Looking for the best pet-friendly campgrounds near San Francisco? Find the best information on pet-friendly camping near San Francisco, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your RVing experience. Search nearby pet-friendly campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Creekside Loop (sites 1-25)
$225 / night
Francis Beach has a campground with 52 individual sites, some suitable for tent camping, others for trailers or recreational vehicles. Some campsites have electrical hookups. Water and sewer hookups are not available, but there is a dump station ($10 fee) and a water filling station. Rental RV’s are not allowed to be dropped off or picked up from the park. Coin-operated hot showers are also available. (approximately 2 minutes per quarter)
$35 - $165 / night
Located half way up Mount Tamalpais' forested southern slopes, Pantoll Campground is one of two first-come, first-served walk-in campgrounds within Mount Tamalpais State Park (Bootjack being the other). With 16 historic campsites lying beneath a quiet Douglas fir forest, time spent next to the campfire here will quickly expunge thoughts of the big city that lies just a few miles to the south.
The campground has an assortment of sites that are distributed on the hill that extends from the Pantoll Day Use Area; sites located further uphill offer greater privacy and more room. All 16 sites are within a short, 100-yard walk from the car park. Each comes equipped with campfire pits and historic, stone-built campfire grills to accommodate all of your cooking and warming needs. Since advance reservations cannot be made for Pantoll, arriver earlier on weekend days to ensure you’ll have a site. You’ll likely have the campground to yourself if you are there mid-week.
$7 - $25 / night
Just 15 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, Half Moon Bay, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, and many of the SF Bay area's other favorites, Encore's San Francisco RV Resort's great location can't be beat! San Francisco RV Resort is situated on a 60ft bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with amazing sunset views. The Pacific Ocean is ideal for surfers, tide-pool adventurers, and loungers alike! At this oceanside SF Bay area RV campground, our knowledgeable staff is eager to make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Whether you would like help getting settled or want advice about planning a day-trip, San Francisco RV Resort is at your service
If you’re planning an RV trip to San Francisco, Marin Park is the perfect place for your stay. As the nearest RV campground to San Francisco, the park is within walking distance of public transit services like the Larkspur Ferry and Golden Gate Transit (the bus). We are also a short walk to several different shopping centers, restaurants and grocery stores as well as a very short drive for gas and propane refill. We offer a full range of amenities, including water, sewer and electrical RV hookups, laundry room, free Wi-Fi and cable TV. Pet-owners can enjoy a scenic dog walking area that overlooks the San Francisco Bay and a dog wash area, and summer lodgers can cool off in our heated swimming pool. Plus, the park is staffed 24/7 to provide for any emergency needs that may arise. Both short- and long-term lodgers are welcome at Marin Park, so regardless how long you plan to stay, we have a space for you.
$115 - $135 / night
Anthony Chabot Family Campground, overlooking Lake Chabot, is a year-round getaway only 35 minutes from downtown Oakland and Oakland International Airport. The campground features 53 drive-to tent campsites, 10 walk-to tent campsites, and 12 RV/trailer campsites with full hookups (sewer, water, and 30 amp electrical). All sites have a picnic table and fire ring with grill. Restrooms include hot showers. Firewood and charcoal are available for purchase. The campground provides access to miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, along with fishing at nearby Lake Chabot.
Anthony Chabot Regional Park features seven group camps ranging in capacity from 35 to 300 campers, reservations required (a minimum of 9 people to use the group campsites). All group camps include picnic tables, BBQ, fire ring, water, and chemical/vault toilets. Equestrian camping is available by reservation at Bort Meadow Group Camp. For reservations, call 1-888-EBPARKS (1-888-327-2757), option 2. Group campsites cannot be reserved online.
One- to six-person sites: 12 Seven- to 25-person sites: 2 Coast Campground is nestled within a small coastal valley with easy access to the beach and tidepools. The beach is within 220 yards of the campground and tidepools are located ~720 yards to the southeast. One may access Coast Campground by foot, bicycle, or horse; not by boat, auto, or RV. The shortest approach on solid ground is via the 1.8-mile slightly uphill hike on the Laguna and Fire Lane Trails, starting at the Laguna Trailhead just east of the hostel. There are 12 regular sites and two group sites.
$30 - $90 / night
Ranger
The atmosphere here is wonderful. It’s quiet and right on the beach. Some RV spaces with hookups back right up to the sand/vegetation. Bathrooms and showers on site. We stayed in a spot without hookups and it was $35 per night. Gate staff was friendly and helpful. No dogs allowed in the beach in the park but a short walk away there is a public beach that is dog friendly, so that was nice for our doggo.
Guide
We stayed here for 12 days while visiting relatives in the Bay area. This campground, while in the heart of Fremont, feels remote and safe in spite of being close to town. Sites are not huge, but arranged in such a way as to feel private. It is in the Coyote hills regional Park. There are many many trails for hiking and biking, and wildlife is plentiful. Our RV is small and we used the showers and bathrooms quite a bit. They are cleaned daily and we're always in great shape. The laundry is run by an outside organization, and the change machine was always empty, but everything worked well.
Scout
Good spot to spend the night. Rocked up at around 8pm, pretty busy at least 10 other vans and rvs there for the night. Couple of food vendors, great view of Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Weren’t hassled at all, left around 9am.
ScoutNice spot close to the Golden Gate Bridge
Traveler
I’m very confused by the boojie negative reviews, what do you expect?
This is an absolutely great spot! Restrooms and showers are clean and the staff is great. Will be back often.
Not a far drive to the city either. Price is higher than other places but this close to the city with all of the amenities a pretty good deal.
ScoutThe staff was amazing. Tent site was spacious. Not too crowded. Clean bathroom and shower. Several trails to walk. Close to town in case we forgot something.
Scout
This was some “glamping” for us. We’re in a van with no consistent onboard power or water, so we do a night or two out and a night at a site with more amenities. This was a perfect stop driving south on the 1 after the previous night remote on the coast and a planned need for StarLink with power source. Park is clean and well-organized, if tight, and the bathrooms are super clean and door-coded, with included hot showers. Right on the marina, fun if you enjoy harbor/boating scenery, and good food within walking distance. No way - that I found - to reserve online, but a phone call at 9am on a Saturday was returned within 10 minutes and got it done. Range of big rigs to camper vans, easy access and enough room to negotiate into spots. Very welcoming, safe, laid back environment.
Scout
Beautiful view we were in campsite 40. A beautiful view of vineyards and the sunset and people riding their horses. So calm and beautiful and so many activities here to do. Also there is showers, bathrooms, and hookups, we love this place. Only 8 mins from downtown Napa
Scout
We visited this park earlier this spring. Yes it was wet, but we didn't mind. Liked the spaces and layout so much...we are going back this fall. Plus we love that whole area.
However, DYRT got some info wrong. While there are plenty of full hookup spaces for RVs, there are no pull thru sites. Only back in for trailers and drive-in for coaches. Many tent camping spaces and RV spaces w/just water and power. The folks are friendly and helpful.
M.R.
Legend
Have you been over to Bodega Bay? I think you'd like it there. Our friends sure know us well! While the town doesn’t look much different than when it appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, the cafes in the village have definitely upped their game.
Bodega Dunes State Park is a great way to experience the area without the same activity and noise in the camp grounds down closer to the water. The campsite loops wind through the coastal Live Oak and Bishop Pine trees and provide some privacy in between sites in some areas, though some sites are right on top of each other.
They are generally smaller pull-in sites geared more toward tents, vans, and small travel trailers. There are just a handful of sites that can accommodate bigger RVs. Many of the sites have decent open sky resources for solar power and satellite internet, though many in the lower areas had standing water and torn up asphalt pads from the heavy rains the last couple of years.
The bathrooms were clean and comfortable with flush toilets and warm showers (coin operated). My only complaint about the bathrooms is that there weren’t quite enough for the demand, in my opinion, but a few port-o-potties might help offset that during the busy season.
Hiking among the sand dunes and along the beach provide some really stunning scenery. Reaching the beach, you’ll find as much coastal sand as you can handle with miles and miles of it to yourself. The water, which is normally pretty cold year round, can also be pretty rough for swimming.
A short drive away is the gorgeous Bodega Head Trail which winds up along the headland and offers amazing scenery. It’s sort of like a small Point Reyes National Seashore, but much easier to get to.
Bodega Bay has a couple of small grocery stores, gas stations, and more than a few restaurants to meet nearly any craving. The area is known for its Dungeness Crab Harvest, so be sure to check that out when it's in season!
TravelerGreat location overlooking the city, has facilities like toilets and drinking fountains. Very busy when I was here on a Saturday night with locals, tourists and Mexican street vendors. Can’t complain because it’s free and close to the city
Legend
Great (and big) park in Bodega Bay with several separate campgrounds. We got lucky and snagged a last minute spot for 2 nights in August. Easy access to the beach, lots of day use areas all around this park, and bonus: a dog beach that was available on a trial basis when we were there- dogs got to run free on this little patch of enclosed beach- wonderful. Hope it becomes a permanent feature!
Showers were $2 for 5 minutes, there’s recycling here (a separate bin for propane cylinders too).
This campground has a lot of in and out traffic and day use visitors and overall more activity than the Westside campground across the way. We enjoyed both of them.
Legend
This is a mellow, low key, beachy Sonoma County campground in Bodega Bay. It’s got that vibe that so many beach campgrounds do, a little run down, no frills, open layout, and happy friendly campers. We stayed here for a couple of nights and had a great time.
There’s hiking all over this area, lots to explore and see. Cell service was good. Showers here are expensive at $2 for 5 min, quarters only. There’s a host on site who’s been hosting here for something like 15 (maybe 30) years. There’s a boat ramp adjacent to this campground, lots of boats in and out for fishing.
There’s a dump station for a $7 fee (though the website says $10, so maybe it's actually $10), honor box at the station to deposit your money. Water fill available here as well.
Recycling available, as well as a separate bin for green propane canisters. Camping is $35/night, plus $2 fee per dog per night (boo), plus whatever online reservation fee ($8?). Reservations must be made online. Hosts obviously do not handle that and there was nobody in the entrance shack when we arrived- though a ranger swung by later to collect the dog fee (that fee can’t be paid online when you make the reservation). Anyway, confusing process but just go with it and have a great time.
ScoutThere is upward of 90 sites, many are for just tents and are on sand with fire pit. I have our travel trailer there and are the site # in the 70's and are on a asphalt pad, which makes it cleaner and level. Down side would be close to a road and traffic during day, but at night very quiet except for fog horn which is no big deal. The beach walks and adventuring the coast and local fair makes it all worth it. Water and dump station available, not at campsites but at entry of park
Scout
Very enjoyable stay. The park is clean,quiet and there’s a few trails that take you to the Beach. It’s about a 30 min walk but an easy one. Theres electric, cable and water at the pole. The sewer is up near the entrance. All in all a nice peaceful retreat. I work remote and have had meetings all week. No issues with Verizon or T mobile Hot spots.
TravelerI’m not sure that this can be considered established or even legal camping since it is a rest stop. The location is awesome considering it’s right beside of the Golden State Bridge, but it also makes it a popular spot for a lot of people to hang out at and watch the sunset and other tourist attractions and even local activity.
Scout
Cold. Foggy. No amenities. Don’t go there.
-Coastside Local
Scout
We love to camp here for barbecuing, mountain biking and hiking. We always do it during 7/4 holidays except for this year when the park canceled our reservation due to high heat. So we booked for the Labor Day weekend. Temperature was perfect and biking and hiking were enjoyable as usual. This year we had two new types of visitors to the the site. A couple of wild turkeys came to pick up the dropped food on the ground. We were able to take a closeup look at them and they were beautiful birds with big eyes spotting tiny bits of crumbs. They come and go from one site to the next quietly and gently. Very cute and we took pictures with their presence. Then came the aggressive yellow jackets. We never had yellow jackets in our previous 7/4 outings here. Oh boy, they fought for the meat relentlessly. At the end of the outing, both my finger and my wife’s were stung. We reported the experience to the attendant at the gate when leaving. She said the park is looking for a solution. In the meantime, she suggested contacting them early on so they might be able to provide another site. Hopefully, next year, we won’t encounter so many nasties.
Traveler
Everything about the campground is GREAT. The location is CLASSIC. West Marin is BEAUTIFUL.
And for families who want a quick trip over Golden Gate Bridge to introduce their children (or adults!) to the great outdoors, their first camp, nowhere is more convenient and instantly gratifying.
However! You are going to probably experience some of the most ridiculous first-time campers with no sense of camping etiquette you have ever met in your life. I put up with it, for kids—- and now I have great stories— but I’d never go back as an experienced camper.
Example A: Finally things quiet down and everyone is asleep, 2 or 3 am. A woman starts SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER, every single headlamp comes on, other people start screaming too, thinking it’s a bear attack. The ranger, where the F are they?
We literally WALKED OVER toward the screaming banshee, that went on for a few bloodcurdling minutes. Do you know what we found? This complete nincompoop was surprised when we stooped down to her tent and said, “What’s going on?”
She was defiant, and her “companion” looked dazed. She said, “I just had a bad dream, what’s the big deal?”
I said, “Well, you can’t do that here, if that’s what it is. You’re going to have to stay up the rest of the night, to make sure you’re not screaming, or leave now. You just devastated about 200 people, and children are crying everywhere, thinking there’s a bear.” (Not).
I think Sam T should have a big sign that says, “This is not Spring Break. This is not a place to work out your family trauma. This is not a garbage fight. This is not your narcissistic b.s.”
You might think, “oh just one bad time.” Well, that was the ultimate, but no, i went there dozens of times because the Kidds loved it, and we could live in SF and start camping in about a half hour.
Okay, now I feel like a curmudgeon. More good people who know how to camp SHOULD camp here, because peer pressure and good community is the only thing that works. I did my time ! now it’s up to you!
TravelerOk, I was originally hoping for a cabin, which is included in my search, but this CG is either tent or RV only. Luckily, I also brought a tent.
I was there 2 weeks ago. It's a fairly large area and flat. Lots of space for kids to play including a play area.
Sheep roam freely in one area towards the back.
It's a great place for families. Showers are great. Includes a small shop for goodies.
I love it there. Only negative is there are only portapotties. Except for a couple that are constantly in use.
Guide
Wow! This place is busy and expensive. We stopped at this KOA because it was a good halfway point for us heading to the Redwoods. This KOA offers a variety of activities that cater to children, such as petting zoos, jumping pillows, climbing walls, and pools, which are excellent for keeping the young ones engaged and entertained. To me it was overcrowded and the firepits were so close to the RV’s I was afraid it would set my neighbors RV on fire, or our neighbor was going to set ours on fire. For those without children (like us), the bustling environment might be overwhelming, but it also provides an opportunity to enjoy the lively atmosphere.
Legend
This is just a perfect spot for when you just need a spot for the night. To be very clear, it's not a campground. It's just a safe and legal spot to sleep. We stayed here 3 years ago and nothing much has changed, including the $12 fee.
The area is beautiful and lots of people come here to walk and exercise, and once I took my dog on a walk I saw why nobody brings their dog - TICKS! So many! Just from walking along the path, not even going into the grass, my dog got 6 ticks once and 5 ticks another walk.
My previous review is still accurate, except that now all 3 sites are open. Glad this place is under the radar, it's nice that there's been room here for us when we've needed it.
Ranger
This campground is nice with newer bathrooms and shower facilities, but it's also very open and exposed. Great access to Spring Lake's water-based activities and hiking trails, plus easy access to Trione-Annadel State Park for hiking and mountain biking. Howarth Park, a city park, also borders Spring Lake Regional Park and provides access to boating and fishing on Lake Ralphine, plus they have a small train, carousel, tennis courts, and a softball field. Overall a good campsite for families in need of lots of recreation options, but not the best for those wishing to "get away from it all."
Scout
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GuideThe rest area was surprisingly quiet given its location. There was ample parking, and thankfully, the parking spots weren’t illuminated by bright street lamps, which was a nice touch considering we stopped her to sleep. However, the bathrooms were filthy during our stop, which was quite disappointing. Another downside was the lack of vending services; if you’re in need of caffeine or snacks, be sure to bring them along.
An important point to note is that you can only access this rest area when traveling northbound off the bridge. If you miss it, you’ll have to cross the bridge again, which costs $9-10 each time you head south into San Francisco. This is a significant consideration for those planning their stops carefully.
Also, cold here in the summer. Pack for fall weather.
TravelerThe pool was great during the oven like temperatures, the staff was very kind and the amenities were good and clean. Movies night every night, and shop for groceries on site.
RangerI loved my spot right by the ocean. The bathrooms were nice and had hot water.
Stay in the Cove campsites!
Discovering pet-friendly camping spots near San Francisco allows you to enjoy the great outdoors with your furry friends. Here are some excellent options that cater to both you and your pets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near San Francisco, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near San Francisco, CA is Samuel P. Taylor State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 51 reviews.
What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near San Francisco, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 55 dog-friendly camping locations near San Francisco, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
