Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Trinidad, CA

This is a very lovely campground clean of trash with quaint with cabins and campsites tucked between redwoods and Douglas fir trees. Campground looks lush and loved.

They offer cabins, RV and tent sites.

Additionally there is a Video Arcade, Horseshoe pit, dog park, celebration hall with board games/puzzles, a mini mart, playground, gazebo, and multiple bath/shower houses and laundry facilities.

They periodically have special events during the weekends. We lucked out with live music and wine tastings.

Incredibly close to town but still immersed in the woods.

Only negative is that it’s close to 101 and car traffic can be heard at times. However, there are many song birds around camp to make your stay pleasant.

Highly recommend!

if you're looking for a get away with lonely, beautiful long stretches of beach wide expanses of stillwater and plenty of wildlife viewing come to the North Coast of California's Big Lagoon County campground. Part of the largest lagoon system in the country, the Humboldt Lagoons State Park has many treasures to explore. Dubbed "A String of Pearls", Big Lagoon is the largest of three natural "wet" lagoons and one Dry Lagoon. The county campground is located on its shore. Most of the campsites have views of the lagoon and the dunes on its opposite shore.

Guests will awaken to the sounds of crashing waves in the distance and maybe the chirping of osprey or squawking if great blue heron nearby. Launch of personal watercraft such as paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, sailboats or even catamarans can be done foot steps away from the campsites. The temperature of the Lagoon can get warm enough to swim in, even up to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Kayak and paddleboard rentals are available during the summer months at the boat launch area though Kayak Trinidad, outfitter. I don't believe there are RV hookups at this Campground.

Wildlife viewing is wonderful at this location at it as it is a resting place for migratory birds along with their route on the Pacific Flyway. There is also a resident heard of Roosevelt elk that frequents the brackish marsh areas to the east where Maple Creek drains into the lagoon. Agate hunting is a favorite at the beach nearby, but visitors must be aware that the ocean conditions on this beach are treacherous and should never approach the wave slope.

General: Five campgrounds – Agate, Abalone, Penn (tents only), and two group campgrounds (Red Alder and Beach Creek) situated just north of Trinidad. 

Site Quality: Not all sites are created equal. Many are not level; we had a challenge in Site 123 and saw a few others in the same situation. Fortunately, we changed our sleeping position (we don’t carry levelers for our van) and parked sideways. We did see some larger RVs but many of the sites would be challenging for large rigs to fit. The sites themselves are very generous in size with a large picnic table and fire ring and plenty of room to set up a tent. Many trees separate the sites, providing privacy. There are no hookups at any of the sites. 

Bathhouse: The bathhouse was very basic with concrete floors, three small stalls, and two sinks with cold water only. Soap is provided but no dryers, paper towels, hooks, or shelves. Clean enough. Only one bathhouse in the Agate Loop had showers. I have no idea how many minutes each quarter will buy you in the shower as this information was scratched off, however, just the fact that you can use 15 quarters tells me not very long. I didn’t attempt to try it. 

Activities: There is a nice rim trail that will lead you to various points. Wedding Rock, Ceremonial Rock, Mussel Rock, and both Patrick’s Point and Palmer’s Point. Palmer’s Point is where you can explore tidepools at low tide (the times are posted as you enter the campground). The wildflowers along the trails were beautiful. Several other trails take you to Sumeg Village and Agate Beach. Although we saw many dogs while there, be aware that many of the trails do not allow dogs. While there was good signage on most of the trails, I did manage to get lost a few times while wandering around. California may not invest in many other campground upgrades, but they do spend money on signs! 

Two nights here was the perfect amount of time to explore what Patrick’s Point has to offer. This was the very first campground we stayed at where campfires were allowed as the fog is so thick that fire danger was not an issue. However, there must have recently been a price increase for wood as the price was scratched off the sign; it is $10 per bundle. A shout out to the two rangers who had great attitudes and were tons of fun to interact with!

Beautiful RV park, nestled amongst redwoods, is clean and well-maintained. Staff was very friendly. Close to downtown Trinidad (though most things were closed due to COVID-19). Close to the ocean and lots of walking trails around. Only problem was cable issues. We changed sites once early on, but that didn't really help, though we were able to get one DISH satellite through a gap in the trees. Our site had 30A, full hook-up service. WI-FI was generally ok. They have laundry and showers, though we had our own. Little store for general needs in park, but small grocery store in town. I suggest visiting or ordering from The Larrupin, a restaurant just two minutes down the road. Very good food and service. We ordered curbside pickup since there was no dine-in due to COVID. We would love to go back to Trinidad when all of this is over and would definitely consider staying again at Emerald Forest.

This campground is conveniently located right on the 101 Hwy, close by to the ocean and right down the road from tons of Redwood Nat’l Park trails. Because of its proximity to the Hwy, this means you will hear vehicles but it’s not obnoxious and didn’t bother us. The closest amenities (groceries, gas, and one or two small restaurants) are about a 15 min ride south in Trinidad. Orick, the closest town to the north, is very run down, but I think it has a gas station and small market. The grounds are very lush and green. You do have to watch where you walk because there is Elk dung everywhere, but that is a small price to pay for being able to see an herd of Elk almost every day. The ladies at the front desk were very friendly to us. They did warn us about keeping distance from the Elk and doing things like, looking out your RV’s window before walking outside in case the Elk were right there. When they say that the Elk come right into the campground, they are not joking! We stayed in a site in “the meadow”. They are quite close to each other but we got lucky with and end spot and no one on the other side of us during our 2 night stay. Our site had full hook ups, a picnic table, and fire pit. They had a clean laundry room, which we didn’t have to use during our stay so I cannot attest anything other than it’s cleanliness. The bathrooms were also very clean, but sadly the showers required quarters. We didn’t have any but we’re able to exchange cash for some at the front desk. It was $1.50 for 6 minutes of shower time. Overall, we liked this campground a lot and would stay here again.

We have camped the Humboldt Redwoods several times and it took us 3 years to find this spot. We have a 25ft trailer we tow. This campground can only accommodate smaller trailers in only a few spots. We are avid campers that prefer tucked away campgrounds which are often hard to find when you have a trailer but this one has everything on our list! Fresh water, quarter showers, flushing toilets, off the main road, big sites, lots of wildlife, walking paths to one of the most beautiful redwood groves in the park, creek for the kids. The list goes on and on! We will be back (again and again). Make sure you visit small costal towns of Ferndale and/or Trinidad.