Benbow KOA & Golf Course, near Benbow, California, is a solid choice for campers looking to enjoy the beauty of the redwoods while having access to essential amenities. This campground offers a mix of tent sites, RV spots, and cabins, making it suitable for various camping styles.

You'll find clean facilities, including showers and well-maintained bathrooms, which visitors appreciate after a day of outdoor activities. The staff is known for being friendly and accommodating, often helping guests find the most convenient sites, especially when repairs are underway. As one camper noted, “It was nice having showers available,” which can make a big difference on the road.

For those who enjoy a bit of recreation, the campground features a pool, a hot tub (though currently out of commission), and even a community movie night on Saturdays. The nearby Avenue of the Giants offers stunning views and hiking opportunities, so you can immerse yourself in nature right outside your door. 

While some campers mentioned that the sites can be a bit tight, especially for larger rigs, the overall atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. Whether you're stopping for a night or planning a longer stay, Benbow KOA provides a comfortable base to explore the surrounding beauty of Northern California.

Mountain views and some of the tallest redwood trees in the world will WOW visitors to the Lost Coast of Northern California - and so will the amenities at this KOA, located on the East Branch, South Fork Eel River. Settle into an En-Suite Cabin, a Full Hookup RV Site (max pull-thru sites: 55 feet) or a seasonal Tent Site and savor the beauty of Benbow Valley. Families enjoy the seasonal swimming pool and hot tub. Kids love the playground and sports court. Planned activities are offered during Summer weekends, including Arts and Crafts and Barrel Train Rides. Campers can enjoy fishing and playing in the Eel River, a designated National Wild and Scenic River.

The Benbow Golf Course is now open. Golfing is currently on a first-come, first-serve basis. Come to the KOA Office for ground fees and golf cart rentals.

Gathering spaces, including the Village Hall for groups up to 140 and Friendship Hall for groups up to 30, are available for group bookings.

Benbow KOA & Golf Course

Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Garberville, CA has a lot to offer. Garberville is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Garberville camping trip.

Garberville

The Best Camping Near Garberville, California

Very nicely kept.  Awesome showers available.  Grass areas in all sites.  Beautiful scenery 

Benbow

This was the first stop on a drive from San Francisco to Seattle. The river access is pretty sweet!! We stayed in site 26 with our van, it was decent size, on the end of the row and across from the bathroom. It’s just a couple minutes walk to the river. We rolled in on a Friday evening and there were tons of spots available. 
There are a few big loops, some spaces had water front access but those were all snagged. The third loop was set back away from the river and very private and shaded but the highway noise seemed loud when we checked it out. 
This camp ground is VERY kid friendly, probably a bit more than we were after since we left our 2 kiddos out of this trip for some solo time. Bathrooms are super clean, quarter showers, I think it was $1.50 for 5 minutes. The toilet stalls have electrical outlets and mirrors too which is nice. The spots are super tight to one another so not a lot of privacy. 
Staff was helpful and friendly, a bundle of wood was $8. 
The river is very rocky! Bring your water shoes 

Clean & family friendly 

This KOA is located in a great location, not too far from the redwoods, not too far from Eureka, not too far from the coast.
There's a bunch of guys running around every day to maintain the grounds. Decent spaces, especially if you can get the front row with a view to the golf course.
Crappy WiFi though.

Great location, well maintained

There are several pull-outs along Benbow Dr, some more level than others. GPS coordinates point to the access point from Hwy 101 (Redwood Hwy). We stayed all night with no issues at 40°02'58.5"N 123°47'32.5"W tucked into a treed section off the road. We are actually just a little past this location at a pull off that had a fire ring and lots of space.

We experienced only a handful of cars passing by and very little noise from Highway 101 above (otherwise just the South Fork of the Eel River below). Just northwest of where we were, you have access to the river through what appears to be a decommissioned day-use park.

***When we pulled in there was no one, but two other parties came and the spots were not far enough for my comfort. There was nothing that separated us, only a couple trees and that took away from the privacy factor. One party was friendly, the other was not. He seemed like this was HIS spot and it made me feel a little nervous staying there (brown van in photo). If I was with a larger group, I would have felt fine, but it was just me and another friend and I was on edge all night :/

Dispersed camping off Benbow Dr.

Bunch of trimigrants or transients living here and it’s creepy. Weirdos walking around all hours of night and not cool with the family. Will never be back here again but plan on suiting the redwoods more often. Just don’t let them out you in the back if you do stay. Oh and where we were it’s 30 amp not 50 if that matters. 

Not that great

Hypothetically this place looks great on the internet and when you first arrive it appears clean but sit back and really look around and watch what’s going on.  A lot of coming and going at all hours, transient signs by the river, full timers hiding out only coming out at night, something going on here.  Lots of talk when checking in about “smoke” and growing.  Yeah... not again.

On Paper Great But...

Wasn’t impressed by the long term population that seems to be residing there. It was quiet though and over all a decent stay. We spent 4 days there. The WiFi sucked and they put us in the far back. Stay closer to the front if you can in the premium spots. We didn’t know the difference. Non premium is in the way back, no fire pits and spotty WiFi. 

Different but to be expected

Shared group showers, small dog park,  ok park for kids to play on.  Water spickets at group sites.  Friendly people.. decently well kept 

Decent Camp Spot 

We just needed a campsite to sleep the night after the red woods

This place was not great for that.

Staff was okay, the grounds were also only okay... 

The worst part was there were about 20 kids playing on the tennis court screaming, yelling and swearing till about 1 am. No one came to talk to them.  We called the front desk and their response was basically "too bad"  yeah, I wouldn't go here again

Somewhere to sleep...

We paid $56 for a campsite that was super close to the river and the shower. There are only 2 tent sites and the others are RV and cabins. The cabins started at $150. It was a bit expensive but we’ve been on the road for couple weeks and needed a place with shower and flushing toilets. The bathrooms are really clean and have other services too.

Convenient 

We stayed here for a week during a cross country road trip/ summer vacay and this KOA did not disappoint. Staff were courteous and helpful, pool open until 10p was a big plus, community movie was shown on Saturday night, some retro arcade games were present in the main building and they also had a pool table and some board games to borrow. Hot tub was out of commission because of motor being damaged and price of fire wood was too high. Also, bummer that not all camp sites had a fire pit- we saw no rhyme or reason to this because they allowed personal fire pits on some lots and had fire pits on some more expensive lots. It seemed too much like a marketing ploy to get you to spend more money. Also, internet might as well not exist as it is useless, even to send an email and even when right there inside the main building. I know it is a rural setting, but we were able to provide our own better service, so I know they could do better if they wanted to/invested in it. Yes, I know it's camping and all about the outdoors, but it is 2022 and connectivity is vital to make travel plans, manage finances and stay in contact with home. Overall, lovely place

Easily accessed off 101, close proximity to Avenue of the Giants 

In my humble opinion Benbow KOA is one of the finest KOAs out there it's not only beautiful and easy to access very accessible but it's in the middle of the redwoods it's right next to the avenue of the Giants The grandfather tree is down the street everything that you want to see is right here what more could you ask for

One of the best 

We used this campground as a one night layover on our way to sunny California. Ordinarily we would have booked a campsite in the Redwoods State and National Park but storm damage from earlier this winter closed many of the campgrounds in the area.  It was nice having showers available. We appreciated that staff was proactive in changing our site to a more convenient one to the front bathrooms for the same price as one we had booked further back. They did this because they were repairing the back bathrooms.

Stopover Heading to Sunny California

The campground is very clean and quiet. The staff is friendly. Sites are tight, mostly in the sense of getting in and out of them. I suggest a premium patio site since they are on the ends of the rows along the exit of the 1 way street. They are the easiest to pull into from your row. Big rigs may have some maneuvering otherwise. We are in a  42' 5th wheel and we're glad to not have had neighbors when we moved in. All hookups are at the very back of your site so the power posts are slightly in the way when pulling in. Driving in the grass is unavoidable. Parking at your site for bigger rigs is difficult. 

Clean and quiet

We liked a lot about this campground.  Our site was clean and had full, working hook-ups.  There were trees for shade, but I was still able to get a good Starlink signal to get online.  The pool and hot tub looked great, but were full of kids having a great time, so we passed.  The store had a few items, but the overwhelming winner was the staff.  They smiled, said "hello," and were all genuinely positive.  There's a golf course nearby if that is of interest, and a stream for fishing within walking distance.  Finally, it's right next to the Benbow Inn, an historic old hotel with a nice bar and restaurant. The food and service there were quite nice and definitely unexpected.

Photos of Benbow KOA & Golf Course

Real photos from real campers