I camped here many, many years ago. In fact, it was over two decades ago. We spent a night here as part of a road trip that took us up the Pacific Coast all the way to Seattle. I had just moved to California from the East Coast, and the sheer size of the country north of San Francisco (where I was living at the time) blew my mind. We had a hike-in site, but I can't seem find on the current maps which one it was exactly. Again, this was over 20 years ago. But we checked in at the Prairie Creek visitors center. I remember this clearly, as we were given a bear canister for our food, which was the first time I'd ever had to use one of these. When I'd go camping back east, I'd just hang my food in bags. But the ranger was adamant we'd want this canister for the site we'd be camping at. More on this later.
The hike in was about 2 miles and took us deep into ancient groves of Redwoods. At the time, I thought this was the most beautiful spot on Earth that I'd ever visited. It's still probably in the top 10, maybe top 5. The site itself was on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. It was your typical California state park primitive site with a picnic table and fire pit. We made dinner and listened to the waves crashing on the beach below. It was July, and we had daylight until almost 9PM. It was actually sunny that evening, which at the time didn't strike me as unusual, but that's because I was a newcomer to the state. Fog is very common along the northern California coast, so even in summer, it can be quite cool - indeed almost downright cold. I'd like to think that we came prepared with warm clothes and layers, but we probably didn't (again, I was a recent transplant from the East Coast and still associating summer with hot and humid weather.) We were were lucky it happened to be a warm and balmy day.
Now, about that bear canister. I loaded all our food and toothpaste into it and placed it about 50 yards away from the tent. I recall thinking that this was purely precautionary - there was very little chance a bear would actually come to our site. I was wrong. At about 2AM, we heard a large creature walking around the campsite. I admit that I panicked for a moment or two. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. But then I remembered that black bears do tend to be timid, and will often be scared off by loud noises. For reasons I've never been able to explain, I grabbed my flashlight, jumped out of the tent, and started making barking sounds, like a dog. As embarrassing as that is to admit, the bear ran off into the woods. I barely caught a glimpse of it. We obviously didn't sleep too well after that, but as the morning broke we began to convince ourselves that there was no way we were actually visited by a bear. It had to be an elk. When I returned the canister to the ranger, he disabused me of that notion. If we had heard something loud enough to wake us in that part of the park, it almost certainly was a bear, he said. Over the next 25 years, we'd camp in areas with lots of bears (Yosemite, King's Canyon), and we'd see bears often, but this remains the only time a bear would actually come to our site while we were sleeping.
Per my rating system, this is an easy 5-stars as the Redwood National Forest and the CA state parks within it are some of the most beautiful spots on this planet. You can easily spend a week or more exploring the area. I've not returned to this specific spot since that July night so many years ago, but I've visited several of the other state parks in the area. Having written this, perhaps it's time for me to see if I can find this particular site again. That would be a fun adventure.
There's a lot to like about Flying Flags RV park. Its clean, has lots of full hookup sites, an onsite restaurant, clean facilities, as well as tents and cabins for rent. Why a 3 star rating then? Well, per my system, 5 stars are the truly special places (i.e Yosemite, Zion) where one should travel to for multiple days. 4 stars are top-tier spots for locals, and should be part of a larger trip to the region for out-of-staters (examples include Lake Sonoma and Lopez Lake). 3 stars are perfectly fine, but you mostly go there for convenience. Flying Flags in Buellton is such a place. You come here because you can explore Santa Barbara, Solvang, and the surrounding wine region. The RV park itself is big, and the spots are pretty close together, and while it's not necessarily beautiful itself, it is clean and comfortable. If I'm planning a trip to Santa Barbara in my 28' Airstream, this is absolutely a park I'd stay at again. I prefer dry camping (i.e. limited or no hookups) in my trailer, but I certainly appreciate full service as well, and Flying Flags delivers.
If you own an RV, this is a perfect "home base" for exploring the area. Solvang is a town in central California that looks like a Scandinavian village. It was featured prominently in the movie Sideways. Buellton and Solvang are both basically right in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country. Many, many wineries are within short driving distance. Santa Barbara is an easy hour-ish trip. The coast in Santa Barbara and just south in Carpineria is some of the most beautiful in California. The surfing is exquisite (these are well known, popular spots so expect the usual "locals only" aggression in the line up). Paso Robles is about 100 miles up the road from Buellton, so it's entirely possible to do an "up and back" in the same day.
Flying Flags RV park won't take your breath away with natural beauty, but it's close to a lot of places that will. It's convenient, clean, and a great place to park an RV for a couple of nights as you explore the surrounding areas.
Per my rating system, I usually reserve 5 stars for those parks that are worth traveling to from long distances (i.e. out of state). While Marin county CA is definitely worth traveling to, it's the region that's 5 stars, not necessarily individual campsites in the many state parks worth visiting in the area.
But this group site is the exception. I've never tried to book this in the peak season, and I'm 99% sure it requires planning years in advance. If you can get this site for a family reunion or just a weekend reliving your college days, you should. And you should encourage your friends and family to travel from out of state for the festivities.
The site has a fully covered dining area, fully plumbed sinks and bathrooms, and a plethora of hiking options in the Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpais. For those familiar with the area, getting into the Muir Woods can be huge hassle. You have either reserve a parking spot in advance, or take a shuttle into the park. The days of hopping in the car on a random morning and hiking in the Muir woods are long gone. Sure, if you are familiar with Marin, there are all kinds of ways to hike into the park from other trail heads for which parking is not an issue. Alice Eastwood group camp is one such spot.
Those who read my reviews know that I'm a huge fan of camping in the winter in CA, and this was one of the trips that brought me to that mindset. I camped here in late Dec 2018. It was a bit wet - the remnants of a larger storm were still dropping periodical rain on the region. And another storm was right on its heels. But there was a window of 2-3 days before the other storm moved in, so I went camping here. One of the finest nights of sleeping in the woods I've ever had was the first night, when I pitched my small 2-man tent amongst the redwoods and drifted to sleep with the light rain drops hitting the fly of the tent. Sure, it was a bit damp in the morning, but it wasn't cold and the hiking through the redwoods was magnificent. The streams were running, and the undergrowth - particularly the ferns - were a fluorescent green.
Highly recommended. This is a special place.
Located on the west side of the San Rafael/Richmond Bridge, on San Francisco Bay, this park is extremely popular with mountain bikers. There are definitely better mountain biking trails in Marin (Tamarancho Boy Scout Camp, for example) but keep in mind that the bar is very high for mountain biking in Marin. So China Camp won't disappoint even if it's not the most epic biking in the area. The trail running and hiking is great too. The campground is off the main road that parallels the bay. It's located just past a meadow, and in the (increasingly rare) wet months, there's a creek that runs through the park. The website will say the sites are "hike in", but this is not how I'd describe it. Yes, you need to park in the main lot and then carry your gear to the campsite, but it's not really a hike. More like a short walk, a quarter of a mile at best. This means you will be able to bring your fully iced Yeti loaded with tasty local microbrews to your campground. Heck, maybe you can figure out how to hitch it to your mountain bike so you can tow it in.
The park itself is classic country California - oak, madrone, and even the occasional redwood. It's often foggy in the morning, and sunny in the afternoon. You can camp here year round, and I've been here in the winter, spring and summer. I really enjoy it here when the creek is running, but even in the summer when its dry, the proximity to the bay means it probably won't get too hot. Bring your mountain bike and shoes suitable for hiking and trail running. I've never done it, but I'm pretty sure you could kayak in the bay here as well.
This park is 4 stars because one would never plan a trip to visit China Camp on its own, but it definitely would be included as part of a larger trip to Marin county. A great Marin trip would be: set up camp at China Camp, day trip to Muir Woods, day trip out to Point Reyes, half day of mountain biking in China Camp, full day of mountain biking on Mount Tamalpais, full day of mountain biking at Tamarancho. Drink plenty of local microbrews in between. For locals, this is an awesome spot located right in the Bay Area. I come here often, and I've never had a bad time.
I've camped here more times than I can count. I remember camping here during several wine-soaked weekends with large groups of friends, back in my younger days. We rode our bikes through the Napa valley, stopping at multiple wineries along the way. Then, after a day of riding and wine tasting, we retired back to our campsites for an evening of grilling and drinking of local wines (of which there are many, many excellent choices). I've only tent camped here; I've not brought my Airstream because I don't think there are spots that are large enough for it. However, I do recall seeing trailers and RV's here in the past, so it can accomodate rigs of smaller sizes.
There's nothing dramatically beautiful about this park, but if you like California country living - oaks, madrone, rolling hills, and lots of sunshine - than you'll enjoy it here. It's a short drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, and is quite literally in the Napa valley, on its northern end, near Calistoga. You'll easily be able to get to all the restaurants and wineries in the valley. You won't be disappointed with a couple of nights camping at Bothe-Napa.
One important note: I have not been here since the fires that have ravaged Napa and Sonoma every year since 2017. There has been at least one fire that burned very near this park, causing it to close temporarily. I don't know how bad the impact to the park has been, as I've not seen it first hand. As I write this in summer 2021, the campground is open, so hopefully the fire and smoke damage was minimal. As I've mentioned in many of my other posts, the sad reality of the ongoing drought in California is that summer camping is not the experience it used to be. It's still fun, but I would argue winter or early spring is now the best time to visit places like Bothe-Napa. The creeks will be flowing, you'll be allowed to have a campfire, and the vegetation will be greener and lusher.
Per my rating system, I give this 4 stars as it's not a place you'd plan a trip to from out of state, but it is a place you should consider visiting as part of a larger trip to Napa/Sonoma. For locals, this is a top tier spot.
Per my rating system, this is very close to being 5 stars, meaning it's worth planning a trip from out of state just to visit this park and surrounding national/state forest for 3 days or more The only reason it's 4 stars instead of 5 is that Pinnacles isn't quite big enough to explore exclusively for a minimum of 3 days. You've got a solid and long day of hiking through the park (6 miles, but very intense and exposed). Then a half day of exploring the parts of the park you didn't get to on the hike And then. . well, by then you've probably seen most of what is worth seeing in the park. So hop in the car and drive to Monterey. Go to the aquarium, eat some seafood, and then drive back to Pinnacles (about 3 hours round trip, but worth it if you spend the whole day in Monterey). This is the definition of 4 stars by my system: a park definitely worth visiting if its part of a larger trip to a region. And for locals, this is a must-visit spot, a place that will be on the regular camping rotation.
The park, which is located in a tight valley in San Benito county, is a geologically unique spot nestled in oak studded rolling California coastal mountains. There are two entrances into the park, but the campground is only accessible from the Gilroy/Hollister side. If you're coming from the Bay Area, take Hwy 101 through Gilroy and then get on Hwy 25 South. As you wind your way on Hwy 25, you pass ranch land and within 10 miles of getting off the freeway, you feel like you're pretty far away from it all. That's the thing about California. Get off the main thoroughfares and out of the population centers, and things get rugged fast. In the days of trillion-dollar market caps for Silicon Valley technology companies, people often forget that California has a rich agricultural history. I've lived in California for going on 3 decades, and I sometimes wonder what the more quintessentially central California experience is: Shopping at the Apple Store in San Francisco and then dining at a fine restaurant as the fog rolls in, or buying produce from a farm stand in a valley bordered by rolling hills. It's probably both. San Benito county is a great place to experience the latter.
What makes Pinnacles geologically unique is that the park is formed from bulbous rock formations. These are somewhat reminiscent of what one would find in southern Utah, at a place like Arches. The main hike, which is a loop that begins and ends at the parking lot, takes you up the ridge line and then across the rock faces. It's an intense and fun hike. It's just under 6 miles, but it will take the entire day. Pack a lunch and plenty of water. There are no water sources on the trail. If you're lucky, you'll see condors floating in the thermal currents.
Speaking of thermal currents, Pinnacles is extremely hot in the summer. I've never come here past April. The winter is ideal for Pinnacles. But if you are in the Bay Area in the summer, it's worth checking out. But be prepared for heat.
There are two campgrounds loops: one is for RV's and the other is for tents and RV "dry camping" (i.e. no hookups). I was in the tent section, dry camping my Airstream. The RV loop is easy to get in and out of. The loop I was in was a bit trickier - "blue square" difficulty level for a 28' trailer. I had a back-in spot, but the angle of the spot made it easy to back in. The tricky part was that it was kind of narrow, with railroad ties on either side. It was a good spot, and I'd definitely take that one again. But, if you want full hookups on the RV loop, spots 50 and 51 are the ones to get. Many of the spots on the RV loop were really exposed, and it can get hot in Pinnacles, even in the winter during the day.
As I mentioned in the introduction of this post, there is a lot to do within a 2-3 hour (round trip) drive of Pinnacles. You could go up to the southern Bay Area. You can go to Monterey. You could go wine tasting in Paso Robles. This is a great place to plan a 3-4 night trip. It's always on my short list of places to go.
Hendy Woods is a gem, and will always occupy a fond place in my memories. It was one of the first parks I discovered when I moved to the Bay Area 25 years ago, in the late 1990's. There are beautiful, old growth redwood groves from Big Sur through Humboldt county. IMO, Hendy Woods is the most beautiful Redwood grove closest to the Bay Area. It's not quite what you experience in Humboldt County, but it's about 100 miles closer (to where I live, at least) and it's a magical place.
This California State Park is located in the Anderson Valley, a historic agricultural area located in the Navarro river watershed. While only 120-ish miles from San Francisco, this area is remote. To get there, you've got to take Hwy 128 west from Cloverdale, which is right on the Sonoma/Mendocino border. This is a quintessential California windy road, which is either gorgeous or vomit inducing, depending on whether one is prone to motion sickness or not. It is possible to get in to the valley from the north, by taking Hwy 101 to Ukiah, and then taking Hwy 253 to Boonville. But this is "six of one, half dozen of the other" when compared to Hwy 128. You could also come in from the west, by taking Hwy 1 from any point south, but if you think Hwy 128 is too windy, Hwy 1 is even worse. For those towing trailers or driving an RV, I do not recommend trying to get to the Anderson Valley or Hendy Woods unless you're an experienced RV'er. Seriously - the drive in will not be fun, to say nothing about trying to park a trailer or RV larger than 25' (more on this later) in Hendy Woods. If you're new to RV'ing, get a pull-through spot at the Petaluma KOA and then drive your tow vehicle or tow-behind vehicle up to Hendy Woods for a day trip. It will take you about an hour to get there from Petaluma.
If you're not towing a trailer or in an RV, and/or car sickness isn't an issue for you or your family (as is my case), the drive in is really beautiful. You pass remote wineries and orchards, huge shady oaks, and the rolling hills that California is famous for. This is California country life at its absolute best.
Hendy Woods is about 7 miles west of Boonville, just past the tiny town of Philo. To enter the park, you make a left off Hwy 128 westbound. Another note to RV'ers: there is a one lane bridge over the Navarro river before the park entrance, so go slow and make sure the bridge is clear, so as to avoid having to back up. Boonville has a well stocked market and a gas station (that has diesel, for those RV'ers out there). It's a good place to stop and get supplies (read: beer, local wine, and ice) on the way in. There are a couple of restaurants in town, but this isn't Healdsburg. The wine tasting is awesome, but you won't be dining at a Michelin starred restaurant in Boonville after visiting the tasting rooms. You're much better off packing some prime cut ribeyes in your Yeti, buying a bottle of local red in town or at the winery, and grilling up steaks at your campsite in Hendy Woods. Again, California country living at its finest.
I would describe Hendy Woods as mostly a tent camping spot, but with a few spaces large enough to get a 25-28' foot trailer or RV into. But the difficulty level of getting an RV or trailer into Hendy is "black diamond." I took my 28' foot Airstream there, and I had to drive the road that circles the campground the wrong direction (per the advice of the ranger and the camp host) in order to get an angle where it was possible to jack my rig into the spot. Then, I had to make several fine tune adjustments to the precise location of my rig once in the spot, in order to get it as level as possible. Oh, and to level it, I had to perch one axle on a stump, while getting the other axle onto a leveling block. This is all standard stuff for experienced RV'ers, but since many people like to rent RV's and trailers now, I like to be very clear in my reviews about bringing larger equipment into a park.
I've camped in tents in Hendy, and most recently, in my Airstream. It's an amazing experience either way. The campground is in a huge grove of redwoods that keep it cool and filter the hot sun. In the wet months (sadly only about 2 months a year now), the Navarro river will be flowing, and you can walk to it from the campground. It's a great place to swim too if it happens to be running in the summer. There's at least a day's worth of hiking and exploring without having to leave Hendy. An ideal trip, for me, is 1 day in Hendy/Boonville, 1-2 days at the coast (about a 30 minute drive west on Hwy 128, not too many curves), 1 day wine tasting and swimming in the river. Hendy Woods is the perfect spot for this.
Hendy Woods is a magnificent place. With drought becoming such a problem in CA, and because I live in-state, in many ways I prefer camping in the winters now. I've not visited Hendy in the winter, but I plan to soon. Still, all the times I've been there in spring and summer, it hasn't disappointed. I always come home with a smile and a feeling of calm. Highly recommended. Per my rating system, I give this 5 stars because it's a place you should travel to specifically to visit. It's a must-have experience if you enjoy camping in the western part of the U.S.
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.
Long time campers in California are probably familiar with the feeling that the prep work required simply to get a reservation at the most popular national and state parks is more than prepping for the trip itself. This is true not just for the most famous parks, like Yosemite, but for many others as well. Wanna camp between late May and early October in a well known state park? Better book that reservation months in advance. This is especially true for RV sites, as there are even fewer of those.
But sometimes you want to just get away on shorter notice. This is where the CA county park system comes to the rescue. County parks are numerous and much easier to get reservations at. And Lopez Lake, part of San Luis Obispo county doesn’t disappoint. The lake itself is a man made reservoir, and the campground sits right behind it. It’s got a mixture of tent sites and RV sites, some will full hookup - although some may only have 15/20A power. There’s lots to do on the lake, and Pismo Beach is a short drive away. Is a weekend at Lopez going to be like that epic 4 day trip you took to King’s Canyon or Zion or Yellowstone that you planned years in advance? No. But if you decide to take a long weekend in the late summer, there’s a good chance Lopez Lake will have spots available, especially during the week. Highly recommended.
If you want a great "base camp" location for exploring wine country north of San Francisco, this is a great place. Located in Petaluma, this campground is an easy drive to Napa and Sonoma county wineries, a bit longer drive to coastal locations like Bodega Bay, and easily within reach for a day on the Russian river or Lake Sonoma. The majority of the sites are full hookup with 30A or 50A power, water, and sewer. We didn't have sewer at our site, but every morning a small tanker truck would drive around and empty our tanks for us and others that didn't have sewer line hookups. This is the only campground I've ever been to that does this, and I wish more did. That's the positive. The downside is that this is a large campground, and it doesn't feel so much that you are camping so much as you are parked in a lot with a lot of other RV owners around you. That doesn't mean it's not fun for kids - they can ride bikes, go swimming, and generally have a great time. We were there in October and there was a great pumpkin patch nearby. It was a fun weekend. But as someone who prefers a bit more solitude and space when I take my trailer out, this spot was too crowded for my taste. Would I go here again? Sure. But I wouldn't consider it a camping weekend. It would be a wine tasting weekend where my lodgings happened to be my trailer.
If the first place you think of when you hear “the Sierra Nevada mountains” is Tahoe or Yosemite, I would strongly encourage you to explore points north of Truckee/Tahoe in the Plumas National Forest. And, a great place to stay while exploring the area is Little Bear RV park. This clean, quiet, and very family friendly campground offers a mixture of full and partial hookup sites, plus cabins. It’s right on the Feather river, with a refreshing swimming hole walking distance from the campground. Plumas Eureka state park offers a number of hikes that even little ones can manage. It also has great picnic areas on the creeks that run through the park. Within a 30 minute drive are a number of gorgeous alpine lakes. Gold Lake is especially beautiful and peaceful. I spent 5 nights here and while I love the more “famous” Sierra attractions, I have to say: I didn’t miss the crowds. Plumas is what Tahoe was like in the 1950’s. Highly recommended.