There are two or three "Vista Points" (parking/rest areas next to expansive, open space by the ocean) along I-5 in Southern California.

The open space looks perfect for flying a drone and taking some nice beach/ocean photos... however the land might be protected forest/habitat/etc, and one of them kind of close to Camp Pendleton (an army base) how can I find out if it's ok to fly at any of these Vista Points?

There is an app you can download that tells you all the places it is not possible to fly.  It's called B4UFly.  Its at the playstore.

I've noticed those also driving down from Orange County. I don't go down that often but would like to take the Mavic next time and check it out. San Diego has some nice areas to fly.