Best Tent Camping near Milpitas, CA

Tent Camping Reviews near Milpitas, CA

603 Reviews of 33 Milpitas Campgrounds

• 

  Rommel C.

  Scout

  Oct. 31, 2022

  Live Oak Campground — Mount Diablo State Park Campground

  juniper campground - site 15 - end of october

  great campsite! be careful driving up the windy road and watch for the many cyclists. going up/down with you. 

  driving in was very easy; parking is right next to the site. the campsite itself was beautiful - panoramic views of the east bay area. i could recognize walnut creek, lafayette, danville and san ramon through the binoculars. site was clean, but the ground itself was very rocky. irritating that there wasn't really any level spots to set up the tent, so sleeping on a slant was a real treat (sarcasm). weather was very mild during the day; not too hot, nor too cold. nights were bearable in the high 50s, and by late night (cuz i kept waking up because of slanted sleeping), but felt like low 40s and slightly windy. make sure you bring thermals and a warm sleeping bag. sleeping pad is a definite must on the sharp rocks; be careful when stepping around in the tent with just socks on. 

  drought meant that flushing toilets were all locked.. as were the showers.. but from what i heard the "chemical toilets" (aka porta-potties) were an adequate substitute. water access had been shut off as well, so make sure you bring plenty of your own for washing and drinking. 

  critters - we didn't encounter any during our stay. no racoons, bears, mice, rats.. nada. just a ton of pincher bugs everywhere. not even many flies! we had those spinning fly deterrent things, though. maybe those really DO work? 

  ALSO because of the drought - NO WOOD FIRES ALLOWED. total/complete bummer to camp without a campfire. gas stoves and lanterns were permitted, though.

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• 

  MarinMaverick

  Legend

  Sep. 1, 2020

  Haypress Campground — Golden Gate National Recreation Area

  Hidden Gem

  Theses are limited  (5) hike in tent sites.  Not far in - less than a mile.  You are on your own here. Bring your own water.  No fires. You get a picnic table and a food storage locker, nothing else.

  Meadow sites against a row of trees. There is very little privacy between sites but the couple times I have been here it was not full.  It can get windy - there is some shelter under the tress. 

  Here you can strike out hiking through Tennessee Valley to the beach and beyond!

  Great for a close get-a-way and seclusion.

• S

  Stephanie

  Guide

  Nov. 12, 2020

  Live Oak Campground — Mount Diablo State Park Campground

  Juniper Campground: hiked in

  We hiked up to Juniper campground from the Clayton side. The sites in the teens have less overhead shade but more privacy than those of higher numbers. The sites closest to the driving road/entrance/overlook will have the potential to be downwind of the bathroom, unfortunately.

  The campground is a dry campground - as in no alcohol.

  That said, we loved our site #15, and enjoyed the privacy it provided, plus the views (if you stand on the table or are tall). We didn't encounter critters. We had some trouble staking down on the rocky dirt. 

  This is a good campground to explore the rest of the summit areas, plus Rock City.

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• 

  Rhiannon S.

  Guide

  Jul. 23, 2017

  Lower Blooms Creek — Big Basin Redwoods State Park — CAMPGROUND CLOSED

  Beautiful Trails Through Towering Redwoods

  This was a long family camp trip in an amazing location. Our campsite was a walk-in, fairly secluded spot partially up a steep hill. There were only a handful of spots on that pathway, so there weren't many neighbors. Camp had a picnic table, fire ring, bear box, & lots of nearby trails & paths for exploring. Toilets with showers, and dishwashing stations were nearby as well.

  The highlight of this campground is the ample opportunity for wandering. There are many trails, easy walks through ancient redwoods, moderate trails to beautiful waterfalls, and tougher trails for dedicated hikers.

  At the lodge area, there's a store, restaurant, and gift shop, plus educational programs, family events, and community campfires. The kids went on a guided hike to become junior rangers, which gave the parents some free time in the afternoon.

  It's an amazing place to be, and we definitely need to spend more time there.

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• 

  Juliana S.

  Traveler

  Sep. 20, 2021

  Castle Rock Trail Camp — Castle Rock State Park

  Pleasant setting with some noise from the shooting range

  I liked the trees, picnic tables, and fire rings at the sites. The sites were spaced nicely to allow for privacy. Frog Flat seemed a bit more secluded than the main camp. There was no water running at the site when I stayed there, but vault toilets were available. There is a nearby shooting range and you can hear the gunshots during the daylight hours.

• 

  Sara W.

  Traveler

  Aug. 23, 2018

  Coe Ranch Campground — Henry W. Coe State Park

  Easy Scenic Camping close to Bay Area

  Henry Coe State Park is easily accessible from the San Francisco Bay Area for a weekend getaway or short camping trip.

  The Coe Ranch campground has several tent-only campsites that can be reserved online ($8 transaction fee, $20/night), and the campground has parking for vehicles in a small parking area ~20-100 feet from the campsites. Campsites at this campground are aesthetically pleasing, with oak and pine trees around the perimeter of the campground, and there are scenic views of oak woodlands and the valley below. The picnic benches are conveniently located and provide a nice space for eating while camping at the site. Toilets are easily accessed from the campsites. Campfires are allowed in the fire rings only during non-fire season (no campfires during summer months). Dogs are allowed at the Coe Ranch Campground.

  Henry Coe SP has many great hiking opportunities, with beautiful wildflower displays in March and April, and also numerous opportunities for enjoying the beauty of the plants and wildlife seen along the hiking trails which are very accessible from the campground. Near the Coe Ranch campground there is a camp book store, which has some items for sale, including many field guides to wildlife and plants in the park. When the store is open, there is often a ranger available to answer questions about the park.

  My only compliant is that at the site we stayed at (CR005) the ground is quite compacted, so if you do not have an adequately thick sleeping pad, the ground may be uncomfortably hard to sleep on. Normally I have no trouble sleeping on the bare ground at campsites with a thin sleeping pad, so this was surprising. Bringing an extra pad may be a good idea if you are prone to sleep problems when the ground is too hard.

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• 

  Larry W.

  Guide

  Aug. 28, 2020

  Sugar Barge RV Resort & Marina

  Quiet, NO other tenters!

  We (party of 4) were there primarily because we rented a boat from their Marina. That went well! This is an RV campground & full-complement resort on Bethel Island, San Joaquin River Delta. Many RVers appear to be long-term or full-time residents.

  The tent-area was a clearing, fully backed up to the levee, with some shade and a water spigot. Appears to be only 4 “sites,” which are defined by picnic tables, GENEROUSLY spaced, no fire rings AND the Delta is h.o.t.! It’s also on the far edge of the property, so car traffic was MINIMUM — and NO generators were heard, even though the RV section is huge!!!

  The rest rooms were in the Marina building, a short walk. We would DEFINITELY return for boating and tenting!!!

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• 

  Cococounty L.

  Traveler

  Apr. 25, 2020

  Briones Regional Park

  A nice spot!

  A few low spots. Cleared 12' barely with minor scrapes. Good parking and turn around. Lots of opportunities for horse riders in area. Pets on leash.

• 

  Erin S.

  Legend

  Mar. 16, 2022

  Haypress Campground — Golden Gate National Recreation Area

  A no-frills but pretty campground in Marin Headlands

  A hike-in campground in Tennessee Valley, a short 20 minute drive from the Golden Gate Bridge and the hustle and bustle of the City.  My family of three stayed here for one night in mid March.  It was a Sunday night, and three out of the five sites were occupied.  

  The tent pads (a flat sandy area surrounded by wood beams) were fairly small - maybe 10' x 10'.  Each site had a picnic table and a large metal food locker.   The sites were well spaced and did not feel cramped.  Two vault toilets, fairly clean. The campground was located at the end of a 0.5 mile dirt road, which was about a quarter of mile down an old paved road from the TV parking lot.  A few folks walked into the campground that weren't staying there, but they weren't a bother, just going for a walk. The campers we saw varied from families, a solo bike-packer, and a couple just starting out camping.  I was worried that being so close to the city and the parking lot, it would be party central with groups hauling in a bunch of alcohol, but it wasn't the case at all. Neither the parking lot nor the campground had running water, so come prepared unless you want to drive into town.  

  Pros:

  - Very quiet and peaceful.  The night had beautiful stars with no artificial light.  No road noise.

  - Small number of sites with great spacing.

  - Decent toilet facilities.

  Cons:

  - No water.  We backpacked in from the Golden Gate Bridge.  There was no place nearby to fill up on water, and had to be extremely conservative in our use.  No springs or creeks running nearby this time of year either.

  - Would have been nice to have a fire.  

  Overall, we had a pleasant camping experience and would recommend.

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