Best Cabin Camping near Patterson, CA

I wanted somewhere not too far to go and stay when my 5-6 year-old had 5 days off from school. This was perfect in so many ways.

Positives

- Amenities! I love how everything was themed, from the street names to the signs. Two nice playgrounds, ball courts, pool and hot tub. Watching your kids play red light/green light on the jumping pillow put a smile on every parent's face.

- Seasonal programming (weekends only). For October, we did an outdoor movie, magic pumpkins, costume contest, trick or treating, hay ride, and haunted house. My daughter loved everything except the haunted house, which she said was "too scary!"

- Clean, comfortable facilities. Lots of ways to stay. We car camped and found the hook ups really easy to use. Water, drain, 3 types of electricity, picnic table and firepit at every site. We used their bathrooms and showers and was impressed by how clean they were. Most of the time we had them completely to ourselves and they were even climate controlled.

- Restaurant. I cooked breakfast and lunch most days at the campsite, but for dinner we splashed out at the kid-friendly Waterfront Grille. Friendly staff, good food (lobster and prime rib, yum!), amazing views of the sunset.

Negatives

- Water park was closed. Call ahead to see if it is open when you want to go. I heard that it is never open because of some issue with permits or drought. If so, the promotional video is misleading and I almost deducted a star for this.

- Expensive. For camping, it is expensive, but think of it more as a theme park/resort, than true camping. We saved on the cabin and RV, and spent on the optional activities and the fancy meals.

Bottom line, I would totally go back and stay as long as I could. I hear it is super crowded in the summer, but it would be worth it if the water park is open.

Cabin had bunk beds. Small refrigerator

It’s a cozy place with boat rentals! Plenty of shade and bathrooms available. Only reason got 4 star is the constant blue-green algae, making the water unavailable for swimming. Regardless of that, you can still fish and go on boat rides.

Great place for a quick getaway with some friends or family. Enjoyed walking around and taking in the views. Saw some deer, rabbits, and hummingbirds. Enjoyed hanging out by the lake.

Staff is very friendly. Bathrooms were clean.

I had a very different take on this place than the others. The RV spot was a fair distance from the neighboring spots, it was low-density, quite, all good qualities, but there was very little see or do near the loop. There were no hikes suitable for young kids as far as I could tell. There was a little store for ice cream and camping supplies and dump station on the loop.  HOWEVER, WARNING: the road around the campground looks wide but there are boulders every 10 feet or so making it insanely hard to back into our spot - and we had only a 22ft trailer! I can't see myself coming back here. The maps do accurately depict the relatively narrow space you have for back in spots. Once we were in, it was fine.  The pedestal and sewer set-up was just fine. No issues there. It's just not worth the hassle. 

As for the park/water part of the park, well, it was covered in garbage from the day-trippers. It was packed and only accessible by driving to it. Truly not a place I wanted to BBQ or picnic at.  Cars, people, dogs, loud music, and garbage. A gross diaper on the shore.     We took a very nice hike starting at the dog run. That was beautiful, but not worth the trip.

I didn't bother to photograph our site. There were all adequate, just avoid back in site here. There are so many better places to visit.  I checked this off the list, no reason to return. I don't believe there was reception either from the campsite.

Last thing, we peaked in on the cabins in our loop. They looks very nice and maintained.

We go with several families with kids 5-13 and they all have a blast. The price per night is very expensive but there are a lot of amenities. Nice playground, basketball court, volleyball, bouncy pillow, outdoor movies, pool, lazy river, water park, bumper boats, laser tag, boat rentals on the delta, restaurants and quick bites. There is an ice cream shop, general store, and crafts some free some for purchase $7-$30. We went for Christmas in July and Santa was there for pictures, we go for Halloween and there is trick or treating through the whole place, a haunted house and a decor and costume contest. Our kids really enjoy the freedom to go play while the adults sit back and relax.

We stayed 1 night and it was perfect. The staff was very nice and the place was clean and quiet. There are toilets and showers on the campground and it only cost 10$!

the campsite is perfect for traveling through and getting a night's sleep.

Nice big campsites, well spaced between neighbors. Very open with trees shading most spots Beautiful birds and tons of turkeys, a few deer too. Very dry while we were here. We didn’t go to the lake as this was just a travel stay for us.

Stayed at one of the hookup sites with my son for a night in our 21ft trailer. We had a great time. With much of the campground closed we had lots of places to hike right near our site. Sites were well spaced apart and even though our loop was full it did not feel crowded. Would go back.

This is nice little campground that is only about 15 minutes from downtown Livermore. It’s a great escape from the craziness of the Bay Area without having to drive too far. The lack of cell reception really helps the feeling of being away from the city life. There was quite a bit of wildlife roaming through the park mainly in the early morning. I saw deer and turkeys roaming the campground.

The restrooms and showers were clean and functional. Maybe a bit outdated, but I don’t see that as a negative considering everything works. It’s also nice that the showers are free, no need to bring your roll of quarters.

The close proximity to the lake and all the hiking trails is a huge plus.

The only negatives I can mention are the camp store and the lack of privacy at each site. It seems like the camp store is only open on Saturdays which means if you need anything, it’s close to an hour long commitment to drive into Livermore, buy what you need, and drive back. I’m not sure if that’s always the case but when I visited in April that was what the sign had posted. As far as the lack of privacy, I don’t think it’s a deal breaker since there is a good amount of space between sites but they are all fully exposed. I can see these being a bit of a problem especially on a crowded weekend.

Overall a nice campground in a good location with plenty to do in the area.

What a find! This hidden gem hides behind the vineyard crested mountain range just due south of Livermore. Once you get off the 680/580 highways, you'll be immediately swept into a different wind-strewn, rocky landscape that you'll have to wind around several bends on some decent inclined well-paved roads before making your arrival to Del Valle regional park. 

You'll have to pay the$10 to get through, but this is one of the few parks where that fee, if maximized, is a great investment. The campgrounds here are all incredibly well maintained, spacious (perhaps a bit too spacious and open in some places). With a great number of trails to take in any direction, the great find here is the well-appointed lake that rents kayaks, paddle boats and canoes. There's even horses you can rent nearby if you get tired of all the hiking. 

There's plenty of places to picnic if you get tired of eating at your campsite. Be wary of the weekends, especially long holiday weekends where this park gets completely overrun. Other than this, it's a fantastic camping site. 

Happy Camping!

We’ve camped a few times at Del Valle and will be back again this summer. Our experiences have all been positive. Our first time was by the main gate (in the 60s) and it was nice site with good shade. The last time was site 81, which had much less shade but a location we preferred. The bathrooms were brand new then so we really enjoyed those. Campsites are nicely sized, though “partial shade” kinda means not at all shady (be sure to bring your own shade). You have to drive to the lake but it’s not too long of a car ride. Parking and beach fill up quickly. Surprisingly very few bugs at the campsites during the day; nighttime is a different story. It’s a kind of bring-your-own-fun camping experience; great easy location for group camping and getting to bond with the people you came with.

UPDATE: stayed here for our 3rd time this weekend (June 2019). We had a great time overall. The line of cars just to get into the park was long and took over 30 minutes. Park was crowded but bathrooms were very clean (that’s always been our experience here). Helpful rangers came around to tell us about special programs (campfire program Saturday night and nature hike Sunday morning). The store staff drove around late Saturday afternoon in a truck that sold firewood; they didn’t come back around Sunday morning so be sure to grab enough when you see them.

Close to the Bay Area and probably one of the better options.  It can get crowded over the weekends.

Looks like they recently increased the price for campsites, which makes it easier to find/reserve a site.  Not sure that this was a good thing, but it is what it is.

Overall, the experience falls and rises with your neighbors, and you probably know what I mean.  The sites are reasonably spaced.

Lots of foxtails in case you have dogs, but this is CA and they are everywhere.

We've been camping here a few times now, since it is about a half hour from where we live. We camp with a 27' Travel Trailer and the campgrounds can accommodate it. There is also several tent campsites as well. The marina to Lake Del Valle is a few miles away. They rent recreational boats as well as aluminum fishing boats. They have a swimming beach area and they rent kayaks as well. There is some decent hiking trails from the campgrounds. There were no hookups where we camped for the travel trailer. Lots of turkey and deer in the area. The fee for us was $27/per night. They is a per fee as well.

Great lake and fishy, clean sites, bathrooms are great. All around awesome camping

The regional park and campground offer a lot of day time activities. Hiking, swimming, kayaking, fishing, pontoon boating! There is a lot of stuff to do here so you won't be wanting for activities. Keep in mind that this is a family campground and as such there will be a lot of kids waking up at 6am and making a lot of noise. Bring ear plugs, you should be fine. This campsite also has showers which is a big plus and running water. We stayed at site 118 which had zero shade, so unless you are planning on bringing a easy up shelter or something similar make sure the site you are reserving has some shade. A great camping experience overall!