and 1 legally towed vehicle (I.E. Fifth wheel, trailer, or towed vehicle). Any vehicle driven in under it's own power must have a separate reservation. Every weekend in the summer time we are sold out and we ALWAYS recommend reservations. We have Cal Trans style flashing signs at each entrance indicating if and when we are sold out along with a warning that camping on the beach without a camping pass could net you a $303 citation. There are additional traditional signs warning of the illegal camping fee along the entry fence as well. I worked last weekend and we were definitely sold out. The sign was flashing "Camping Sold Out" at each entrance. My guess is when you drove up to the kiosk you didn't ask for camping. The Park Aide at the kiosk (Not to be confused with Rangers, who are peace officers) would not have sold a camping pass if there was none to sell, as they can get fired for doing so. Instead, if you look at you receipt (which i suspect is a day use pass) you will have only paid five dollars and it does clearly state day use hours on the pass itself. The camping passes are specific to your vehicle and would have had your license plate written on it as well as your due out date, the initials of which Park Aide issued it, whether you had a trailer or not, and the receipt stapled to the pass.
If all you had on your window was the small day use pass and stayed in the park after 11 PM, you chose to risk the citation. The tickets that we issue are parking citations for this particular violation, and the information that the person you spoke with is accurate. If you turn your parking ticket over, it explains to you how to contest the citation. So follow those directions, document and include any information you think may help your case, including the original pass and any reservation paperwork you might have (if you had a valid reservation). What you do not want to do is ignore it. If you choose not to pay it or contest it, the fee will increase and the next time you go to register your vehicle you will not be able to until you take care of it. Hope this helps and feel free to ask any additional questions if you'd like,
Blue
Ron, ODSVRA is a primitive camping area. You pay $10 a night for each vehicle driven in and camp directly on the beach after driving a mile south from the entrance to the camping area. There are no designated spots and no hookups. There are vault toilets and chemies, but no running water. Its a "pack it in, pack it out" park. You may have pulled info for the county campground in the area as the two state run parks, Oceano and North Beach (campgrounds are $50 for hookups and $35 for tent. You can make reservations on reserveamerica.com... Hope this helps! =)

