Gold Bluffs Beach Campground, near Crescent City, California, is a stunning location that puts you right next to the ocean and surrounded by majestic redwoods. This campground offers a unique experience with its simple amenities, including spacious sites that come with fire rings and food lockers, perfect for keeping your supplies safe from wildlife.

Visitors rave about the breathtaking views and the close proximity to Fern Canyon, making it an ideal base for hiking and exploring the natural beauty of the area. The sound of the ocean waves is a constant companion, creating a serene atmosphere that many campers cherish. One reviewer noted, “The sites are huge and spread out,” which adds to the feeling of privacy despite the campground's popularity.

Accessing the campground involves a bit of a bumpy ride, but the scenery along the way is worth it. Wildlife sightings, including elk and various birds, are common, so keep your camera ready. While the facilities are basic, they are clean, and the campground is well-maintained, ensuring a pleasant stay. Just remember to bring your own firewood, as it’s not available on-site.

With its stunning sunsets and easy access to hiking trails, Gold Bluffs Beach Campground is a fantastic choice for those looking to immerse themselves in nature while enjoying the beauty of Northern California's coastline.

Experience the wild Pacific coastline and grazing Roosevelt elk in this campground, with easy access to a secluded stretch of beach, Fern Canyon, and 70 miles of hiking and biking trails. Located on the coast within Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park - in the southern part of the parks. Access is on with a narrow, dirt road. Recreational vehicles and trailers are not advised.

Gold Bluffs Beach Campground — Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Orick, CA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Orick is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Find the best campgrounds near Orick, CA. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.

Orick

The Best Camping Near Orick, California

What a beautiful place to wake up- right near the beach! The sites were large and it was somewhat private due the the sites being spread out.  There isn't much as far as facilities go- just a restroom with running water.  The drive here is a bit tricky, but well worth the location.  There are some great hikes in the park as well.  This place is on the list to visit again!  

almost on the beach

The road out here is rough!!! But we did it in a Honda Fit so if you have a SUV you will be fine. Right next to the beach it gets cold at night bit you are super close to Fern Canyon one of the most amazing places I have ever seen, straight out of a movie.

Rough roads lead to beautiful places

Redwoods State Park is beautiful with campgrounds that are basically next to the trails, secluded and surrounded by trees. There is nothing not to like about this place. Worth the drive.

Mistic place

Redwoods, Elk, Seals, Beach and now Water and showers and reserveable sites from may-sept.  Wow, it has changed a lot in 10 years but it also has gotten more beautiful.  

Magical Gold Bluffs Beach

Gold Bluffs Beach campgrounds is close to anything you want to do within the park. I enjoyed the smell of the redwoods and amazing views. There are ferns everywhere and you can start to feel like your in the PNW. It is cool in the evening so you will need some warm items. The drive and hiking trails are AMAZING! I cant wait to go back! 

Words can't describe 

Amazing.  Redwoods meets the Pacific Ocean.  This is the spot to stay in when visiting the Redwood National Park!  New bathrooms with water!  Yes!  Elk and Seals everywhere and an amazing drive in!
 
Dryt Ranger Review:  The Merino Wool in the ColdPruf Classic Mens is Crew and Bottoms is amazing.  Lightweight and very warm.  When the marine layer rolled in at night, I was super toasty in my Coldprufs.  I am not sure why people spend twice as much on the Smartwool brand when coldpruf is putting out such high quality products for half the cost!  Thanks Coldpruf!

 Ranger Review: Cold Pruf Classic Mens Crew and Bottoms at Gold Bluff Beach Campground, CA

Incredible camp sites, beautiful views, huge trees, and agate beaches. Some of the most amazing trees I've ever seen. Love the Rangers and their activities.

Absolute Favorite Campground in the US

First come first serve. Hellish road to get there but worth the trip. Close to Fern Canyon. Basic Campground. No trees. Sites close to each other. Cold showers. Toilets not very clean but hey you're on the beach! It's awesome. 

Gold Bluffs Beach campground

One of the best campsites in California. You should start at the Prairie Creek Visitor Center and hike out to this campground. True, you can just drive here, but that would waste a good chance at an easy backpack trip. Good to bring out a beginner here. Relatively mellow trail, spectacular scenery, super quiet beach area. This is one of the best trails in California. Some of the biggest and oldest trees in the world, along a historic trail to a breathtaking Fern Canyon, and stunning long sandy beach. What more can you really ask for?

Best to do it before June when all the big groups of tourists arrive, but still not bad anytime of year. 

Consider joining a guided tour with the great naturalist guides at Redwood Adventures and Elk Meadow Cabins if it is your first time to the area, or if you are limited with time. 


Secluded Beach Campground - Easy Backpack

Ok the road to this place is 1 on the roughest I've ever come across and I love in the mountains of Montana! Yet once you reach this place you relize it should be hard to reach, what a jem. You feet from the ocean and minutes to the giant redwoods. This place is perfect to calm the mind and help you relax.

Rough road ahead!

Stayed here in early October. It's an absolutely magical place. The campground is not huge maybe 30-40 sites. Can accommodate RvS and tens. There bathrooms, showers, toilets, fire ring and picnic tables. Make reservations on weekend if you want a ocean side side. They will be booked. We did a walk in. There's no much shade around sites but your on the ocean and there's hiking in Fern Canyon right behind you where there is fresh water and lots of shade. The drive off the pacific coast highway is 8 miles on an windy dirt road. It was beautiful but be prepared for slow people...You can fish, hike, bike and surf here.

Fern canyon offers amazing hiking. It's 1 of a kind. There's lot of redwoods and miles and miles of trails to explore. It's costs 8$ to get into the park but if you have a national park pass it's free. You also need to pay for camping. They are seperate fees. It's well worth the money for camping here especially if you have the national park pass and save 8$.

Cheers!

Beautiful place ! Fern canyon and the Ocean!

This little piece of heaven is a first come first serve campsite, but it's right next to the beach so who can complain about that! The drive into Golden Bluffs is a rough one with windy turns and bumpy roads, but you do get a nice view of the redwood forest! The area itself is just a breathe taking combination of towering redwood trees with a mix of the calming waves and the beach!

I went in early April and got a little bit of rain, so definitely make sure you prepare for that. But the great thing about going in early April is that the campground was pretty much empty so you can enjoy the beach without it being over populated! Also they have the standard amenities you would expect from a campsite (fire ring, food locker, bathrooms). Being that it is first come first serve, I would suggest getting there early setting up your campsite and then hit the trails!

A Piece of heaven

Great campground. Small maybe 30 sites. Only problem was wind. Fern gully a must see!

Loved!

This campsite was so close to the ocean we could hear the waves crashing all night. It was not overly crowded for November even though the weather was perfect. The only downside was the road getting to the campground was very precarious and if it had been raining, my car would have not made it back out. A huge plus is that they accepted my national parks pass as payment for the site.

This was a scenic beach side campground located in a Redwood National Park

awesome camp sites right on the beach. very nice bathrooms, and a bear/animal safe to keep your food in.

amazing view

Gold Bluffs Beach Campground http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=415 is possibly my favorite campground I have every visited. The sites are spacious, located in the sand dunes just below a large redwood bluff. The sites on the west of the loop also back up to the ocean. There isn't a ton of tree or bush coverage for privacy, but the sites are spaced out far enough that it isn't an issue and the sand dunes offer some privacy if you set up your tent in a hollow. Each site has a picnic table and firepit/grill combo. There is also a bear box for food, and the Rangers are very adamant that all food is to be kept in there, at all times, unless you are eating it. I didn't see any bears, just lots of elk and hawks. There are bathrooms and coin operated showers, as well as drinking water. All the facilities were very clean. It is a long, rough road to get out to the campground, but well worth it. Keep in mind that it is part of the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, so while the campground and beach is dog friendly, the hiking trails are not. The beauty of the campground and the surrounding redwoods, as well as Fern Canyon a couple miles past the campground, is amazing. The little town of Orick has a couple places to stock up on supplies, but don't expect to be able to run to a supermarket or REI while you are here. The remote location is part of what makes it such a spectacular place. I could go on and on about it, but I would fall short in describing it, so please check out the pictures below. Recommend it 100% to anyone. One tip though, since it is right on the ocean, it tends to get foggy at night. Put on your tent's rainfly even if it is bright and sunny all day and clear in the evening. Otherwise you will wake up wet.

Absolutely Fantastic

Great beach camping, Roosevelt elk wandering around. Giant redwoods

paradise

WONDERFUL hot showers, walk along the beach to Fern Canyon, see elk

Amazing, beach-front camping

I absolutely loved staying here! I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t closer to the beach, and didn’t have a view of the beach, but it was still awesome, and a very short walk to the water. The campground was almost full when we got there in the late afternoon, but it was spacious and didn’t feel crowded. The fog rolled in pretty quickly that evening, and we woke up to a magical, misty view of the bluffs the next morning! 
It’s just a couple minute’s drive to the trail that goes to fern canyon!

Magical place!

Gold Bluffs Beach was a respite from the wildfire smoke of summer 2018. 8 miles from the 101, 2 of which is a rough, unpaved road, sets this unique campsite away from the hustle-bustle of the human condition. The constant marine layers and cool winds ensure that only those wishing solitude or a challenging camp environment will visit. The brisk ocean beach  is stunning. Nearby Fern Canyon legendary. Campsite facility shockingly has both showers and WiFi - perfect for your adventurer who needs to check on the status of their other life. Oh yes, don’t forget about the elk. 😉

Relaxed Northwest beach

This is one of my favorite campgrounds I have ever stayed at.  It offers easy access to the Redwoods and great views of the ocean.

The campground is nice and small and all the sites are well spaced out.  There are bathrooms with full plumbing and potable water.  

Great views for sunset as well!

AMAZING Campground

This beautiful campground mixes in both the beach and the forest. The drive down to the beach can be quite bumpy so make sure to have an SUV, but get there early claim a spot right on the beach and enjoy a beer in this hidden gem of a campsite!

Forest meets the beach equals Magical!!!

This is such a cool camp spot. The road is unpaved and has potholes but go slow and you'll be fine. The sites are right next to the beach and the view is to die for. There are many surrounding trails you can hike up the redwoods to. There's a 21 foot limit on the road and campground. 

Beautiful

decent little campground on the beach. convenient access to fern canyon and all the amazing trails and redwoods. cant wait to return.

right on the beach

Stayed in a tent here in November. Absolutely beautiful! We could see the ocean from our site and it only took around 2 minutes to walk to the water. It was $35 to stay one night which was a little more to pay than I'm used to, but very nice campground for tents or small campers and vans.

Running water in the bathrooms and there was even a shower. There was fire wood for sale for $8 and there was free wifi that actually worked. The camp host was very nice and helpful. 

Fern canyon was about 2 miles down the road. Heads up there is a creek crossing that could be sketchy in a low clearance vehicle.

Will hopefully return very soon!

Exactly what we needed

Camping at Gold Bluffs was so awesome! We had the beach right across from our campsite, so hearing the waves and having access to fishing off the shore or hanging out at the beach was perfect. We hiked the famous fern canyon which many people drove to, but the hike from the campground wasn’t terrible. From there hiked into the redwoods. I loved having access to all these beautiful sights! Unfortunately I was a little bummed that I didn’t see any elk on the beach, but I did see them grazing when I drove out to the camp store. Camp store is about 15 minute drive from the campground but I advise to get your necessities before heading to camp because the drive down is long and windy, and pretty narrow. 

The perfect combo 

This was an incredible last stop on a long road trip! Waking up to elk in the camp ground and listening to the ocean was amazing. The seclusion and limited number of camp sites was nice, it was so quiet it felt like we were the only ones there.

Beautiful ocean view

So after driving a dirt road over a hill you come to a wide expanse of beach.  Here there are campsites (including a few hike in ones) on the beach.  The sites are for the most part open and subject to the wind and sand.  But you are on the beach!  

Trailers can not go over the road so you have vans and truck units and tents here. Since you are on the beach think wind - sand. Bring things that provide cover as you are in the open for the most part (see photos). But if you love the beach, this is for you.

You can easiliy access the Coastal Trail and get to Fern Canyon from here.  Also you can hike in from the visitor center for the hike in spots.  And if you are lucky the Elk will come down to visit.

Great Beach Camping - Windy

Super cool and unique campground you won't find many other places. Nearby Fern Canyon was amazing...close encounter with some elk heart pounding and the whole trip memorable. Warm showers and clean bathrooms. Comments on the road being horrible I don't quite get...its certainly not pavement but its also easily passable without 4WD. Definitely recommend...we will be back!

Unique Campground

Get the spots closer to the beach but make sure to reserve in advance or hope for someone to cancel.

30 minutes drive to amazing forest but feels like another planet, hot water and very fast wifi, amazing location!

Fox came to get food right in front of us, and skunk so beware at night!

The best campground right near the ocean

Of all our travels, this campground blew us away and is an absolute must if you’re in the area. We stayed at site 9 in December and were blessed with sun and gentle 40-50 degree weather despite a rainstorm that hit us that night. We were taken with the black sand and pathways directly off our site to the water. Beach is flat and one could walk endlessly on the shoreside. Shells and stones of every kind, it’s a treasure trove of sites for beach lovers. The grass looks golden when kissed by the morning sun and we awoke to a herd of elk making their way directly through the length of the grounds. The drive in is pretty steep and trailers are not allowed, but if you can make this spot happen, you won’t regret it. Redwood and fern forests meet the coast. An absolute treasure.

Oh! And coin operated showers and flushing toilets :) 

Reserve online at https://www.reservecalifornia.com/CaliforniaWebHome/
$35+online processing fee

#1 Most Loved site

Incredible find. Absolutely worth the 7 miles of dirt pothole filled road! Great cell and wifi service (had a job interview while camping and had no issues!). Bathrooms are great. Shower is hot. Hikes are breathtaking. Could you ask for more? 

One thing to caution- starting fires at this location is tough! Make sure you have extremely dry wood. 

Amazing campground! 

This campsite was breathtaking! A bit of off roading down to the site, but small cars manage. Bathrooms are very clean with hot showers, campsites are large. 

Bonus: furry friends that pass through your campsite 🦌

Beautiful with Easy Access to Trails/Beach

Even though there aren’t a lot of trees to shield your view of other sites, the sound doesn’t carry far and you still feel pretty secluded. 

Easy walk to the beach for sunsets. LOTS of animals here. Never ever leave anything out, as the crows/ravens will swoop quickly. Our dogs were also skunked here, so keep an eye out!


Fair warning there is a rough gravel road and would not be good for any kind of trailer or low clearance vehicle.

Popular but still private 

This campground is all about the location. Its a world away from anything. As others mention, the graded road is rough. Our rental Corolla did fine, just drive slow. The sites along the beach line are particularly great but none of them are terrible. The bathrooms are questionable. I'd rather have nice pits than the poorly working plumbing that's there. About half the toilets weren't working or didn't flush. The showers were gross and I didn't even attempt one (unlikely to be warm water considering the sink water). If you want a fire, bring wood with you- there wasn't any being sold at the campground. All that being said, the location is fantastic. You can hear the waves all night. Fern Canyon trail nearby is short but great too.

Location!

The camping spots are just turnouts but big enough for our B van. The ocean is 200 yards away and the setting sun lit up the cliffs. 

Rough road in, but the view is worth it 

The road in is an enchanting rain forest, the sites are set back into the bluffs, and the facilities are simple but clean.  There are many hiking trails within a short walk or drive.  The beach is within 100 ft.  There is wildlife including elk, quail, and fox roaming about.  The market is about 15 minutes down the road if needed.  They also sell firewood on site.  

Magical

Beautiful spot, lots of ocean noise so light sleepers beware! 

Fills up quickly even midweek, off season. Close to great hikes! 

Fills up quick!

This is one of my favorite campgrounds along the Northern California coast. The campsite is just off the beach, with cliffs in the background. There's not a ton of privacy in terms of trees as it's on the beach, but the sites are huge and spread out. The road up is rather bumpy and a car with higher clearance is helpful but 4wd is not necessary.

One of my favorite campgrounds

Right on the beach, beautiful campground, very simple. It’s right next to fern canyon. 

Right on the beach & fern canyon 

Getting to this campground is an adventure alone.  It’s beautiful and right along these wind swept sand beaches.  But each site is blocked by huge wooden pylons- there is barely room to even park off the “road” at your site.  
We booked site 21.  Not sure we will be able to stay overnight in a 24ft rv.  
Behind the wooden pylons each site has a large flat tent are, fire ring, table and food locker.  
There is one road in and it is several narrow miles. 
No host on site.  Bring your own firewood.


Beach front but tiny parking 

Right on the Pacific. Lots of wildlife, especially elk. Restrooms are very clean and hot water showers are available. 
In January, the sun doesn’t reach the campground until 10:30am. 

Photos of Gold Bluffs Beach Campground — Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Real photos from real campers