Best Cabin Camping near Bradley, CA

The park is amazing and there are so many great hikes, wildlife viewing and picturesque landscapes!

The campground loop we were in was full and the sites are fairly close to your neighbor but it wasn't bad. The main reason being absolutely NO generators allowed so it was peaceful. The sites were semi private as the brush and trees have grown around most sites offering a little privacy. Other campers were friendly and considerate. Note that the RV side with the hook up does not offer any privacy and is near the main road. RVs are not confined to that area though.

The spots are flat and include fire pit, picnic table and food locker. Raccoons apparently are a big problem here so keep your food locked up. There is a small general store/visitor center with a variety of food items, stove fuel, firewood, general camping supplies and souvenirs. WiFi also available for $10 for 7days per device. We paid, but our T-Mobile hotspot with Weboost won out in the end because the WiFi did not reach our spot. There is better reception for the WiFI in other spots. No cell reception with AT&T or Verizon.

The hiking is great! and during the week pleasantly absent of tons of other hikers. Masks are required even on trails when 6 ft distance cannot be maintained, and people were very respectful of that on the trails. There is a lot of wildlife to see though sadly we did not see any condors on this trip. The caves are currently closed due to Covid. 

Other amenities:

Tent cabins

RV only loop with 30amp hook up only (no sewer or water hook up)

Showers

Bathrooms

Garbage and Recycling

RV dump station (flush water only)

Fresh water filler up (near RV camping area)

Group camping

Pool (currently closed)

Pets allowed but NOT allowed on any trails

Overall a great experience for a lesser known National Park, would come here again!

We really enjoyed this RV park. For an expensive (to us) place with lots of amenities and lots of rules, it still had a really peaceful, calm, and friendly vibe. The guests were all friendly and chatty, staff was friendly, and the place was really clean and nicely cared for. 

With our Passport America discount, we paid $40 (this included tax) for a standard site (on decomposed granite v. the more expensive paved sites). There are also some cottages / small houses available for rent. 

Sites have a grill and picnic table and 30 and 50 amp power.

Amenities:

- laundry room: $2.75 for wash and $1.50 for dry. Soap dispenser for $1. Iron and ironing board available for use for free. Quarters available in office. 

- Small take a book / leave a book table in laundry room.

- pool and spa: one open, and one closed for covid

- fitness room: open

- clean free showers

- free cable

- free wifi (fast!)

- 2 small enclosed dog yards with gravel and poop bags.

- fires are allowed, but park doesn't provide fire pits or firewood. Must bring own self-contained fire pit

- bulk propane fill at $3.50/gal. Filling hours are currently 10am-noon and 2-4pm

- water bottle filling stations

- dumpster and mixed recycling bin

- we saw a skoolie parked here; no rv discrimination!

- various outdoor hangout areas: bbq, wine bar, etc (closed for covid). 

- small nice store at registration desk with basic food items, ice, camping and rv supplies, gifts and souvenirs 

- playground

No dump station here, and use of sewer connection is for guests only.

This small hot springs resort has a unique charm about it. With not a lot of acreage, they maximize the space for sure. The main attraction is the warm pool, 25 yards with swimming lanes, and the hot pool which can accommodate 30 people. We found this rustic resort a good place to spend the night and get in a quick soak, but not exactly someplace we’d like to spend a weekend. 

The RV lot is a large parking lot with spaces allocated on the outside of the gravel road. The tent camping section was a narrow patch of grass, with sites slotted in together along a tight corner of the property. Get to know your neighbors, because you’ll be close! Our little camper and truck rig was just small enough to fit into one of the grass camping sites at 32 feet combined, but it was a tight fit.  We were easily able to run on solar instead of paying for an electrical site.

There's a picnic table and fire ring at each site, but the sites are so small, you are practically on top of your neighbors with zero privacy.  There are pit toilets in the campground as well as flush toilets and showers available near the bath house.  They also offer cabins for rent.

The town of Avila Beach has restaurants and a few convenience stores, but the larger grocery stores are available in nearby Pismo Beach.  Morro Bay is definitely worth a visit as well!

Two campgrounds: tent sites with no hookups and an RV Loop with electric. We chose the latter since we are having problems with our solar. Several sites are not open due to damage (storms, vandalism, not sure why) and the ones that are open could still use a little sprucing up. We were in site 112 which had the advantage of shade from a huge oak tree. Since the three sites to our left were closed and the one to our right was not occupied, it felt private but if all sites were open and occupied, there would not be much privacy between sites. 116 looked to be the best site in this Loop. Wooden picnic table was a little warped and there was a huge hole at one corner that I tripped in more than once. We tried to re-position the table but there was no way it would budge. No bathrooms in the RV Loop but it was not that far of a walk to the flush toilets in the tent Loop. The road on the RV Loop was part paved and in fine condition but part dirt with deep ruts that were impossible to navigate around. This campground gets extra points for recycling, especially of propane canisters. The campground is located at the East entrance to the park by the Visitor center; there are no campgrounds by the west entrance and you cannot drive between the two (you can hike). Lots of hiking, Condor sightings and, in the spring, many wildflowers.

If planning a trip longer than just a day hike to the beautiful Pinnacles National Park, and since backpacking in not allowed in Pinnacles, the Pinnacles campground on the east entrance is a nice quiet place to spend a night. This campground is also a nice option to get an early start to a long hike the following morning. The campground is situated only accessible from the east side (this is important if you are coming in off the 101 on the west side of the park - you will need to make sure you plan your route properly or will end up on the wrong side of the park with the closest option Bittersweet Rd. (G13) to cut across and get to the east entrance. The campground itself was very clean, and while we used a small tent site, also offers RV sites. Sites are primarily close together but also had many trees which offered a little shade and semi-privacy feeling. Standard campground with picnic tables and metal fire pits, water located in multiple areas throughout including showers. There was also a pool located on the grounds but we did not use it.

Although many national parks are busier, more frantic camping experiences, Pinnacles provided a very relaxed, pleasant few days of hiking and camping.

The campground itself was a basic national park setup: pretty spacious and scenic sites, picnic tables, flush toilets, and running water. They also have coin showers and a dump station for RVs.

Since Pinnacles is in a more remote area, the access to the park from the campground was clutch. We were able to get an early start and beat the (few) crowds out to the best trails. In our four days in the park, we hiked almost every trail. The trail system is extensive and can be connected in many ways, but here were our favorite parts:

• High Peaks area - on the map it’s called “steep and narrow”
• Bear Gulch and Balconies talus caves
• Chalone Peak Trail

Pinnacles is the newest national park, and it’s quite small, so you can do it justice in a day, but I’d suggest slowing down and spending the night. It’s a perfect place to take it easy!

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Pinnacles)

CAMPFIRES ARE NOT ALLOWED HERE. Not even in the fire rings at each site!

We enjoyed seeing LOTS of wildlife in Pinnacles from our campsite: California quail scurrying up a hill, mule deer, and raptors of all kinds. Lots of nocturnal animal activity! 

But the campsites themselves were dispersed around a parking lot -- not much more to it, and very little shade or barrier between sites. Quiet hours were not enforced at all. People were loud through the night.

Wrong name was written on our placard so we worried all night that someone would accuse us of taking their spot, even though we had reserved. and pre-paid for the one we were in. Camping host was indifferent to this error.

Great National Park, though, and seemed to be the only camping option in the area.