Best Tent Camping near Gualala, CA

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.

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.

Second time I've been here. Five years ago, I thought it was pretty bare-bones but just what I wanted: first-come, first-serve tent spot within 3 hours of San Francisco and within a walk of the ocean. No city lights to speak of = incredible stargazing. Oceanside = fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves. Did I mention first-come, first-serve? Nearly all the other campgrounds on the CA coast require a reservation 6 months in advance for weekends, with weekday availability not much better. This small campground had a number of empty spots available at 8pm on a Saturday.

This year, it was nearly the same story. Park funding cut back, so no host = no firewood (KOA up the road sells bundles for $8). And it's only open on weekends until further notice. The vault toilets had plenty of TP, and the sites were well maintained so clearly someone is looking after the place. In fact, the overgrown grass and coastal scrub that previously lent some extra privacy to sites was cut down, a bit of a bummer. Go for the spots on the northern loop. The trees there offer some wind protection and the views over the valley toward Alder Creek are worthwhile. I wanted to set up my hammock, but tree-less sites closer to the road render that a non-option. For site variety, spaciousness, privacy, and amenities, I'd say Manchester is more like 2-2.5 stars. But last-minute availability bumps it up to 3.

There is still a pasture full of cows across the street and the Pt. Arena lighthouse just beyond to greet you in the morning, and the ocean still crashes within earshot. Salt Point and Gualala campgrounds are warmer and woodsier. Mackerricher and Russian Gulch offer much more to do. But in a pinch, Manchester will continue to be my impromptu coastal road trip stopover.

Location • state park located north of Sonoma and an hour south of Mendocino • in the Virgina redwood forest • closest town: about 6 miles away

Facilities • Bathrooms & showers easily accesible for all sites - cleaned regularly • some bathrooms updated very recently • Spigots every few sites with good draining • campfire theatre • firewood sold on premises • about 70 campsites • some cabins • day use picnic area • wheelchair accesible trails

Ambiance • quiet hours 10pm - 8am • mostly families • dogs allowed on leash

Sites • Small to medium, close together • More open than private; good for groups who need multiple sites • Most hace at least part shade throughout the day • ring fire pits with grill • wooden food locker at each site • wooden picnic table at each site • enough space for 3-4 cars

Things to do • Variety of easy hikes/walks • drive to Mendocino • wine tasting in town

Beware • Poison oak

General: Located between Bodega Bay and Bodega Harbor, this county park has over 140 sites in four campgrounds: Shell, Gull, Cove, and Jetty. There is also tent camping, a group campsite, and a hiker/biker camping area. No hookups in any site. 

Site Quality: Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Sites all appeared to be level. Depending on your site, you may have more privacy/separation than in others. Site 21 (in Shell) was nicely positioned, however, the sites on either side of us were not occupied during our stay so we had more privacy. 

Bath/Shower: Self-contained units with a toilet and sink with soap, HOT water, and air dryer. One coin-operated shower house for Shell, Gull, and Cove campgrounds, located between Gull and Cove. Additional showers in the tent-only section and the Jetty campground. Generally clean. 

Activities: Hiking, fishing, birding, beachcombing, wading, and water sports. There was a very short boardwalk and sandy walking paths, although some of these were very overgrown. 

One thing I appreciated was propane cylinder recycling. We learned there is a program where select vendors will refill the small cylinders and we hope this becomes more readily available. This is a much larger county park campground than we have been in before and it was very busy when we were there on a weekday in late October. Nice but I prefer the smaller and quieter campgrounds.

First, you stay here for the views. Great views from the first two rows closest to the water. There are very few plantings between spaces. No hook ups at all, but water is available if you fill before you park. Seven dollar dump station. Each campsite has a fire ring and a wooden picnic table and grass. Since there’s no hook ups between the hours of 8 AM and 8 PM, you will always be listening to somebody’s generator running. Always. No privacy at this campground. I did not check out the bathrooms for the campground, but I did look at the bathrooms for the large boat launch area next-door. No showers in that bathroom, but it was clean. A bit spendy for no hookups. Safe. Zero long term campers when I was here. There are no first come first served campsites at this location. All camping spaces had a reserve sign on them, even though the place was about 40% full. Completely dark at night, which was great.

There is no source of fresh drinking water. There are portable toilets, but they are often lacking toilet paper, and at times the garbage cans are overflowing and the toilets are a health hazard. The 10 campsites are small, and except for #1, there is no privacy or space between sites. The picnic tables are rotting away. It's ridiculous that the camping fee is $35. And yet, this is one of my favorite places to camp. The Navarro River flows into the Pacific here, and this is a great site to watch seals in the ocean and otters in the river. People build incredible driftwood structures on the beach.