Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Los Banos, CA

This park has mostly long-term residents. It was super quiet, though there was a somewhat noisy road next to us. We were on the first site next to the road, so I suspect it would be a non issue for most of the sites.

The dog park is extremely well-maintained. Beautiful grass, very nice fence, a bench to sit on, water for your pets and plenty of space to run.

There a really nice stream to hike along. And underneath a bridge there are bat houses. We went under there at sundown and watched the bats come out. Strongly recommended!

The lady who runs the place was extremely nice and helpful.

Full hook-ups and relatively large, gravel sites with some shade. However, I needed to raise one wheel about 5 inches and another 2 to get level.

Short drive to downtown Morgan hill or Gilroy. And there’s a Camping World as well.

Not my favorite KOA, to be honest, but I’ve only stayed at three (Los Banos, Costanoa, and Santa Cruz) so what do I know. This place was dusty, trees were sparse, and amenities were very limited. Was forced to stay there for the weekend when my spring reservations at Sequoia were affected due to unexpected snowfall. People were pleasant enough, but the place just isn’t very exciting.

Medium sized campground. Huge roomy sites. Busy little park with lots of vehicles going in and out all the time. Nice walking trail by creek for you and your furry buddy. Dog park was large and ours loved it. Close see to Morgan Hill which is a quaint friendly little town. We made a booking mistake and they were actually able to move some people around to accommodate us. Laundry room was extremely small but clean and functional. They have propane available. Friendly and very helpful staff. Would stay again if in area.

Nice older campground you'll need a tent or smaller rig. If RV... bring leveling blocks... lots. This use to be First Come First Served but apparently it's reservable now. Getting it reserved is a website-mess though as you need to click on San Luis Reservoir SRA and then Los Banos Creek Campground. LBC doesn't even show up on the map.

https://www.reservecalifornia.com/

Sites:

1 - Good Off-season (No trees just a shade structure) - On Lake

2 - Ok - Very unlevel. Has shade structure view of lake over site 1

3 - Good Shady site, fairly level and large enough for 20' trailer / 24' RV - On Lake

4 - Good Shady site, fairly level and large enough for 20' trailer/ 24' RV - On Lake

5-9 - Ok Small, with shade structures. No obvious spot for tents but near Lake

10 - Ok Medium size and good for trailer with lots of leveling blocks... one tree for shade

11 - Meh? Small weird triangle parking spot with no obvious tent pad - On Lake and shaded

12 - Good Medium size, Lots of shade, On Lake

13-14 - Pull-throughs ? No Shade

Porta-potties were in great shape (March) to the point I'd rather have these than Pit toilets. Good Job to whoever services those!

We visited the first week of December 2020.  The staff was helpful and the grounds were well maintained.  Flat easy pull through with full hook-ups.  Definitely in a canyon around the corner from Thousand Trails.  You can see the stars at night and it is a very quiet campground.  We were surprised at all the high-end rigs there, some full-timers.  A nice dog park area and a stroll along the creek - our dog loved it.  They recycle and are very environmentally aware. No pool or playground but lovely nature away from the hustle and bustle of silicon valley.  It is about 6 miles to shopping and many restaurants.  A very easy drive off the highway if you take the Tennant Road exit.

High priced. Nice people at desk. Damon who helped us park was very friendly. Almost entirely high-priced big rigs, some of whom seem settled here but it's clean, 'orderly,' very quiet. Rigid rules keep the order; nice that no political flags/signs allowed. 2 dog parks and lots of grassy areas to take for a walk. Showers in locker-room/bldg, bathrooms nice and clean. Green grass. Also has laundry with 2.50 wash and.25 dry for 8 min. Skunk wandered by site in the night. Cool train sounds from nearby tracks at night. Was probably the most convenient to San Jose, otherwise we likely would've been in mtns. and too far away from town for our needs at the time. Would not be a regular choice for us.

this KOA has everything you need. the streets are wide and the pull-ins are easy to access. the Wi-Fi here is good enough to check email but not for streaming or anything intensive. however you can get a good starlink connection and over 100 megabits per second. it is pet friendly and has a store filled with pretty much anything you would need. they also give cookies to guests and treats to dogs.

This campground is very nice. It’s a good place with large spots, flush toilets, hot coin showers, place for your dish, pet allowed and calm.

Not even come here if you don’t have a boat or jet sky... Barely any places to hang out by the water... Not kids or pets friendly

This place is so great! It is difficult to find BLM camping in California and this is a gem!

The road is in prone to mudslides and looked like is was recently cleared of mud in multiple spots. Warning though this is the kind of mud that is like clay and has to be scraped off of wheel wells and undercarriage. We collected quite a bit and the underneath of our RV looks like hundreds of stalactites grew and THAT was on the recently cleared spots! The road itself is paved but very potholed, patched and narrow. Be aware of blind corners on weekends when the traffic increases and people fly up the narrow road!

The campground has big flat parking areas for RVs, vans or tents. The individual spots are spaced out nicely and all seemed to have some shade. Also there are covered picnic tables, fire pits and a bathroom which consists of a clean pit toilet. There is NO water, hook ups, or garbage available so don't forget to bring extra water to extinguish your fire as this is a high risk fire zone. Pack in and pack out!

The days and nights are quiet and very relaxing! Bird and wildlife viewing abundant and hiking trails nearby. 

There is absolutely NO cell reception at the campground or the road in, NO AT&T, NO Verizon, and NO T-Mobile!

Will definitely come here again!

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!

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.

None of the trails or beaches are dog friendly and since I had my dog, this was just a chill, relaxing, car camping trip. Also a ton of mosquitos but overall not bad.

YOU CANNOT CAMP HERE. However, this gorgeous state park has dozens of beautiful trails winding through cattle country and down along streams and ponds in the Dinosaur Point area.

NO WATER. Note that there is no safe potable water at the park, so if you're hiking, bring plenty to drink.

NOT DOG-FRIENDLY: Dogs are allowed on leash in the parking lot only. You cannot hike with your dog here.

VERY HORSE-FRIENDLY: The park is especially friendly to horses, because the lady that donated the land was an equestrienne. There is a corral at the main parking lot area and the park is fenced for livestock. They make a point of stating that although the water in the creeks and ponds is unsafe for humans, it is safe for livestock and horses. (The one exception to the no camping rule, actually, is when those on horseback are allowed to camp during special events.)

Good spot to explore Pinnicales National Park. Typical TT resort park off the beaten path, far out but nice place, we enjoyed our stay. At the time we were there a lot of the riverfront sports were out of order. Park does have a lot of those devil spikes in the grass so beware of those with the dogs or bare feet. I did see someone bare foot walking and I was confused as how he was not stepping on them little spiked mines/ thorns then it happened and he went down having to crawl back to the road and get shoes. Pinnacles NP has lots of great hikes, bird watching is a thing out here and home to the California Condors. Near the town of Gilroy home of the garlic festival. A little out of the way but a nice scenic backroad alternate from I5 or 99 if traveling north/south.

We starter visiting Modesto Resivor in the sixties. My father would hail all of our gear out to one of the many islands, and let the kids and dogs run free. Now that we are older, we camp on the shore line. Rustic tent camping near the water-skiing course is my favorite. Quite nights and darker stargazing. Blonde Beach is where your likely to find us Jetskiing.