Best RV Parks & Resorts near Santa Cruz, CA

We visited the first week of December 2020.  The staff was helpful and the grounds were well maintained.  Flat easy pull through with full hook-ups.  Definitely in a canyon around the corner from Thousand Trails.  You can see the stars at night and it is a very quiet campground.  We were surprised at all the high-end rigs there, some full-timers.  A nice dog park area and a stroll along the creek - our dog loved it.  They recycle and are very environmentally aware. No pool or playground but lovely nature away from the hustle and bustle of silicon valley.  It is about 6 miles to shopping and many restaurants.  A very easy drive off the highway if you take the Tennant Road exit.

This location is a fairly convenient distance to Pinnacles National Park if you prefer not to stay at the national park campground. A little more expensive since we are not Thousand Trail members but has a laundromat, small store, pool, showers – though some were out of order. It looked the place needed a tune up, not bad, just a little run down and things needed to be fixed. I would stay here again. Compared to the campground at Pinnacles where we were going, we feel this is the better option. Pinnacles is mostly day hikes so this campground is perfect.

The staff were friendly and helpful. We had quiet, wildlife (saw a bobcat and heard owls at night), and a pretty flat and roomy tent site. Our site was shady enough, though not all sites appeared so lucky. It seemed like there were lots of activities for the kids. We were only there one night and did not check out anything else the campground has to offer so can't comment.

It is a big campground, and I can't recall the site number we had. It was a little confusing as to what we could take or not. There seemed to be quite a few long term campers in the Rv area.

This park has mostly long-term residents. It was super quiet, though there was a somewhat noisy road next to us. We were on the first site next to the road, so I suspect it would be a non issue for most of the sites.

The dog park is extremely well-maintained. Beautiful grass, very nice fence, a bench to sit on, water for your pets and plenty of space to run.

There a really nice stream to hike along. And underneath a bridge there are bat houses. We went under there at sundown and watched the bats come out. Strongly recommended!

The lady who runs the place was extremely nice and helpful.

Full hook-ups and relatively large, gravel sites with some shade. However, I needed to raise one wheel about 5 inches and another 2 to get level.

Short drive to downtown Morgan hill or Gilroy. And there’s a Camping World as well.

The hike and bike area is next to the RV hookup sites, and it can get a good bit of foot traffic.  Restrooms/showers were dirty, but that seems to be from the day visitors to the beach. It was cool and breezy, but still enjoyable on the beach.

Nice lots on a cliff above the beach protected from the wind by some doug firs and eucalyptus. Beach is long and expansive with very few people on an average day. Nice place to take a stroll and relax. Not far from Santa Cruz, maybe 25-30 minutes depending on traffic. Sometimes there's a decent sandbar for surfing. Always had a good time at this campground.

Moss Landing RV park is a small, tight park close to Salinas Beach. Lots of great food close by. Cell and WiFi have been ok to good this past week, with a couple nights not being able to connect or stay connected. 20-30 drive to downtown Santa Cruz or downtown Monterey. Lots of trails, hiking, kayaking available. One of our favorite RV parks while traveling in this area.

We love Marina Dunes RV Resort! This was our first stay here and we thoroughly enjoyed it! We love the proximity to the beach and the beautiful dunes. The park was very clean and well-maintained. The staff was great and very welcoming. Thank you to Christy who made our stay extra fun! We will definitely be back! Thanks guys!😎💗

We just got back from New Brighton, stayed in site 108. Love this State Beach! Our site was large enough for our big truck and 26 ft trailer, plus a 2nd small SUV. There was plenty of flat area for my sons tent as well. Not a ton of trees, so this particular spot didnt get a lot of natural shade, bring pop ups! The site next door, 110, had many more trees and shade. The sites are far enough apart to feel secluded. At night you can still hear the ocean even though we werent in a premium spot. You can walk a short ways to see the ocean and there are several trails down, but the one with real stairs is closed so you better be sure-footed if you're taking the other trail. We opted for the short drive to the beach lot. There are bathrooms with flush toilets and showers close by and a dump station on the way out. Plus New Brighton is just a few mins from downtown Capitola, and not much further from Santa Cruz so there are SO many things to explore when you're there. Definitely a new favorite place!

Yes, this is a KOA, so if you are into tent camping or an immersive forest setting, you might want to look elsewhere. But for a quick weekend jaunt for RV campers, this location slightly more than an hour from the Bay Area is hard to beat. Full hook-ups are available, there is an on site restaurant and outdoor bar, and there is close proximity to multiple beaches and tide pools. The resort also has great activities for kids that they occasionally bring on site, such as a climbing wall and nature talks with live animals. The sites at the bottom of the first loop with awesome sunset views are my favorite. Very grassy and “outdoorsy” for a KOA.

Small city park with RV Parking on grass between lake and baseball fields.  Sites almost level; however, might need to use a few blocks.  Park was busy with locals using pavilions for birthday and other parties when we visited on a Saturday in June.  Adjacent baseball field was busy on Sunday morning with little league game and parking lot was full.  Cars were being parked in unused RV spots.  Many people were fishing from the shoreline.  Many Candian geese (with poop) were in the dock area and alone the shoreline.  Some ducks made themselves at home in the shade under our RV.  Temperature was considerably cooler versus the very hot temps only a few miles further inland.  Nice that each site has electric / water / sewer hook-ups.  Two rest rooms (one by lake and one by baseball field) were a little dirty due to heavy use.  Unfortunate there are no showers and that you can only walk around perhaps 10% of the lake shoreline.  Quiet at night as they lock the park gate... they give you an access card ($25 deposit req'd) if you need to leave and return after gate is locked at night.  Called and requested my $25 credit after refund was not automatically received a few days later.  Credit was immediately made.  A good option especially if parks along the coast are booked and you want reasonably cool temperatures.  Would stay again.

Sites need renovation and they claim it is coming. Of course they have said that for the last 3 years. Their answer to uneven sites is to give you pieces of wood to try and level. Good luck, I saw some raised up 2-3 feet. Full hook-ups, although for some strange reason they are at front of site. Military only. Just 5 min to Monterey wharf.