Best Equestrian Camping near Ukiah, CA

Limited horse camping options exist near Ukiah, California based on the campground data available. Mendocino National Forest offers opportunities for trail riding with primitive camping facilities, though specific horse corrals are not identified at the listed campgrounds. Cowboy Camp is the only explicitly designated dispersed camping area with access for horses among the listings, though reviews indicate it primarily serves as a day-use area for horseback riders rather than overnight accommodation. Several sites near Ukiah, California are featured on The Dyrt.

The Middle Creek Campground in the Mendocino National Forest provides access to the Elk Mountain area, which is popular for recreational activities including horseback riding. Located about 15 minutes from the small town of Upper Lake, the campground offers basic amenities including vault toilets and potable water, though the spigots lack hose fittings for filling large containers. Oak Flat Campground near Lake Pillsbury accommodates horses and riders with spacious sites and access to nearby trails. Both campgrounds maintain primitive facilities with picnic tables, fire pits, and vault toilets, making them suitable bases for day rides on surrounding forest trails.

Best Equestrian Sites Near Ukiah, California (10)

    1. Mackerricher State Park Campground

    1463 Reviews
    Fort Bragg, CA
    39 miles

    $45 - $260 / night

    "There are many sites next to the ocean."

    "PROS

    → Campground is adjacent to the beach. You can hear the ocean and sometimes catch peeks of the ocean from the campground.

    → Campsites have bear lockers."

    2. COE Mendocino Lake Bu-Shay Campground

    3 Reviews
    Mendocino Lake, CA
    6 miles
    Website
    +1 (707) 467-4200

    "The town of Ukiah is pretty close as well, so you can get food or supplies easily."

    3. Middle Creek Campground

    4 Reviews
    Upper Lake, CA
    16 miles
    Website
    +1 (707) 275-2361

    $8 / night

    "Beautiful location, campground was easily accessible going up Elk Mountain Road. Camped in Site 11, pull through, no hook ups, nice picnic table, grill and fire pit. Vault toilets, no showers."

    "If it's in a beautiful location and if you're into four-wheeling or dirt bikes, you're going to have a blast."

    4. Oak Flat Campground

    4 Reviews
    Mendocino National Forest, CA
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (707) 275-2361

    $5 / night

    "Was 0.75 miles away from water (we have been in a drought?) but beautiful spacious campsite. Even with annoying neighbors, you can have peace and quiet."

    "The local store is about a 10 minute drive away and during the summer has ice beer and provides firewood for sale (during winter no ice but plenty of snow)."

    5. Russian Gulch State Park Campground

    11 Reviews
    Mendocino, CA
    34 miles
    Website
    +1 (707) 937-5804

    $45 - $140 / night

    "Clean bathrooms, drinking water was right next to our site."

    "While this campground is set off from the highway it is very busy on weekends from tourists out for the day.  Lush setting with the hike and bike area located near showers and restrooms."

    6. Liberty Glen Campground - Temporarily Closed for Maintenance

    4 Reviews
    Cloverdale, CA
    31 miles
    Website
    +1 (707) 431-4533

    $25 - $100 / night

    "If you talk to the the ranger at the gate, most of the time they will let you drive around the grounds and pick any open site."

    "The walk down to swim in the lake was a significant downhill but the dip was worth it! Funny dead trees sticking out of the lake were fun to climb on."

    7. Jackson Demonstration Forest

    3 Reviews
    Caspar, CA
    33 miles
    Website
    +1 (707) 964-5674

    "There was a small creek behind the campground which was nice. It was about a 30 minute drive to fort Bragg made for an easy day trip. The campground is maintained by cal fire $20 a night."

    "Jackson State Demonstration forest is about 6 miles from fort Bragg on hwy.20 Campground is about 3 miles down a dirt road down into the forest from the highway.

    Beautiful, clean and peaceful."

    8. Cowboy Camp

    5 Reviews
    Rumsey, CA
    47 miles

    "Next to a stream and surrounded by hills. The only tough part is getting across the stream to some of the hikes."

    9. Stony Gorge Reservoir - USBR

    2 Reviews
    Elk Creek, CA
    47 miles
    Website

    "The lake is amazing for swimming!"

    10. Surveyor Campground

    1 Review
    Covelo, CA
    48 miles
    Website
    +1 (707) 983-6118

    "As you pass thru a off road vehicle area on way up to campsite.

    Lett's Lake was closed due to a prior fire. But the upside is that the Forrest service has provided free stacks of wood."

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Equestrian Camping Reviews near Ukiah, CA

77 Reviews of 10 Ukiah Campgrounds


  • Jorg F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 17, 2023

    Cowboy Camp

    Cowboy Camp

    Great free campground! We've stayed here many times. It's open, grassy level and quiet. Next to a stream and surrounded by hills. The only tough part is getting across the stream to some of the hikes. It's a hot spot for horses which of course have no stream problems, so the only negative is fly's sometimes. But just keep your screen door closed (& fly swatter handy). We always manage to level out in our 23" Winnebago View. There is lots of open space so no crowding. There is a rural road near by but traffic noise isn't a problem. Perhaps I should say it's awful so fewer people come and it's not discovered.

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 18, 2022

    COE Mendocino Lake Bu-Shay Campground

    Great spacious campground

    We had a great time when we stayed a night here in October.  The campground is nice and has a lot of availability- even on weekends!

    The camp facilities are fine.  The sites are spacious and there are a mix of shady and sunny sites.  The flush bathrooms are fine, and there are free showers.  Our young kids had a great time playing on the playground which was an unexpected bonus. 

    We stayed on a Saturday night and there weren't that many other people in the campground.  I'm not sure why it's not busier, as it's just as nice as the state park campgrounds we've stayed in.  The town of Ukiah is pretty close as well, so you can get food or supplies easily.

    We had OK cell coverage with Verizon- we could usually browse the internet but streaming videos were difficult (you could download and watch them pretty quickly, but just streaming was hit and miss).

  • Carly E.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 23, 2018

    Russian Gulch State Park Campground

    Secluded Camping near Mendocino

    We stayed one night here in early October, after exploring the Mendocino area on a campervan road trip. Campsite was quiet and secluded, lots of trees so was pretty quiet and private. Clean bathrooms, drinking water was right next to our site. There were hiking trails right nearby, but sadly we arrived fairly late and were leaving the next morning so we didn't get to do much exploring. Area was pretty damp so a little chilly because of that. there were giant yellow banana slugs all over, which was pretty neat to see. Site had a picnic table and fire ring. Lots of open sites when we arrived (mid week in early Fall), no reservation needed. Convenient to explore Mendocino/Fort Bragg area, we took a walk around Mendocino and visited the glass beach. I would like to go back and explore the hiking there!

    http://adventuresneaker.com/2017/03/23/california-road-trip-days-7-8-9-bodie-historic-ghost-town-lake-tahoe-russian-gulch-state-park/

  • Tim J.
    Sep. 29, 2018

    Russian Gulch State Park Campground

    Great Coastal Location

    While this campground is set off from the highway it is very busy on weekends from tourists out for the day.  Lush setting with the hike and bike area located near showers and restrooms. Campsite includes a table and fire pit.  Within walking distance of the beach and a short drive to coastal towns.

  • T
    Aug. 19, 2021

    Middle Creek Campground

    Hope someone sees this

    I’ve been camping cross country for the last month with my husband. We’re from New York, and like to think we’re not easily rattled or intimidated. This was the first time on our trip that we were both scared.

    The forest service website says this campground is not open for camping, just dirt bike and horse riding, so I had found a campground further into the National Forest to camp at. When we drove by Middle Creek, we could see the sites from the road and a few of them had tents and we could see some folks, the campground was pretty clearly operating to some extent. We just wanted somewhere to stay overnight on our way into SF so we doubled back and found a site, paid the $8 and had a snack. We explored our corner of the campground a little- pretty clean, a fine campground. No visible host.

    Lots of wasps and flies, like standing right next to a dumpster. There was a woman who seemed to be experiencing homelessness and/or mental illness occupying multiple sites. She pretty clearly was stealing from sites people weren’t present at, right in front of us. She also had a dog that didn’t seem to be hers.

    The man at the campsite next to us didn’t have a tent or anything, just paid then sat in his truck screaming and cackling and breaking stuff loudly and pounding beers.

    We left without spending the night. The police need to go take a look out there.

  • Mike C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Feb. 9, 2020

    Mackerricher State Park Campground

    Expect less received more

    This campground is a hidden jewel. There are many sites next to the ocean. This campground delivers a stay next to the beautiful coastal waters which allows the camper to view whale migration, sea lions swimming and a quick visit to glass beach and the adjacent lighthouse. Ft Bragg is a nice little town to visit have dinner and drinks.

  • Mea H.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 4, 2022

    Mackerricher State Park Campground

    West Pinewood Campground

    [Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 5 mbps down and 0.16 mbps up with 56 ms ping. T-Mobile via Nighthawk MR-1100 - 3 mbps down and 0.05 up with 106 ms ping. Our booster marginally improved the speeds.]

    PROS

    → Campground is adjacent to the beach. You can hear the ocean and sometimes catch peeks of the ocean from the campground.

    → Campsites have bear lockers. → Campground is pretty in the glow of sunlight. → There’s a trail to the beach and Laguna Point isn’t far.

    → The camp hosts are easy to approach in that they have an alert button you can press outside their rig and they will come outside. No wondering how to get their attention! We bought our shower tokens from the camp host.

    → This campground is protected by a buffer of coastal trees. It’s not nearly as windy at the campground as it is on the beach.

    CONS

    → Showers require tokens. This seems pretty standard in California State Parks but it’s successful at deterring us from showering every night. One token gives 4 minutes of showering. Each token is $1. It’s not a lot for one-off trips but we are on a 6-week camping trip.

    → The dump station has a mandatory fee of $10. You pay with a credit card. When payment is approved, the cap to the dump hole unlocks. We didn’t use it. Again, it was successful at deterring us from using it. With pay showers we’d normal shower in the van and just run to the dump station daily to empty the tank but we didn’t. We paid for the showers. I know they are cost mitigating but it’s a factor when deciding on this campground especially if you camp a lot like us. (We are on a 6-week camping trip up the coast).

    → The shower water temperature is finicky in the women’s bathroom. When it’s just one person showering, it’s nice and hot. When two showers are going, the water temperature drops a bit. To me the temperature is important because it’s still 50° to 60° right now and I only get 8 minutes with the water. I need those 8 minutes to be comfortable not make me move faster than Speedy Gonzalez. For me this isn’t a huge concern but it is for my partner so that’s why I’m detailing it out.

    → Firewood is $10.

    —————————— 4-stars - The campground is clean, enjoyable and has the camping vibe. Docking a star due to the extra fees and the water temperature. For weekend warriors I’d wager this is a 5-star campground!

    [Rig. Mercedes Sprinter. 22 feet]

    Dump station? - Yes, mandatory $10 Water fill? - Yes, free Clean site? - Yes Clean bathroom? - Yes Flush toilet? - Yes Showers? - Yes, token operated Laundry? - No Dish washing sink? - No

  • Ann N.
    Jul. 5, 2020

    Surveyor Campground

    Not found on a map! Remote! Mill Valley Campground

    Take Forrest Route N17 off of Spouts Spring Rd.

    What a sweet surprise after spending an hour on an unimproved wash board road.. This is an ideal Campground for those with OHV's. As you pass thru a off road vehicle area on way up to campsite.

    Lett's Lake was closed due to a prior fire. But the upside is that the Forrest service has provided free stacks of wood.

    Bring lots of water and drive a well running car. You don't want to get stuck out here!

  • April H.
    Aug. 4, 2018

    Liberty Glen Campground - Temporarily Closed for Maintenance

    Laid back Campground

    I've been to Liberty Glen 3 times, and even in peak season the campground is never full. If you talk to the the ranger at the gate, most of the time they will let you drive around the grounds and pick any open site. This is great for groups, especially if you have a few loud people in the mix because you can pick a more secluded site. Check their website for the latest update on if they have potable water on site, it can vary from year to year. Bathrooms are decently clean, with access to paid showers. Bring everything you need, the closest store is in Cloverdale, 20 minutes away. Overall the campground is scrubland with scattered oak trees throughout, the area near the amphitheater has more tree cover than the outer sites. There is also a playground on site, with multiple trails. When hiking in the area be aware of the local wild boar problem. Due to overpopulation, bow hunting of wild boars in the Lake Sonoma area is legal most of the year. There is also an archery range at a nearby area of the Lake. Check their website for the latest check in information, sometimes they want you to check in at the ranger station across the street from the Fish hatchery, sometimes you check in at the booth at the campground.


Guide to Ukiah

Horse camping in California offers a unique opportunity to explore the great outdoors while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the scenic trails.

Equestrian campers like these nearby activities

  • At Dixie Glade Campground, you can enjoy horse camping with access to hitching posts and water troughs, making it a great stop for equestrians.
  • Surveyor Campground is ideal for those with off-highway vehicles, providing access to trails that are perfect for horseback riding.
  • Middle Creek Campground offers a peaceful environment where you can hear the creek running while enjoying the tranquility of nature, perfect for a relaxing ride.

Campers appreciate these amenities for horses

  • Oak Flat Campground allows pets and provides a rustic experience with ample space for horses, making it a favorite among horse campers.
  • At COE Mendocino Lake Bu-Shay Campground, you’ll find spacious sites and facilities that cater to both horses and their owners, ensuring a comfortable stay.
  • Jackson Demonstration Forest features a beautiful setting with trails for riding, along with picnic tables and fire pits for a complete camping experience.

Equestrian campgrounds include unique features

  • Liberty Glen Campground offers a laid-back atmosphere with scattered oak trees, providing a perfect backdrop for horse camping.
  • Cowboy Camp is known for its open grassy areas and proximity to a stream, making it a great spot for equestrian gatherings.
  • Stony Gorge Reservoir - USBR features fire pits and picnic tables, along with a welcoming environment for horse campers looking to enjoy the outdoors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Ukiah, CA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Ukiah, CA is Mackerricher State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 1463 reviews.

What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Ukiah, CA?

TheDyrt.com has all 10 equestrian camping locations near Ukiah, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.