Best Cabin Camping near Novato, CA

Cabin Reviews near Novato, CA

264 Reviews of 24 Novato Campgrounds

• 

  Amber D.

  Traveler

  Mar. 6, 2019

  Steep Ravine Campground — Mount Tamalpais State Park

  Beautiful views, lots of space

  These cabins are well worth the cost. There is a separate bedroom, you could sleep 2 couples on beds easily with extra floor space and a small individual bunk for larger families. No electricity but the wood burning stove provides some light. Bring candles and lanterns and some fabric for curtains for privacy.

• 

  Crystal D.

  Guide

  Jun. 17, 2018

  Samuel P. Taylor State Park Campground

  Quaint

  I loved the quaint feel of our campsite. The only downside was that the main road runs alongside the grounds. Our site was small but my eyes were pleased by how it looked. Site had a fire ring, picnic table, and a stone grill. The grounds had running water, flush toilets and quarter showers.

  Camped here at night and explored point reyes during the day.

• N

  Nick T.

  Guide

  Sep. 26, 2021

  San Francisco North-Petaluma KOA

  Great camp for the kids

  This KOA is pretty big with plenty of options for RV sites. Wide variety of full hook-ups or partial hook-ups. Like most (if not all) KOAs, you can also tent camp or tent cabins. Good size dog park for the pets to run and be free, as well as plenty of fun activities to entertain the kiddos. For us, this is a great spot to shoot down the highway and pull in for a few days to get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life! Close to downtown Petaluma with plenty of premium shops and restaurants.

• R

  Rebecca L.

  Traveler

  Nov. 21, 2016

  Samuel P. Taylor State Park Campground

  Crowded, but beautiful!

  This campground is beautiful, set in the redwoods, with a creek and nature trails. It has all the amenities: flush toilets, showers, fire pits, running water, and grills. The only drawback is the sites are small and close together, affording very little privacy. The campground can be pretty loud at night too. If you're looking for peace, quiet, and seclusion, this might not be the campground for you. We really enjoyed it though because we have a three year old, and with all the other noise in the campground, I didn't have to feel bad when she was being loud. Also, watch out for the raccoons! They stole my bread that I stupidly left out, and then tried to get into our ice chest. There are lockers provided at each campsite. Use them!

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• 

  Joseph F.

  Traveler

  Sep. 9, 2021

  Samuel P. Taylor State Park Campground

  Nice shady retreat in beautiful redwoods.

  We have previously tent camped and car camped here and we really enjoy it. It can get warm in the summer, but the cool moist ocean fog comes in and blankets the area in the evenings, which can really cool it down. On our first visit, there was no running water or showers, but they did have portapotties. On our second visit, water was available, but it was not potable, and the showers and toilets were still not working. Not sure if that is a Covid related issue or a temporary maintenance issue. It’s worth a drive through prior to staying, in order to find a site that fits your needs, they have many different sized sites available, and we like the sites in the high teens (18 & 19), as they seem a bit larger and are right along the creek. The sites appear to be your standard state park equipment with a fire pit, a picnic table and a lockable pantry. The parking area for our site was large enough to accommodate our SUV and another vehicle. There is firewood generally available with the camp host or at the gate. Good cell signal with Verizon. Because of the amazing redwood canopy, it might be hard to get good sun for solar in most of the sites. There are all kinds of trails available, as well as a paved path that runs for at least a mile or so along the creek, that used to be the old railroad line through that area. They have informational signs all over the place providing historical or ecological information. Access to the creek is seasonally restricted for spawning, and I believe that goes from spring to about mid June or July. Also, lots of poison oak in the unmaintained areas and off the trails, so be aware.

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• N

  Nick M.

  Scout

  Aug. 25, 2016

  Samuel P. Taylor State Park Campground

  Group site

  The group site was spacious and had a wate spigot, two fire rings, two grills and three picnic tables. There was room for two vehicles and is right next to a bathroom with quarter showers. It's a large campground in a beautiful park. Didn't hike but enjoyed road biking around.

• 

  Ed S.

  Traveler

  Aug. 21, 2020

  Brannan Island State Recreation Area

  Near Sacramento river

  This is a big campground with everything you need for boating and fishing. They have a big boat launch for easy launching. They closed their boat berths because they were rotting. They have one cabin with electricity. It has a bunk bed And a queen. Bring air mattresses cause they are just wooden frames. Very close to the Sacramento River for a nice cruise.

• L

  Laura B.

  Guide

  Oct. 6, 2018

  Ritchey Creek Campground — Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

  Campground in the heart of wine country

  Small, cozy campground located in the heart of wine country. Site contains fire pit, picnic tables, and bear locker. Several prominent wineries located near by as well as a charming town called Calistoga. Sites and bathrooms were well maintained. Good option if you're doing Napa on a budget!

• A

  Adam

  Traveler

  Aug. 31, 2018

  Steep Ravine Campground — Mount Tamalpais State Park

  Worth doing at least once. Bring mouse traps.

  How is it possible that I am the first to review this place, the number one most difficult to reserve spot in all of California (and therefore presumably all of America)?!

  So the cabins are not only notoriously difficult to reserve -- you need to be ready to click "reserve" on the website at no less than 5 minutes before the window opens for your dates of interest, which was 6 months ahead of time when I reserved -- but kind of expensive for what they are, at $100/night plus reservation fee.

  For that, you get your own seaside cabin with million dollar views just 30 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sleeping platforms for about 6 people split among 3 semi-private rooms. Flush toilets at the parking lot and an honor system for buying firewood bundles with kindling. A full-time host lives in the house at the parking lot. There are dish washing spigots scattered among the cabins. There are wheelbarrows for schlepping your stuff to the cabins and campsites; more on that later. And charcoal grills outside each cabin. A couple general use picnic tables scattered about. So those are the basics you can read anywhere.

  Various thoughts and recommendations, based on my solo weekend visit in mid-March 2018, staying in Cabin 7 at the bottom of the hill closest to the little beach:

  • It's a classic, twisty ride on Highway 1 to get to the entrance, and then another steep, curvy ride down to the campground. Campers sensitive to motion sickness or vertigo be warned.
  • Mice. There were several brand new mouse traps provided at the entrance to my cabin. You'll need them. You'd think staying in a cabin would elevate the camping experience a bit, but frankly, this brought things down a couple notches. In two days, I caught three and actually had to buy more traps. Removing any hint of food every night might work, but that's a pain. Experienced cabin-stayers will probably have better advice than mine.
  • Views. The campground and all cabins have incredible views. Bring binoculars and your good camera. Bolinas, Stinson, The Farallon Islands, fishing boats, the night sky, raptors, seals, all manner of water fowl…that's why you're here. The views. And…
  • It's about a mile into Stinson Beach if you need provisions or restaurants, and you can hike right onto the Steep Ravine / Matt Davis trails and climb all over Mt. Tam from the campground. It's also a great base camp for exploring Bolinas and the Pt. Reyes area by vehicle.
  • Wind! It's typically windy in this area most afternoons from May to September. Between those months, there's always a chance of rain, so being inside the cabin with the woodburning stove does have a major advantage over the campsites.
  • Seating. Bring your camp chairs. The cabins have fixed sleeping platforms, a built-in table, and two hard wooden benches. If you want to sit close to the wood stove or just lounge comfortably inside or out, it's DIY.

  My advice? If you're a small party that just wants a couple days with the gorgeous oceanfront views and location, stay at the tent sites, not the cabins. You won't sleep with one eye open waiting for the mousetraps to pop, and it's a flat, easy portage from the parking lot to the campsites. Easier to keep clean, and I find cooking outside to be less of a hassle and easier to clean up than doing it inside the cabin where there isn't any water, sink, or spillage containment solution. Cheaper and (barely) easier to reserve a tent site, too.

  If you're intent on having the cabin experience, or if you're staying in winter, or staying for more than a couple days, or have kids and really want to set up house, then go for a cabin, and I'd recommend choosing a cabin close to the parking lot. They're actually more private and you can use the wheelbarrows to move your stuff from car to cabin. The cabins further away from the parking lot are further down the hill; wheelbarrows are not an option, and footing is iffy when carrying large, heavy items up and down from the parking lot. Views are the same from all cabins so you're not losing any benefits. I'll try for CB04 next time.

  But take whatever cabin you can get, and check "Steep Ravine Cabins" off your camping bucket list.

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