Mount Madonna County Park

Spent a weekend at Mt Madonna and really enjoyed it. Great spot if you're looking for a quick escape from the Bay Area with that classic California redwood experience.

Location & Safety: Conveniently located between San Jose and Monterey - easy access off Highway 152. Felt completely safe throughout the stay. Ranger was friendly and helpful during check-in.

Site Selection Tips: Pay attention to which loop you're in. Some sites are more isolated than others - the ones on the outside of the loops give you more privacy, while sites on the inside of loops are back-to-back, meaning you'll have neighbors directly behind you. I had a spot nestled among the redwoods which was perfect.

Amenities: Clean restrooms and showers available. Each site had a picnic table and fire ring.

Cell Service: Very limited AT&T service - text messages would come through occasionally but that's about it. I had to rely on satellite service for reliable communication. Plan accordingly if you need to stay connected.

Activities: Didn't get a chance to hike the trails but the park has plenty of them. Looked like great options for a morning hike if that's your thing.

Setup: Vehicle camped in my Jeep Wrangler - worked perfectly.

Overall: Solid weekend getaway spot with beautiful redwoods. Pick your site based on how much privacy you want. Would definitely return.

Loved everything about this campground! Registration online was really easy as was the check-in process. We stayed in Valley View 1, site 106. There was really no road noise at our site, though a few sites further around the loop did have noise. This particular site has a trail leading directly to the vast network of hiking trails. Huge bonus for us and we were pleasantly surprised that not one person used our site as a cut through. On the subject of hiking, this is a county park that allows dogs on ALL the trails. It’s hard to find that sometimes so we greatly appreciated how dog friendly it was. We didn’t actually encounter anyone else as we hiked, so I can’t attest to whether folks follow the rule that dogs must be on a 6 ft lead on the trails, but they certainly did in the campground. There are quite a few trails that are currently closed due to storm damage, but crews were actively working on them.

While the sites are a little close to each other, those on the outside of the loop had a great deal of privacy. Inner loop sites have none, but would be great if you were camping with friends. We didn’t use the restrooms or showers, but peeked in them anyway. Like everything else in this campground, they were clean and well maintained.

The RV sites have both water and electric hookups which was great! There is a very convenient FREE dump station just inside the entrance to the park that we used as we departed.

Our friends stayed in one of the yurts and it was great, albeit a little cold for them at night. I believe there are 2 dog friendly yurts. 106RV

What a gem of a campground! We’ll definitely come back!

Important to note that you can actually get a cell signal if you walk to the dump station!

The park is a on beautiful forested hilltop. Some areas are redwood, other parts mixed with other kinds of trees. This is the only place I’ve seen the redwood trees harvest the fog and make their own rain, which is pretty cool. In the morning it’s raining under the redwood trees but not under the madrone or tan oak trees, which is wild.

It is a lot colder here than on the valley floor. Prepare for it to be 40deg colder than Gilroy or San Jose. We weren’t prepared & had to drive into town & buy more clothes! Also, sometimes the fog whistles through on a stiff breeze so not only is it cold but also clammy wet.

The park has some unique features. Near the ranger station there are pens with white fallow deer. They are descendants of the exotic zoo at William Randolph Hearst’s mansion down the coast. The park used to have hundreds of them, but a number of years ago the park service stopped allowing them to breed because they’re an introduced species. So now they’re down to just two white deer and when those die that’ll be the end of that.

There is an archery trail with 28 targets on a trail through the woods. We were there 3 days in a row and did 20 of the 28. It’s really pretty and a cool challenge. Now my daughter’s asking to put a target in the back yard.

The campgrounds are really well maintained. Bathrooms have soap & TP and kept clean. “Tan Oak” campground seems to have bigger sites than the others, but we drove through all the campgrounds and none of them are awful. Our site (418) was huge and private. There is a large vacant campsite across the road that’s reserved for docents but it was empty when we were there so we had the cul-de-sac all to ourselves. Sites 416 and 417 are also big with hidden spots back off the road for pitching your tent.

My husband and I are not big fans of Campgrounds and prefer boondocking, but Mount Madonna was a pleasant surprise. There are several loops in the campground, and we stayed in Valley View 1 which had electric and water hookup for RV camping only. We were happy to have the electric hook up since the redwood and oak tress surrounding all the sites are huge and block out the sun. It would have been difficult to get sun on the panels especial since we had fog every morning as well. The bathrooms included flush toilets and were cleaned several times a day. The park has showers however, due to Covid-19 they were closed during our visit. Some of the campsites were closed as well to help comply to social distance rules. Valley View loop is close to the main road, some street noise is heard during the day but is limited at night. You are allowed up to two dogs and they are allowed on the surrounding trails. While walking through the trails we say several deer as well as a Turkey Vulture hanging out in a tree looking for a meal. There is a dump station with water in the campground. The drive through horseshoe shape makes it easy to pullup, dump and pull through to the other side where you will find potable water to fill up your tanks if you desire. Overall, we enjoyed our visit and are considering using one of the group sites for a family reunion once we can get together in big groups again.

Mount Madonna County Park has 4 campgrounds. I've been camping in this park since the late 70s. I've seen some changes over the years...ahem...decades. There's something for everyone here, RVers, tenters, and those who want to rent tent cabins. There are plenty of trails to hike, as well as equestrian trails. No bikes on trails though.

There are several micro climates in this area and temps can vary, besides our weather varies from day to day.

There are trails offering views of the Santa Clara Valley, and trails offering views of the Monterey Bay. The park is above the fog line (most of the year). We don't get rain in the summer here. The park is situated at the County lines of Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County and is part of the Santa Clara County Parks system.

No stores or markets in the park, but you can easily run into town, either Watsonville or Gilroy. It's slightly closer to Watsonville where you will find a gas station/market on 152 (Currently a Valero), or go into Gilroy on 152 for Safeway and more.

There's a small cabin (ranger's station) with a history exhibit and the white reindeer up from the kiosk. My favorite campground in the park is the Tan Oak campground at the top and through the day use area. There are plenty of Geocaches on the trails.

The bathrooms are generally clean. I say generally because I prefer the off season when I have the campground to myself and the bathrooms are super clean, but when the campground is full, like any public bathroom they can need more attention. (Or maybe people just need to clean up after themselves) I've never used the showers, nor the tent cabins. I like the sites because overall they are separated by trees so you don't feel as crowded as more open campgrounds.

Despite signage warning of mountain lions, I have never encountered a single one in all the years of camping here. I've had raccoons and skunks (so lock up your food and belongings), turkeys and deer.

Weekends, especially a holiday weekend such as Memorial Day weekend, can be full. (Not my favorite) I have also stayed for the 4th of July when it fell midweek and had the campground (Tan Oak) literally to myself.

Leashed pets are allowed (2 per site) and 2 cars and 8 people per site.