Pros: If you are a person who likes to either stay all day at your campsite or are a water sport/water toy type person this campground is for you. Cons: Bathroom near our campsite wasn’t working. Campsites were overgrown with foxtails, not good for my dogs. Trash in our fire pit. A few campsites away from ours had a huge poison oak plant at the back where you park your rig. A walkway near the campground popular for fishing had a tree fall on it, instead of clearing the tree, the park rangers closed it off. Not much hiking in the park, and if you decide to walk the couple short hikes, don’t bring your dogs, NO DOGS ALLOWED. For the number of workers this park employs you would think these things would be dealt with, but no. I guess this is typical of State Parks in California, so much potential but sadly California parks slowly deteriorate.

It is a nice campground for a one night stop. Easy access right off hwy 5 and surprisingly quiet being so close. The camp hosts were nice, I would like to see the hosts do a little more maintenance around the CG. Clean up would be nice. Cigarette butts in the bbq, trash in the fire pit. Didn’t use the showers but the bathroom was average, needed a code to access which was emailed when we registered online. Not a more than one night place for me but nice enough.

We stopped here on our way south from Washington. Had a nice stay. Campsite was so clean, even the gravel was raked. Plenty of room at each campsite. Bathrooms were old but very clean and well kept. Showers were also very clean. Camp hosts were very nice and helpful. Some nice hiking close by. I would definitely stay again.

Stayed two nights. Had a large campsite with plenty of room and fairly secluded. Close to the restrooms, never did find showers. Enjoyed the proximity to the lake and had a great hike around it. Would return and stay a day or two longer.

We stayed one night at this first come first served campground. We had a very nice visit, very relaxing and peaceful. I would definitely stay again.

We stayed one night in July 2023. Had a nice time, our dogs enjoyed the beach too. Kind of windy in the afternoon but the wind calmed down in the early evening. Once all the day use visitors left, the campground was both relaxing and peaceful. Had a good nights sleep. This campground doesn’t take reservations, it’s on a first come basis but I like that about it. Unfortunately, this campground is not loved at all by State Parks. It is rather expensive for zero amenities and you can’t count porta-potties as an amenity if they’re unusable due to being disgustingly full. I wondered if the bathrooms were ever cleaned out because it certainly didn’t look like it. Not exactly sure what the park host/ranger does except take your cash to camp. This campground could be so nice with a little more TLC from State Parks. Not sure I would stay again but an okay one night stop over.

We had such a relaxing time at River Ranch. The camp host, Cito, was very helpful and friendly. We were registered at site 2B. Cito recommended that we move to 1M because a large family reunion group was coming in and our new sight was much more secluded. We were backed up to the river and slept with our van back door open. The sound of the creek was awesome, made falling asleep so easy. Highly recommend this campground. The bathrooms were clean, showers had nice warm water. We will definitely return. There were quite a few mosquitoes but with all the rain we’ve had it was to be expected, just bring your bug spray.

We stayed at this campground for three nights and had such a nice and relaxing time. The sites were plenty big for our camper van, the area around our site was clean, bathrooms with showers were old but cleaned on a daily basis, water was plenty warm. The proximity to Monterey was great. An easy walk down to town was maybe a little over a mile. The walk back up to camp was a little more difficult but easy enough. I highly recommend this campground and am looking forward to our next visit.

Overall a nice enough campground. Check-in was easy, only A campsites and a few B were open. Showers in A were out of order. 4 Showers near the Yurts were open, very cold and dark bathroom and shower was luke warm at best. Zero cell service. Our site was nice, a small grassy area at the back with a picnic table and fire ring. Our neighbors across the way were playing music until at least 3am, at least it was mellow country music so not terrible. Walkable beach access for a nice sunset, weather permitting. Overall an ok stay.

Emerald Forest is just that, nestled in a forest. It was a little muddy when we visited but California was smack dab in the middle of a very wet season. Our campsite was level and secluded. The bathrooms were clean and showers had nice warm water, did have to pay for the showers but a couple quarters isn’t much. We stayed two nights and walked to town every morning for coffee and scones from Beachcomber…delicious! Our dogs absolutely loved running on the beach which was also a couple mile walk away. Our second visit to this campground was as good as our first. Love this place and would return again.

Not my favorite campground. Very windy, not able to go in the water which was a disappointment for our dogs. Each campsite had plenty of room. Bathrooms with showers. Not much to do around the campground but was enough to drive to town for a bite to eat. Check in was easy, used a code to enter. Never spoke with a campground host.

Stayed one night. A no frills campground but did the job for one night. A bit noisy because of its location near the hwy. Has all the necessary hook ups. Has a laundry room and restrooms with showers but you need a code. Our campsite was next to the gate which opens up to BLM land and our dogs loved it. Worth the $25/night. The gentleman who checked us in was very friendly and helpful.

We stayed for one night but wish we could have stayed longer. The campground is not on the water but is close enough. Very quiet and enjoyable. Enjoyed hiking around the area. Our dogs loved the water. Would definitely stay again. Camp hosts were very friendly and helpful.

We stayed at this park for one night. Nice enough. Not a lot of privacy but the campsites were big enough, most were pull throughs. Laundry room, restrooms with showers and hook ups. Not much to do around the campground but close enough to town to get a bite to eat.

I’m a newbie camper but really enjoyed this campground. Stayed in Chumash. Sites were big enough and private enough. Nice dog park. Nice couple of hikes in the park. Very quiet. Would definitely stay again.