Are you planning a tent camping trip to Big Bend? We've got you covered. Find the best information on tent camping near Big Bend, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
S Rav Camp Area (sites E1-E7)
$25 - $100 / night
Located half way up Mount Tamalpais' forested southern slopes, Pantoll Campground is one of two first-come, first-served walk-in campgrounds within Mount Tamalpais State Park (Bootjack being the other). With 16 historic campsites lying beneath a quiet Douglas fir forest, time spent next to the campfire here will quickly expunge thoughts of the big city that lies just a few miles to the south.
The campground has an assortment of sites that are distributed on the hill that extends from the Pantoll Day Use Area; sites located further uphill offer greater privacy and more room. All 16 sites are within a short, 100-yard walk from the car park. Each comes equipped with campfire pits and historic, stone-built campfire grills to accommodate all of your cooking and warming needs. Since advance reservations cannot be made for Pantoll, arriver earlier on weekend days to ensure you’ll have a site. You’ll likely have the campground to yourself if you are there mid-week.
$7 - $25 / night
$30 / night
In the middle of San Francisco Bay sits Angel Island State Park, offering spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline, the Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. The island is also alive with history. Three thousand years ago the island was a fishing and hunting site for Coastal Miwok Indians. It was later a haven for Spanish explorer Juan de Ayala, a cattle ranch, and a U.S. Army post. From 1910 to 1940, the island processed thousands of immigrants. During World War II, Japanese and German POWs were held on the island, which was also used as a jumping-off point for American soldiers returning from the Pacific. In the '50s and '60s, the island was home to a Nike missile base. Today, there are two active Coast Guard stations - at Point Blunt and Point Stuart - on the island. Angel Island became a State Park in 1958.
CAMPSITES
11 environmental, including an ADA site (each site accommodating up to 8 people) and a kayak-accessible site (holds up to 20 people).
For more information contact the rangers office: 415-435-5390
Please check in with the park staff upon arrival on the island.
Be prepared to carry and/or transport your equipment up to 2.5 miles. Some sections are uphill, total elevation gain may be over 300 feet. Tables, food-lockers, running water, pit-toilets, and a barbecue are located at each site.
Bring charcoal or a stove as no wood fires are allowed. Raccoons are active making food-locker storage very important. Travel on the island after sunset is prohibited in some areas for park security and public safety.
$30 / night
One- to six-person sites: 12 Seven- to 25-person sites: 2 Coast Campground is nestled within a small coastal valley with easy access to the beach and tidepools. The beach is within 220 yards of the campground and tidepools are located ~720 yards to the southeast. One may access Coast Campground by foot, bicycle, or horse; not by boat, auto, or RV. The shortest approach on solid ground is via the 1.8-mile slightly uphill hike on the Laguna and Fire Lane Trails, starting at the Laguna Trailhead just east of the hostel. There are 12 regular sites and two group sites.
$30 - $90 / night
Just 50 miles north of San Francisco, on the Point Reyes National Seashore peninsula, Tomales Bay State Park straddles the notorious San Andreas Fault. Here, the Pacific Ocean has filled the gap to form Tomales Bay, which is surrounded by a landscape of rolling hills, mixed forests, sprawling meadows and lush wetlands. Unique to the area are granitic rock formations that originated 300 miles to the southeast, transported to this location by more than 10 millions years of movement along the fault. In more recent history, the area was home to the Coast Miwok for more than 8,000 years. These native peoples hunted, fished and farmed these coastal areas until Europeans arrived and claimed the land in the late 16th century. In 1952, before the peninsula was completely taken over by agricultural interests, the state established a 2,000-acre park to preserve the area’s diverse flora and fauna, and ensure public access to the bay’s many pristine beaches.
Tomales Bay State Park is a day-use area only, and overnight camping is not permitted. The main recreation area is located at the north end of the park, on the west side of Tomales Bay, at Heart’s Desire. Here you’ll find picnic areas with barbecues, scenic viewpoints, nature trails, and access to several beaches. There aren’t any launch facilities, but kayaks and SUPs can be put into the bay from the beaches. A short hiking trail leads to the Jepson Memorial Grove of rare Bishop pines. Near the south end of the park, Shell Beach features a nice swim area, but is only accessible via a short trail from the small parking area, or by hiking the Johnstone Trail from the Heart’s Desire area. On the east side of the bay, a small public area at Millerton Point features a small beach and a scenic, barrier-free trail. Dogs are not permitted on any of the park’s beaches or trails. Park entrance is $8/vehicle, and the park is closed when the parking lots are full. Camping can be found south of the Point Reyes area, near Olema.
Known by various names over the years (including Lupine Shores and Steele Park), Steele Canyon campground has always been known as the campground to vacation at if you're looking for some fun and relaxation. Along with tent and RV campsites, the campground features easy access to Lake Berryessa and a launch ramp.
Discover an amazing outdoor playground when you visit us at Steele Canyon on the gorgeous waters of Lake Berryessa. You can also experience the world-famous wine region of Napa Valley, situated less than an hour from our California RV resort.
We offer spacious tent camping and RV sites so you can connect with the stunning natural beauty that surrounds Napa County. When you visit Steele Canyon, your outdoor vacation adventure in California goes from ordinary to extraordinary.
$5 - $55 / night
$48 / night
Alice Eastwood Group Camps
$110 - $225 / night
Traveler
Insanely hot in the summer, I would recommend not going in July like we did. It was 104° or something and I was just drenching my clothes in water to stay cool.
The hike is pretty nice to the summit from there.
Lots of free water and there's free showers too which is awesome, but don't use the stinky toilet at the top there's way better ones around the bottom area.
They have food lockers, not bear lockers, and ours was broken one time so have a solid backup plan, the raccoons are very intelligent and they come out at night so be prepared for that.
BRING SHOWER SHOES AND SOAP UR GOING TO WANT IT
Scout
Gosh - this area just doesn't seem to like dogs much!
Traveler
This is a nice mostly Rv sight haven’t seen tenting, but I’m sure you could It has some year round renters towards the backside, of the park. Slips available for needed.
Traveler
This is an excellent and straightforward country park. It feels like a state park.
They have hookups and also dry camping. The better spots are near the water.
Contrary to other posts, they take walkups. It is just on the website it requires 2 weeks out.
Scout
Beautiful view we were in campsite 40. A beautiful view of vineyards and the sunset and people riding their horses. So calm and beautiful and so many activities here to do. Also there is showers, bathrooms, and hookups, we love this place. Only 8 mins from downtown Napa
Scout
We visited this park earlier this spring. Yes it was wet, but we didn't mind. Liked the spaces and layout so much...we are going back this fall. Plus we love that whole area.
However, DYRT got some info wrong. While there are plenty of full hookup spaces for RVs, there are no pull thru sites. Only back in for trailers and drive-in for coaches. Many tent camping spaces and RV spaces w/just water and power. The folks are friendly and helpful.
M.R.
Legend
Have you been over to Bodega Bay? I think you'd like it there. Our friends sure know us well! While the town doesn’t look much different than when it appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, the cafes in the village have definitely upped their game.
Bodega Dunes State Park is a great way to experience the area without the same activity and noise in the camp grounds down closer to the water. The campsite loops wind through the coastal Live Oak and Bishop Pine trees and provide some privacy in between sites in some areas, though some sites are right on top of each other.
They are generally smaller pull-in sites geared more toward tents, vans, and small travel trailers. There are just a handful of sites that can accommodate bigger RVs. Many of the sites have decent open sky resources for solar power and satellite internet, though many in the lower areas had standing water and torn up asphalt pads from the heavy rains the last couple of years.
The bathrooms were clean and comfortable with flush toilets and warm showers (coin operated). My only complaint about the bathrooms is that there weren’t quite enough for the demand, in my opinion, but a few port-o-potties might help offset that during the busy season.
Hiking among the sand dunes and along the beach provide some really stunning scenery. Reaching the beach, you’ll find as much coastal sand as you can handle with miles and miles of it to yourself. The water, which is normally pretty cold year round, can also be pretty rough for swimming.
A short drive away is the gorgeous Bodega Head Trail which winds up along the headland and offers amazing scenery. It’s sort of like a small Point Reyes National Seashore, but much easier to get to.
Bodega Bay has a couple of small grocery stores, gas stations, and more than a few restaurants to meet nearly any craving. The area is known for its Dungeness Crab Harvest, so be sure to check that out when it's in season!
Legend
Great (and big) park in Bodega Bay with several separate campgrounds. We got lucky and snagged a last minute spot for 2 nights in August. Easy access to the beach, lots of day use areas all around this park, and bonus: a dog beach that was available on a trial basis when we were there- dogs got to run free on this little patch of enclosed beach- wonderful. Hope it becomes a permanent feature!
Showers were $2 for 5 minutes, there’s recycling here (a separate bin for propane cylinders too).
This campground has a lot of in and out traffic and day use visitors and overall more activity than the Westside campground across the way. We enjoyed both of them.
Legend
This is a mellow, low key, beachy Sonoma County campground in Bodega Bay. It’s got that vibe that so many beach campgrounds do, a little run down, no frills, open layout, and happy friendly campers. We stayed here for a couple of nights and had a great time.
There’s hiking all over this area, lots to explore and see. Cell service was good. Showers here are expensive at $2 for 5 min, quarters only. There’s a host on site who’s been hosting here for something like 15 (maybe 30) years. There’s a boat ramp adjacent to this campground, lots of boats in and out for fishing.
There’s a dump station for a $7 fee (though the website says $10, so maybe it's actually $10), honor box at the station to deposit your money. Water fill available here as well.
Recycling available, as well as a separate bin for green propane canisters. Camping is $35/night, plus $2 fee per dog per night (boo), plus whatever online reservation fee ($8?). Reservations must be made online. Hosts obviously do not handle that and there was nobody in the entrance shack when we arrived- though a ranger swung by later to collect the dog fee (that fee can’t be paid online when you make the reservation). Anyway, confusing process but just go with it and have a great time.
ScoutThere is upward of 90 sites, many are for just tents and are on sand with fire pit. I have our travel trailer there and are the site # in the 70's and are on a asphalt pad, which makes it cleaner and level. Down side would be close to a road and traffic during day, but at night very quiet except for fog horn which is no big deal. The beach walks and adventuring the coast and local fair makes it all worth it. Water and dump station available, not at campsites but at entry of park
Traveler
Lovely campsite with very sweet camp hosts. Always waved when they drove by.
Chose site 17 because of the beautiful tree seen in another review but was felled prior to our arrival, so no big tree. We did however get a beautiful view of the stars.
Two things to note, some of the sites (didn’t look like all of them had this issue) have an incredibly fine dusty dirt that gets on absolutely everything, it made our feet, legs and sandals completely beige from the dust and we had to wipe them with wet wipes before going into our tent and tracked a fair amount into our car upon leaving.
The other thing we were disappointed with was that we had to pay for showers on top of already paying over $50 for our site for one night, we felt that was a pretty big con and that it should be included in the fees.
Overall, you can’t get closer to the wineries and it was an otherwise lovely site.
Scout
I got there after they closed (closes at 5pm.) But there's a number to call that was posted for after hours. A camper in front of me had already called and someone arrived within minutes. They were very helpful and friendly. I got a beautiful spot secluded from everyone. I loved it! Just me and nature. I played some music dance by myself as if nobody was watching.
Scout
Very enjoyable stay. The park is clean,quiet and there’s a few trails that take you to the Beach. It’s about a 30 min walk but an easy one. Theres electric, cable and water at the pole. The sewer is up near the entrance. All in all a nice peaceful retreat. I work remote and have had meetings all week. No issues with Verizon or T mobile Hot spots.
Guide
Feels very off grid. Camp experience was smooth and the sun was shining.
Scout
We love to camp here for barbecuing, mountain biking and hiking. We always do it during 7/4 holidays except for this year when the park canceled our reservation due to high heat. So we booked for the Labor Day weekend. Temperature was perfect and biking and hiking were enjoyable as usual. This year we had two new types of visitors to the the site. A couple of wild turkeys came to pick up the dropped food on the ground. We were able to take a closeup look at them and they were beautiful birds with big eyes spotting tiny bits of crumbs. They come and go from one site to the next quietly and gently. Very cute and we took pictures with their presence. Then came the aggressive yellow jackets. We never had yellow jackets in our previous 7/4 outings here. Oh boy, they fought for the meat relentlessly. At the end of the outing, both my finger and my wife’s were stung. We reported the experience to the attendant at the gate when leaving. She said the park is looking for a solution. In the meantime, she suggested contacting them early on so they might be able to provide another site. Hopefully, next year, we won’t encounter so many nasties.
Scout
Full Disclosure: I know the owner of the property and stayed at La Bohemia for free.
Nevertheless, this is an amazing spot. The owner and his young daughter have done an amazing job restoring the forest and making a special place over the past few years. It is a great getaway from everything. No sign of any building insight.
I must admit, my favorite part was watching football on the large outdoor screen and eating BBQ by the campfire. It was an amazing experience in an amazing place.
GuideThis rv site was awesome.It's quiet beautiful, lush green. Be aware tho. It's full of poison oak!!!! But yiu can get around it.
There are no hook ups. But the sights are mostly shaded, so it was a great help and I did not go in a hot time of the year. They have good hours for use of generators as well
We Brought our electric bikes and rode to the geyser in Calistoga and to multiple wineries It was a great way to travel
TravelerOk, I was originally hoping for a cabin, which is included in my search, but this CG is either tent or RV only. Luckily, I also brought a tent.
I was there 2 weeks ago. It's a fairly large area and flat. Lots of space for kids to play including a play area.
Sheep roam freely in one area towards the back.
It's a great place for families. Showers are great. Includes a small shop for goodies.
I love it there. Only negative is there are only portapotties. Except for a couple that are constantly in use.
Scout
Doggy Gyh
Guide
Wow! This place is busy and expensive. We stopped at this KOA because it was a good halfway point for us heading to the Redwoods. This KOA offers a variety of activities that cater to children, such as petting zoos, jumping pillows, climbing walls, and pools, which are excellent for keeping the young ones engaged and entertained. To me it was overcrowded and the firepits were so close to the RV’s I was afraid it would set my neighbors RV on fire, or our neighbor was going to set ours on fire. For those without children (like us), the bustling environment might be overwhelming, but it also provides an opportunity to enjoy the lively atmosphere.
Guide
Brennan Island State Park is an absolute gem nestled in the heart of the California Delta. From the moment you arrive, you're greeted by friendly staff who make you feel right at home. The park's natural beauty is simply breathtaking, with expansive views of the Delta's sparkling waters and lush landscapes.
The park offers a variety of activities for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. Whether you're into boating, fishing, hiking, or simply relaxing by the water, there's something here for everyone. The well-maintained trails provide the perfect opportunity to explore the local flora and fauna, and the picnic areas are ideal for a leisurely lunch with family and friends.
One of the highlights of Brennan Island State Park is its sense of community. The other visitors are always warm and welcoming, creating a pleasant and enjoyable atmosphere. It's a great place to meet new people who share a love for the great outdoors.
Overall, Brennan Island State Park is a must-visit destination for anyone looking to experience the natural beauty and friendly vibes of the California Delta. It's a perfect spot for a day trip or a weekend getaway, offering a refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Ranger
This campground is nice with newer bathrooms and shower facilities, but it's also very open and exposed. Great access to Spring Lake's water-based activities and hiking trails, plus easy access to Trione-Annadel State Park for hiking and mountain biking. Howarth Park, a city park, also borders Spring Lake Regional Park and provides access to boating and fishing on Lake Ralphine, plus they have a small train, carousel, tennis courts, and a softball field. Overall a good campsite for families in need of lots of recreation options, but not the best for those wishing to "get away from it all."
Guide
Nice place. Friendly people. Well maintained. WiFi not reaching our campsite.
TravelerThe pool was great during the oven like temperatures, the staff was very kind and the amenities were good and clean. Movies night every night, and shop for groceries on site.
RangerI loved my spot right by the ocean. The bathrooms were nice and had hot water.
Stay in the Cove campsites!
Guide
My husband and I stayed for two nights. It is difficult to get to when in an RV towing Two skis (still haven’t found out if the ferry can take vehicles that are towing) , but it was worth the drive. It is an older park, but the bathroom was clean (and free) , there is a fantastic beach, the managers were super friendly, and best of all….. our RV window looked out over our very own doc!
ScoutAppears to abandoned.
Tent camping near Big Bend, California offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying stunning landscapes and outdoor activities. With several well-reviewed campgrounds in the area, campers can find the perfect spot to pitch their tents and explore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Big Bend, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Big Bend, CA is Steep Ravine Campground — Mount Tamalpais State Park with a 4.7-star rating from 15 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Big Bend, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 41 tent camping locations near Big Bend, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
