MacKerricher State Park Campground

I’ve been visiting this campground since I was young, and every year discover something new! We stayed in the reserved campsites once or twice, but typically we wait until we arrive to roll the dice on snagging a walk-in site. These sites are very few, but they have the perfect amount of closeness and privacy. In the fall the main trail is lined with fresh blackberries, and no matter where you are you can hear the ocean when you fall asleep. In some sites, you can even watch the sun set. But even more, you are about a 2 minute walk to the beach… which is gorgeous and all black sand with some of the best tide pools!

Every year we come here, and it never gets old. I would highly recommend to anyone in the area or looking to visit!

Walk-in paradise

There are a variety of campsites and campgrounds in this park. Some tent only, some RV/tents, and also some tent only (walk-in sites). There are four separate campgrounds. Plenty of greenery, blackberry bushes, lush tree shade, and excellent restrooms equipped with showers as well. The park boasts its seal watching area

East Pine Campgrounds

I've stayed several times at this campground and always enjoy my stay. The temperate coastal weather is perfect for getting away during the summer months. This campground is a short walk to the beach and hiking trails.  Amenities inckude: showers, bathrooms, drinking water and fire rings. Decent cell service.

Private and Beautiful

We booked super last minute and ended up with a great site. It happened to be right next to the bathroom, but with vegetation we still had a decent amount of privacy and the bathroom traffic really was not a problem for us.  The site was a good size and there was always an area of shade with the entire site shaded before we started making dinner  

Out kiddos participated in the Junior Ranger program and loved it  




Last Minute Getaway

My family has been camping here for the past 30+ years and it is always a memorable experience. The rangers are helpful, the beaches are clean and accessible. The campsites are also clean with plenty of room for wetsuits, kayaks, and abalone cleaning. We Lee coming back every year. 💚💙

Best place to camp around Mendocino 

Some of the best tide pools in CA

Close to beach but also just outside of town. Cook over a fire or eat at a restaurant, your choice. Fun tide pools.

Beach at your doorstep!

This is a large spread out campground with nice hiking paths near the beach. Good coastal marine viewing area and close to Ft. Bragg. Hike and bike area is small and across from one of the camp hosts who was very friendly and offered wine, watermellon, and her campfire.

Beautiful Coastal Campground

Close proximity to glass beach and fort brag. Stayed here for one night had some mosquitos but nothing spray couldn’t stop. Was a bit rainy and overcast the whole night but still a really enjoyable trip. Bathrooms were clean

Glass beach trip 

MacKerricher was absolutely amazing. I went with my best friend and had a blast! The beach was gorgeous and spent most of our time exploring the area. One thing that did suck was that there was a raccoon in the bushes near our campsite that popped out at us both nights as well as stared from the bushes. Scary. 

Other than that we had a lot of fun!

Amazing State Park

This campground is a hidden jewel. There are many sites next to the ocean. This campground delivers a stay next to the beautiful coastal waters which allows the camper to view whale migration, sea lions swimming and a quick visit to glass beach and the adjacent lighthouse. Ft Bragg is a nice little town to visit have dinner and drinks. 

Expect less received more

This state park was so much fun, very dog friendly! Campgrounds were nice and well kept, and just a short walk to the beach! I highly recommend:)

Love this place!

I give a four star only cause the showers were pure evil. One was like pin needles and hurt very bad and the other one was only luke warm. The air draft was 100% blowing and super cold. Freezing from Hypothermia in a shower. Who would have thought? The Beach was Gorgeous,  really close and easy foot trails from Campsite to waves Crashing at your feet. The full moon was breathtaking and priceless. I was out there at 3am soaking in the moon. I bought some local King Salmon from Princess Seafood and deli.  Grilled it on a Campfire with delicious marinated kabobs. Had one amazing time and even met some great camp neighbors. The Camp Host did a Phenomenal job and everyone wore their masks when applicable. I stayed in spot #97 and was out of the wind. Very much recommended spending $40 dollars for a Golden Ticket! 💌 💯🌕🌠🌊

Heaven can wait. 

Excellent beach access, nice flat sites. Watch the videos, words can’t express the beauty here. 

Beautiful campground by the sea

Campsites are level and have enough space between them for adequate privacy. Our site along the beach side allowed for an easy walk to to the ocean. Sunset was fantastic and at sunrise, sea lions were out playing and sunning on rocks which were fun to watch. Bathrooms were completely adequate with flushing toilets and showers. My shower in the womens bathroom was cold but my husband said his was scalding hot. Showers take quarters. The wood sold at the ranger station was damp but still burned great (bonus, it was pine and smells fantastic). Another plus is how close it is to "downtown". Lots of fresh seafood places so it was nice to go out for a hot meal and good food.

West Pinewood Campground

[Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 5 mbps down and 0.16 mbps up with 56 ms ping. T-Mobile via Nighthawk MR-1100 - 3 mbps down and 0.05 up with 106 ms ping. Our booster marginally improved the speeds.]

PROS

→ Campground is adjacent to the beach. You can hear the ocean and sometimes catch peeks of the ocean from the campground. 

→ Campsites have bear lockers. 
→ Campground is pretty in the glow of sunlight. 
→ There’s a trail to the beach and Laguna Point isn’t far. 

→ The camp hosts are easy to approach in that they have an alert button you can press outside their rig and they will come outside. No wondering how to get their attention! We bought our shower tokens from the camp host. 

→ This campground is protected by a buffer of coastal trees. It’s not nearly as windy at the campground as it is on the beach. 

CONS

→ Showers require tokens. This seems pretty standard in California State Parks but it’s successful at deterring us from showering every night. One token gives 4 minutes of showering. Each token is $1. It’s not a lot for one-off trips but we are on a 6-week camping trip. 

→ The dump station has a mandatory fee of $10. You pay with a credit card. When payment is approved, the cap to the dump hole unlocks. We didn’t use it. Again, it was successful at deterring us from using it. With pay showers we’d normal shower in the van and just run to the dump station daily to empty the tank but we didn’t. We paid for the showers. I know they are cost mitigating but it’s a factor when deciding on this campground especially if you camp a lot like us. (We are on a 6-week camping trip up the coast).

→ The shower water temperature is finicky in the women’s bathroom. When it’s just one person showering, it’s nice and hot. When two showers are going, the water temperature drops a bit. To me the temperature is important because it’s still 50° to 60° right now and I only get 8 minutes with the water. I need those 8 minutes to be comfortable not make me move faster than Speedy Gonzalez. For me this isn’t a huge concern but it is for my partner so that’s why I’m detailing it out. 

→ Firewood is $10. 

——————————
4-stars - The campground is clean, enjoyable and has the camping vibe. Docking a star due to the extra fees and the water temperature. For weekend warriors I’d wager this is a 5-star campground!

[Rig. Mercedes Sprinter. 22 feet]

Dump station? - Yes, mandatory $10
Water fill? - Yes, free
Clean site? - Yes
Clean bathroom? - Yes
Flush toilet? - Yes
Showers? - Yes, token operated 
Laundry? - No
Dish washing sink? - No

West Pinewood Campground 

All the camp sites seem to be fairly large to give everyone a bit of privacy 


Lots of space

We love this campground and have been coming for years. We have tent camped and trailer camped and love both. The tent spots are nicely divided by coastal trees and shrubs which provide ample privacy. You can walk to the beach, bathrooms with quarter showers, clean. 

Nice privacy

**General:** Two campgrounds at this state park: Pinewood (closer to Route 1 and I did not explore) and Surfwood (closer to the ocean). No hookups (at least in Surfwood, I did not check in Pinewood). You can see beautiful sunsets from the road leading to the Surfwood campground. 

  

**Site Quality:** A few had concrete pads, but most had sand driveways. Most sites were very spacious; sites 122-124 are located on a roundabout and were very large and more private than some of the others. Most sites had a utility box, and all had a picnic table and a fire ring. Some had trees separating them from other sites. 

  

**Bathhouse:** An upgrade from other California state parks we've stayed in with hot water and tile floors. No dryer or towels so make sure you bring your own. Pay showers (beginning with$1.00 for five minutes; accepts up to 15 quarters). I did not use the shower so cannot comment on how well it worked. 

  

**Activities:** Horseback riding, hiking, and biking. There is a multi-use trail that leads south from the campground. The reason I chose this campground is I wanted to see Glass Beach, however, it was fenced off with “no trespassing” signs which was disappointing.

Fall asleep to the sound of the ocean

Use of dump station not included in already expensive site fee ($40 with no hookups). Some sites are large some are small. We fit our 33 foot overall tt plus truck in site 81 by parking truck to the side. Probably could have done so in 80 as well. Some very shady sites some in open. 79-81 in shade. Trails behind these sites to beach. In my opinion park is not managing dunes well. Need to have designated paths to conserve vegetation. Beautiful rugged beach with harbor seals. 

Mixed bag

This camp ground exceeds expectations with its natural beauty! Tent camping gets closed for the winter season but plenty of RV spaces($40 honor system) with lots of options to choose from. There are not many people in the off season so we were able to get a spot with direct access to the beach! Each spot has a picnic table and firepit. This place has lots of wildlife (raccoons) so be careful what you leave out! **dog friendly

Nature lovers paradise 

This campground is only a couple miles north from fort Bragg and then just a bit further south is the cute coastal town of Mendocino. 
It’s almost surprising how close to the water this campground is.  There are several small
Foot trials leaving the campground and after passing through a small
Thick of forest ( where we saw a huge group of deer) and then instantly you are transported to large dunes and sea cliffs.
Typical SP with decent bathroom house and coin showers.  There is a small visitor center that never opened during our stay. 
The park had very few people camping in March 2023, as it was still
Raining after an incredible season of storms.  If full- it could feel like it lacked privacy between sites.

Coastal Mendocino 

We will be back as soon as possible! What a beautiful place with perfect weather. Bathrooms, coin showers, 5 minute walk to the beach. Quiet, close to town and super cool camp host. You have to pay for firewood, $10 a bunch. Bring cash! Our site had some visitors when the sun would go down, fearless raccoons and skunks. 

East pinewood, perfect tent camping!

This is my family's favorite place to camp! Peaceful, beautiful... 
We have come in October for the past 4 years. 