Best Tent Camping near Santa Cruz, CA

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.

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.

Butano State Park is an absolute gem! It is a smaller park than many of the other redwoods parks in Northern California, so it was very nice and peaceful. Butano is a bit off the beaten path to get to, but so worth it. There are some car sites available, but we had a walk in site. At the time we went, you were assigned a site by the ranger - we happened to get the very last site that was tucked back on a little hill, so it was very nice and secluded. Every site is surrounded by giant redwood trees, and it is an absolutely gorgeous campground.

We forgot our tent on that trip, but that ended up being a GREAT mistake! We set up our air mattress on the tarp, and falling asleep and waking up amongst the still, quiet redwoods was absolutely magical.

The park is so green and lush, shaded, with a nice moderate temperature. There are plenty of hiking trails, and a creek nearby.

I would love to return to Butano some day!

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $35/night

Plumbed Toilets: Yes

Drinking Water: Yes

Showers: No

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grate: Yes

Shade: Yes

Cell Service: No

Animal Bins/Food lockers: Yes

Trash: Yes

This is sweet hike in trail camp.  We have used it for two purposes.  First when were were climbing in Castle Rock State Park and this was our hub and second when we were doing the Skyline to the Sea Trail and wanted a easy first day.  This is primitive. There is a shelter with tables in the event there is rain.  Then there are scattered sites, some with tables for you to find a tent site.  If busy - you will be sharing.

Shaded, though hike down can be in the open. Primitive restrooms. Water available. Picnic Tables.

Great home base for climbing - good trail camp for the march to the sea.

Came here from SF Bay for 2 nights on a weekend.  Obtained permit from the ranger station and had to pick a district I would camp in the first night (to limit amount of campers in a region per night).  Hiked about 8 miles southwest to a lake the first night and camped in my hammock by the lake.  Second day backpacked about 12 miles northeast to another lake and was able to grab a spot to set up my hammock next to some picnic tables and a restroom.  Saw plenty of wildlife (lizards, snakes, birds, fish).  It was fairly hot in mid-spring, and there is not much shade on the trails, especially the dirt roads.

Castle Rock State Park is located a few miles from the "Saratoga Gap", which is the junction of Hwy 35 ("Skyline") and Hwy 9.  Road and mountain bikers in the Bay Area will be familiar with this area, and on weekends the parking lot where these highways meet is busy with cyclists starting their rides.  There are two parking lots for this park, the first a few miles past the Saratoga Gap on Hwy 35 south.  This is the main lot where the ranger station is located.  If you have reservations for the hike-in campground, you'll need to stop here first and get a parking pass.  The parking lot for the trail head is just a bit further down Hwy 35.  When I visited it was the offseason and we had to unlock the gate in order to get access to the lot (the ranger gave us the combination to the lock).  I'm not sure if this is the case in the spring/summer/fall.

The campground is about a 2.5mi hike in from the trail head at the parking area. Although there was a fire road at the campgrounds that looked like it maybe could be used to drive in and drop off gear, I didn't see anybody doing it, so be prepared to carry everything on your back.  In other words, don't expect to get a Yeti cooler full of beer out to the campsites.  

The hike itself is great, offering sweeping views of the Santa Cruz mountains and the Pacific ocean to the west.  There's even a waterfall right at the beginning of the hike.  There are a couple of different trails you can take, but the most scenic one IMO is the one that follows a west facing ridge.  There's a couple of spots where you'll need to do some scrambling up the rock faces, but nothing to worry about.  I wouldn't bring a toddler on it, but anybody older should be able to handle it.

The campsites themselves are typical California State Park "primitive" sites.  There are pit toilets, fire rings, and picnic tables.  Fires are increasingly banned in the dry months (i.e most of the year) in California now, but in January, when I was there they were allowed.  Because carrying firewood on the hike would have been a huge effort, the rangers kindly stocked bundles of wood at the main entrance to the campground with an iron ranger for making payment via the honor system. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although there is a communal water source at the campsite entrance, the water was deemed not safe to drink when I was there, and that had been the case for a while. The water tank apparently needs to be decontaminated.  So, we brought all our water in with us as well as water filters so we could get water from the nearby creeks.  Again, in winter, this isn't a problem. The way the drought has been going for the last decade in all of CA, I'd guess these creeks are running dry by mid May, if not sooner.  If you go in the summer, bring lots of water.

All in all, this is a great getaway for being so close to the megalopolis that is the San Francisco Bay Area.  As the crow flies, you're probably only about 25 miles from San Jose. But you'll feel like you're a lot further away.  And that's the whole point.

Why 4 stars instead of 5?  Please see this explanation of my ratings system.

5 stars - Worth traveling from far distances to visit.  Minimum of 3 night stay recommended in order to fully explore the area. A special place worthy of repeat visits. Example: Yosemite, Tahoe, Plumas

4 stars - Worth visiting if you're in the area as part of a larger trip.  For locals (i.e those within a few hours driving distance), a top tier spot, one that you'll visit regularly, maybe even annually. Example: Pinnacles, Lopez Lake, Lake Sonoma

3 stars - Convenient if you're a local. If coming from out of state, a convenient "home base" for nearby attractions, but not particularly beautiful or scenic itself. Example: Flying Flags RV Resort (Buellton), KOA Petaluma

Under 3 stars - Don't bother. It's an area that's not really worth exploring, or you can find something better in the same area.

Came here on a Wednesday and paid $34 to camp overnight. There's 25 campsites; each with a food locker, fire ring, a picnic table, and parking space for 2 sedan sized vehicles or 1 RV. 8 people max per site. Bathrooms were spotless with running hot water, showers were also available. The rangers sell firewood at $13 per cubic foot bundle which is pricey but you can bring your own. I'm not sure if every fire ring has a grill so be sure to bring your own stove as backup. There's also a water faucet, trash bins, and recycle bin for every 3 sites.

There's plenty of shade which is great. Weekdays are best if you want to avoid the crowds. Not too many people know about this park which is a huge plus. I didn't get to hike the trails but there seemed to be a good amount with a few mini-waterfalls.

Rangers frequent the area throughout the day checking trash and bathrooms even after 10pm which gives a greater sense of security.

This is currently my favorite campground in the Bay Area. I have yet to try Mt. Madonna but I was greatly impressed with this one.