Best Campgrounds near Marina, CA

Beware coming here with anything other than a tent!  All sites have a nice level tent pad area.  

We camped two nights at Fremont Peak State Park with our pop-up tent trailer. We stayed in Valley View site #2 and were lucky that the paved driveway levelled out at the top (mostly).  Some people came to site #3 with a camper van and ended up leaving because they were at such a sharp angle.  

It was not clear from reading other reviews or the park website, but this campground has plenty of potable water spigots around all the sites.  We found the vault toilets clean and well maintained.  Although dogs are not allowed on the trails, there is a service road up to the communication tower that you can hike part way on.
We observed the carpet of valley fog below us in the mornings and evenings, while mid-day you can see out to Moss Landing.  We also got to enjoy one of the Fremont Peak Observatory Association (https://fpoa.net/) programs which was amazing!  The views of the stars and the Milky Way are unbelievable and the volunteers were awesome.

The campground overall was pretty nice—it’s huge and even has a pool (though by around 1:30, it gets completely taken over by a swarm of kids). What really threw me off was the bathroom situation. I expected flush toilets, as advertised, but our loop only had Port-a-Potties. To make matters worse, it’s a quite a walk to get to the restroom in our loop—and that’s not ideal in the heat. Every other loop seemed to have proper bathrooms, so it felt like we got the short end of the stick without any heads-up. Between the long walks, the heat, and the surprisingly bold raccoons and birds, I’d recommend this spot only for a one-night stay—especially if you’re planning to hike during the day.

We have stayed here in the past and the experience was great, but this visit was a disappointment. There was a group campsite that violated the noise curfew until 1:00am!!! We did not get any sleep and decided to cut our short trip, forfeit a paid campsite, and leave the next morning knowing that the same group was there another night. Multiple campers reported the noise throughout the night, but the campers would not keep quiet. We did report our dissatisfaction the next morning and asked for the staff to visit the site. Hoping it was resolved and wishing the other campers a better night.

My wife and I have stayed at this campground three years in a row. It's a great place to use as a basecamp for exploring the myriad of hiking trails that exist in the redwoods and nearby coastal hikes. 

         The Pros

• The staff does an excellent job at keeping the place spotless and cleaning  the bathrooms and showers. 
• There is a camp store should you forget some essentials.  Even Wifi for the phone addicts at the main office.
• Ample trash and recycling bins within easy walking distance.
• The water out of the spigot is great fresh tasting drinking water.(Ive been to campgrounds where the water was not near as good as this place)
• Most every campsite is going to be in deep shade during the day, which is nice in summertime. 
• Coastal hiking trails are a few minutes drive from the campground, choosing your daily adventure of which trails to hike and beaches to visit is the best part of coming here.

           The Cons

• I like camping miles away from people and not seeing or hearing them. It's just not possible in campgrounds. This campground can be tightly packed at times with a neighbors tent pitched just 20-30 feet away. 

• It can get very noisy at times, caterwauling drunks, people scream talking late at night etc. Usually its dies down around 11pm. 

Despite the noise and close proximity to other tents I still plan on coming to this campground in future years. The beauty and greenery, and hundreds of miles of hiking trails make this place and the surrounding area a real natural treasure.