Best Tent Camping near Fort Bragg, CA

This is a beautiful little spot in the redwoods. Shaded, peaceful and lovely. We arrived early afternoon in August on a Saturday and found a nice empty spot no problem. The remaining spots mostly filled up by Saturday evening. The whole campground is well shaded in the redwoods and the weather was mild. There is creek access in the camp with a small day use area by the creek. The camp is right next to the road, but traffic was minimal. There is some hiking in the area, but no trails from the campground, you will need to drive to a trailhead. This is a short drive to the coast, not far from Fort Bragg and beautiful scenery. Some spots are more private and spacious than others, but all good spots. Picnic tables and fire pit provided, no water, porta potties on site. A really great option to camp in the redwoods without a reservation.

Jackson State Demonstration forest is about 6 miles from fort Bragg on hwy.20 Campground is about 3 miles down a dirt road down into the forest from the highway.

Beautiful, clean and peaceful. Plenty of trails to explore and Noyo River meanders through the center. It was self pay upon arrival and the whole place was welcoming. Nice day use area with tables and creek for playing in. No water but fire pits and grills, and picnic tables in campsites. At the sites , Trash and pit toilet areas seemed cleaned regularly and cal fire was seen a few times through our stay so it’s out there but doesn’t feel far away.

There was a massive group site that would be gorgeous for a family gathering too!

General: 19 general and six walk-in campsites among giant redwood and Bay Laurel trees on the Gualala River. Sites 17 & 18 are a double site. 

Site Quality: Level sites with bear box, picnic table, and fire ring. Site One’s camper pad fit our 18-foot camper van, but it would not accommodate anything much larger. Several other camper pads looked short as well. No hookups. 

Bath/Shower house: Three individual units with toilet, sink, soap, and paper towels. One shower that takes quarters – three minutes for $2.00. 

Activities: There is a trail that leads through the walk-in sites, under Highway One, and to the beach, approximately 1.5 miles. You can also drive to the day-use area for a shorter walk. We were there on a weekday but there were many activities scheduled for the upcoming weekend including kayaking on Bodega Bay, outside yoga, and healthy hustle circuit training – I was sad to miss all of these options. 

This campground is beautiful and peaceful. But note that although we did not encounter any, several other campers experienced over-eager raccoons while eating dinner. There was also a sign warning of mountain lions but we did not encounter any. Shout-out to the ranger who shared a lot of good information about the area.

Super cool place to camp in Sequoia National Park. I drove in from the south and passed quite a few full campgrounds before I finally made it to Sunset and scored a spot that I thought was great- up high and dry, no neighbors, a nearby source of downed wood. It looks like the Park Service stays busy downing dead/dying trees, however there were lots of trees providing cover. The closest neighbors were even able to hammock (though I was not due to lack of trees). When noisy neighbors moved in at the adjoining site, I was able to move to a primo site the next day. The new site (52, I think) was right on the edge of the granite slope with an amazing view of the sunset (hence the name of the campground). All sites had the usual amenities of picnic table and fire ring (and the mandatory must use bear boxes), but you need to take a look around for a site that is level and has adequate space between the fire pit and the tent site (mine did not, so no fire for me).  There is a visitor center across the road at Grant Grove Village with ranger station, grocery, post office, restaurant, gas station, and cabins. This is a good place to set up camp if you want to see big trees; the big sequoia tree General Grant is in a sequoia grove just up the road (you could easily hike there from the campground).

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.

I like this a little better than Van Damm down the road because of the small private beach which never appears crowded. You do have road noise but it really is not bad.

Great little tent camping spots and a fabulous group tent camping spot.  From the small beach you can play in the waves and launch protected kayaks into the small bay.  On the right day there are some tidepools (not a lot).  A stream runs through camp and empties on to the beach.

Great Fern Canyon trail and waterfall trail back in the gorge.

You can explore all the Mendoconio Coast from here.

Sites are well spaced and protected. Tables, fire rings and food storage.  Nice rest rooms with showers.  I like the lower loop along the creek and thes sites at the end, near the beginning of the fern canyon trail are choice.

General& Site Quality: 74 campsites; 1-13 in the lower loop and the remainder in the upper loop. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring, and bear box. No hookups. Camper pads are dirt. 

Bath/Shower house: Self-contained units, some with toilet and sink, and some with just a toilet. NO soap but paper towels and a hook for toiletries. Showers take tokens; each $1.00 token gives you a five-minute shower. Didn’t use the shower. 

Activities & Amenities: The day-use area and the Fern Canyon Trail accessed from the campground are currently closed due to storm damage. You can drive a short distance south to walk on the Pygmy Forest boardwalk (about a quarter of a mile) but there is very limited parking (about 8-9 spaces). You can extend the hike on the Fern Canyon trail but cannot hike to/from the campground. There is a dump station, but it costs $10 to use. There is a Visitor Center but it had limited hours during our stay. There is easy access to the ocean just across Highway One (you can even camp in the parking lot for the same rate as long as you are out by 9 a.m.)  The park is close to the town of Mendocino with great restaurants and shopping if that appeals to you.

We arrived around dusk and left fairly early the next morning to walk on the Pygmy Forest boardwalk. I didn’t explore too much (including the upper loop) as there was a black bear sighting the day we were there. Even though it was a sunny day, the campground felt dark and damp.