Some of the hiker/biker sites are less than great, but that's to be expected.
I've camped at Bodega Bay here in California, for instance, and while it was only $5.00/day, the actual places weren't so hot. In the worst one, I had dozens of RVs right next to me and it wasn't very scenic at all. Going into it, I thought it might be a nice little trek to a remote spot, but it was basically a tiny plot of sand with a parking lot to my left with a big lavatory, and an RV lot to my right, and two enclosed beaches surrounded by man-made walls of large, roundish boulders. Add to this the amount of garbage that people tossed around, and it made me just want to stealth it in nearby state parks. At least with those you can find a nice quiet place for yourself, if that's your thing.
It wasn't terrible, mind you. Camping is almost always nice to this boy scout and it did have a number of jackrabbits running around, but I wasn't crazy about it.