Swimming

Riverwalk RV Park

18 RV Sites

Riverwalk RV Park in Fortuna, California, offers 18 full-hookup pull-through RV sites alongside the Eel River, with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 65 feet. Every site is pull-through, with an outdoor pool, spa, clubhouse, and recreation center at the southern gateway to Humboldt County's redwood coast. Eighteen pull-through sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and high-speed internet, sized to 65 feet. Every site pulling through means no backing after a long drive up US-101 and no unhitching for an overnight. A general store, laundry, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. Pets are welcome. An outdoor pool and spa anchor the property, with a clubhouse, recreation center, billiards, ping pong, and horseshoes covering indoor and social hours. Walking trails run along the river with fishing, hiking, and swimming from the area, and a playground serves families. Fortuna sits at the southern gateway to the California Redwood Coast, and the corridor north is the reason to stay. Ancient coastal redwood forest, wild Pacific coastline, and Victorian-era fishing communities extend from here through the heart of Humboldt County — one of the most remarkable natural landscapes in the American West, and one that rewards more than a single day. The park serves both US-101 through-travelers and guests basing themselves for the redwoods. Summer is the peak, with the coast staying mild and the parks busy from June through September. With 18 sites, reserve ahead for warm-weather weekends.

from $65/night

Coastal Pines RV Resort

59 RV Sites

On Humboldt Bay in Eureka, California—in the redwood coast's most significant commercial city, where the Victorian architecture of Old Town, the fishing pier culture of the bay's working harbor, and the 40-mile radius that contains both Redwood National Park and the Coast Range's most intact temperate rainforest create a Northern California stopping point of genuine and multilayered quality—Coastal Pines RV Resort provides 59 full hookup sites with complimentary high-speed WiFi, 75-plus satellite television channels, and walkable access to the 6.3-mile Humboldt Bay waterfront trail that connects the resort to Old Town's restaurants, galleries, Victorian neighborhoods, and the waterfront character that Eureka has maintained more successfully than any other North Coast city. The trail access, the Old Town proximity, and the Redwood parks' 40-minute driving range make Coastal Pines the campground that Eureka's layered visitor experience deserves. Fifty-nine full hookup sites include 45 pull-through positions, accommodating the range of RV lengths up to 45 feet with 30 and 50-amp electric service, water, and sewer connections. Complimentary high-speed WiFi covers the property's full footprint, and 75-plus satellite channels at each site provide the entertainment infrastructure for extended-stay guests. Modern shower rooms and restrooms, coin-operated laundry, and mobile RV repair service available on request complete the practical infrastructure. The 6.3-mile Humboldt Bay waterfront trail accessible directly from the resort provides the most immediately impactful amenity: a pedestrian route along the bay's edge connecting the campground to Old Town Eureka's restaurants, bars, boutiques, galleries, and the Victorian architecture that makes Eureka's historic core a walking tour of specific and photographable quality. The Redwood Market adjacent to the campground provides gas and diesel with the proximity that eliminates the navigation detour that fuel stops typically impose on arriving guests. Old Town Eureka's Victorian architecture reflects the wealth that the Humboldt County timber industry generated in the late 19th century and deployed in the construction of the painted-lady houses, the ornate commercial facades, and the Carson Mansion—considered one of the finest examples of Victorian residential architecture in the United States—that define the district's visual character. The Blue Ox Millworks, operating as a working Victorian mill and artisan complex within the Old Town area, demonstrates the craft skills that built the original houses and continues to produce the gingerbread millwork that restoration projects across the country purchase for historically accurate renovations. The Samoa Cookhouse—a surviving lumber camp cookhouse across the bay, operating as a restaurant that serves lumber-camp-style meals at long tables with no menu choices—provides a historically specific dining experience that exists nowhere else in California. The Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, accessible by the bay trail or by car from the campground, provides birding access to one of the Pacific Flyway's most important wintering shorebird habitats. Redwood National and State Parks—encompassing the world's tallest trees in old-growth redwood groves accessible on trails ranging from half-mile easy walks to all-day backcountry routes—are 30 to 50 minutes north on US 101, making Eureka a practical base for multiple days of redwood exploration without paying the premium pricing of the Klamath and Crescent City campground markets. Coastal Pines RV Resort is open year-round in Eureka's cool maritime climate, where the fog and mild temperatures that the ocean moderates make every season comfortable for RV occupancy. The redwood parks are open year-round, Old Town is active year-round, and the bay trail's coastal scenery is as rewarding in the winter gray as in the summer's occasional clear days. Reserve your pull-through site, walk the bay trail to Old Town for dinner, and let Humboldt Bay and the redwood coast earn the Northern California reputation that travelers who stop here almost always wish they had planned more days for.

from $43/night

The Retreat at Redwood Shores

71 RV Sites, 15 Cabins, 17 Tent Sites

The Retreat at Redwood Shores in Eureka, California, offers 71 RV sites, three cabins, and 10 tent sites across 10 acres on Humboldt Bay, with 30 and 50-amp water-and-electric service and rigs accepted to 72 feet. Premium, pull-through, back-in, and standard categories join a dry camping tier, with an outdoor pool, mini-golf, and dog park. Seventy-one sites span back-in, standard, premium, pull-thru, and dry camping categories, carrying water and electric on 30 and 50-amp, sized to 72 feet. Two things to plan around: the sites carry water and electric but not sewer, so manage tank capacity accordingly, and the dry camping tier gives self-contained rigs a lower rate. Seventy-two feet is generous for the North Coast. Three cabins and 10 tent sites round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. An outdoor pool anchors the property, with mini-golf, bocce ball, a playground, dog park, swimming, picnicking, and planned activities filling the grounds. Pets are welcome. Eureka sits where the Humboldt Bay estuary meets the southern edge of the coastal redwood ecosystem — the tallest trees on earth, in the only place they grow. The Avenue of the Giants runs south and Redwood National and State Parks north, which puts the two great redwood drives within reach of a single basecamp. Old Town Eureka's Victorian architecture, the Sequoia Park Zoo and garden, the Humboldt Botanical Garden, Fort Humboldt, and Madaket harbor cruises are all close. Summer is peak on the Redwood Coast, when the fog lifts and the parks fill. Reserve well ahead for July through September.

from $31/night

Mendocino Magic

Mendocino Magic in Laytonville, California, is a multi-format camping destination in inland Mendocino County offering RV sites, glamping setups, and traditional tent camping — a versatile outdoor accommodation property in the US-101 corridor of the North Coast Range where the Eel River's wild and scenic stream country, the Cahto Wilderness, and the drive to the Mendocino Coast's redwood groves, sea stacks, and art galleries give guests the most complete North Coast camping experience available from a campground positioned between the redwood coast and the inland mountain valley. Laytonville's Mendocino County position on US-101, 45 miles east of the Mendocino coast and 50 miles south of Humboldt Redwoods State Park, gives the campground the specific North Coast corridor character of a property at the intersection of the coast road's scenic tourism appeal and the inland mountain valley's quieter outdoor recreation character. RV sites, glamping setups, and traditional tent camping give Mendocino Magic the complete spectrum of overnight outdoor accommodation in a single Laytonville property — the glamping format specifically gives the comfort-seeking non-camper the curated outdoor accommodation experience that the Mendocino County inland mountain setting sustains without the tent camping infrastructure logistics, and the RV site gives the self-contained traveler the hookup service for the North Coast leg of the US-101 coastal tour. The campground's multi-format accommodation reflects the specific Mendocino County market of the coastal artisan and agricultural heritage tourism that the North Coast's unique culture sustains. Pets are welcome. Humboldt Redwoods State Park, 50 miles north of Laytonville on US-101 in Humboldt County, protects the largest remaining contiguous old-growth coast redwood forest in the world — 17,000 acres of ancient Sequoia sempervirens forest in the Eel River's Bull Creek drainage where the Avenue of the Giants 32-mile scenic alternate to US-101 passes through the Rockefeller Forest's 10,000-acre old-growth stand, the world's largest preserved ancient redwood grove, in a grove of trees that include the confirmed tallest individual specimens in the forest. The coast redwood's maximum height of 380 feet and the 2,000-year age class of the Bull Creek drainage's oldest trees give the Humboldt Redwoods the specific scale and antiquity that no other temperate forest in the Northern Hemisphere matches. The Mendocino Coast, 45 miles west of Laytonville via CA-162 and CA-1 at Fort Bragg, provides the dramatic sea stack and headland coastline of the Mendocino Headlands State Park, the Mendocino village's Victorian architecture and artist colony character, and the Noyo Harbor's working fishing fleet and salmon charter boat operation that give the Fort Bragg-Mendocino corridor its specific combination of natural coastal scenery and North Coast cultural heritage. The MacKerricher State Park's 10 miles of beach north of Fort Bragg and the Glass Beach's sea-polished glass deposits give the Mendocino coastal day trip its accessible natural and geological attractions. Mendocino Magic serves guests through Mendocino County's North Coast camping season, with the spring whale migration from February through April giving the coastal viewpoints their spectacular gray whale observation and the summer fog season from June through August creating the coastal marine layer conditions that the inland Laytonville valley's warmer, clearer summer temperatures specifically complement for the guest who values the inland camp over the often-foggy coast campground in the summer. The Cahto Wilderness in the Mendocino National Forest gives the campground's immediate backcountry hiking access in the Laytonville area's inland mountain terrain. Reserve sites and glamping accommodations ahead for the summer US-101 coastal tourism season and the fall harvest season in Mendocino County's wine and apple country.

Mendocino Redwoods RV Resort

47 RV Sites, 18 Cabins, 15 Tent Sites

Mendocino Redwoods RV Resort sits just off US-101 in Willits, California, positioned at the junction of the redwood-lined Eel River corridor and the highway that carries travelers west toward the Mendocino Coast. The resort draws both destination campers and travelers passing through Northern California's scenic interior, offering a full-featured family resort experience inside a landscape defined by towering conifers and the quiet rhythms of the coastal range. The resort's amenities are built for multi-day stays: a pool, hot tub, fishing pond, mini golf, disc golf, splash pad, and a western-themed area that hosts evening dances and ice cream parlor events through the season. Premium sites include private hot tubs for guests who want a step up in comfort. A petting zoo, playground, and arcade room target younger campers, while bicycle rentals, a dog park, and a general store give everyone a reason to spend the day on-property. Free WiFi, bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities handle the basics. Rustic cabins are available alongside RV sites and tent camping for a range of accommodation needs throughout the season. Willits sits in the Redwood Valley at the southern edge of Mendocino County's interior, surrounded by second-growth redwoods, Douglas fir, and the mixed conifer forests that define the Northern California coastal range. The Mendocino Redwoods RV Resort captures the character of this landscape—dense woodland, cool summers, and a natural quiet that stands in sharp contrast to California's more crowded campgrounds further south. Highway 20 connects Willits to Fort Bragg and the Mendocino coast in about 45 minutes, giving resort guests easy access to both the interior forest environment and the Pacific shoreline without an extended detour. The Skunk Train is the defining attraction of the Willits–Fort Bragg corridor—a historic narrow-gauge railroad that has been running through the redwood mountains since 1885, now offering various rail excursions through scenery inaccessible by road. Fort Bragg's Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, positioned directly on a Pacific bluff, provides 47 acres of coastal plants, native plant nursery, and direct beach access. The Avenue of Giants, south of Garberville, is the most dramatic concentration of ancient coast redwoods in the world, with trees exceeding 350 feet in height and more than 2,000 years in age. Closer to Willits, regional wineries provide evening tasting options for adults looking to extend the Northern California experience. Mendocino Redwoods RV Resort runs a summer season that tracks the Northern California camping peak, with the interior valley around Willits often enjoying warmer, clearer weather than the foggy immediate coast. Fall brings crisp weather and lower crowds across the region—an underrated time to explore both the redwoods and the coastal communities of Mendocino and Fort Bragg. Reserve early for summer holiday weekends, and plan your Skunk Train tickets in advance as the popular rail excursions fill quickly. For families and couples who want a genuinely Northern California forest experience without sacrificing comfort, Mendocino Redwoods RV Resort delivers easy access to some of the region's most iconic landscapes.

from $46/night

Blue Lakes Village RV Park

14 RV Sites

Blue Lakes Village RV Park sits directly across California Highway 20 from Blue Lakes in Lake County, Northern California, a small private resort tucked into the wine country foothills north of Clear Lake where the pace slows and the water is the center of daily life. The lake is private to resort guests, and the combination of direct waterfront access and a campground designed for campers who want to actually use the water rather than just park near it sets Blue Lakes Village apart from most RV parks in the Northern California lake country. Full hookup sites serve RV guests, and the resort's amenities lean into the lake experience: a private beach and dock give guests a direct launch point for kayaking, swimming to the rope swing, fishing from the dock, or simply jumping in on a summer afternoon. The property includes a fenced dog park, hammocks, BBQ pits, camping games, coin-operated laundry, a community garden, and resort-wide WiFi. Hot showers ensure the transition from lake to campsite is as comfortable as the experience of getting in the water in the first place. Blue Lakes sits in a long, narrow valley in the Lake County hills, surrounded by oak and manzanita terrain that holds the warmth of the Central California summer while staying noticeably cooler than the Sacramento Valley floor below. Lake County is California's least densely populated wine region—a place where the volcanic soils and high elevations produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Zinfandel largely without the weekend crowds and tasting room queues that define Napa and Sonoma. The lakes here are spring-fed and clear, the kind of water that makes you want to get in it rather than just look at it from the shore. Clear Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake entirely within California, is a 20-minute drive south and supports excellent bass fishing, kayaking, and birdwatching along its extensive tule marsh shoreline. Lake Mendocino, formed by Coyote Valley Dam on the East Fork Russian River, is a similar distance north and adds boating, swimming, and hiking on Cow Mountain Recreation Area trails that climb the ridges above the reservoir. The town of Lakeport on Clear Lake provides restaurants, a lakefront city park, and the Lake County Museum's collection of Pomo and Wailaki basketry that is among the finest in California. Blue Lakes Village operates through the Northern California camping season with summer the peak period for lake swimming and water recreation. The resort accommodates both short-term campers and long-term guests on weekly and monthly arrangements, making it a flexible option for extended stays in the Lake County hills. The tiny home and retro RV accommodations available for overnight rental give the property a boutique character that goes beyond the standard RV park, and the private dock and beach ensure that arriving without a kayak is not a reason to miss out on what makes this particular lake destination worth visiting.

from $50/night

Lakeshore Resort - Lakehead

39 RV Sites, 10 Cabins, 1 Cottage

On the banks of Lake Shasta in Lakehead, California—five minutes off Interstate 5 in Shasta County where the Sacramento River, McCloud River, and Pit River meet behind Shasta Dam to create California's largest reservoir at 29,000 surface acres and 365 miles of shoreline in the Klamath Mountains' forested landscape—Lakeshore Resort provides a historic lakeside retreat with 39 RV sites and 11 cozy cabins under towering ponderosa pines, a seasonal swimming pool, a restaurant and bar, and the position as one of the few private resorts directly overlooking Lake Shasta's waters, with boat launches and swimming accessible within minutes of the resort property. For I-5 travelers making the run between Sacramento and Portland who want more than a truck stop, and for Shasta Lake anglers and houseboaters who want a comfortable land base, Lakeshore delivers the lake character the drive north is working toward. The 39 RV sites provide hookup service under the ponderosa pine canopy in the Lakehead community on the lake's northern arm, with the Lake Shasta views and the resort's direct water proximity creating the lakeside camping atmosphere that the inland California mountain reservoir delivers. Eleven cabins in the pine-forest setting alongside the seasonal pool, restaurant, and bar provide the complete resort infrastructure for guests without a rig in an environment the forested Shasta County lakeshore makes appealing beyond its I-5 convenience. The restaurant and bar serve the evening social function for both RV guests and cabin occupants, and the pool provides the warm-weather complement to the lake swimming that the property's close water access enables. Lakehead sits on the Sacramento River arm of Lake Shasta in the northern Sacramento Valley/southern Cascade Range transition zone, in the Shasta County landscape where the Interstate 5 corridor's passage through the Klamath Mountains creates the dramatic change in terrain from the valley floor to the mountain environment that marks the most visually significant transition on the entire I-5 corridor between Los Angeles and the Canadian border. The Pit River Bridge over Lake Shasta on I-5—at 500 feet above the lake surface, one of the highest interstate highway bridges in the United States—provides the introduction to the Shasta Lake landscape for northbound travelers that makes a stop in Lakehead feel like a logical response to the view. Shasta Dam, five miles south at the head of the Sacramento River arm, stands as one of the most impressive concrete structures in the American West—the second-tallest concrete dam in the United States at 602 feet, completed in 1945, whose visitor center and tours explain the Central Valley Project's water management infrastructure and the dam's construction history. The Shasta-Trinity National Forest's 2.2 million acres surround the lake in the mixed conifer and chaparral landscape that provides the hiking, fishing, and the dispersed camping that supplements the resort's infrastructure. Lake Shasta's bass, trout, salmon, and kokanee fishery makes it one of California's most productive multi-species lakes. Lakeshore Resort operates seasonally with the peak summer season from Memorial Day through Labor Day when the lake's houseboating fleet fills the 365-mile shoreline and the warm mountain summer temperatures make the pool and lake swimming the daily activity anchor for families and groups. The spring season from April through May offers the lake at its most full—the snowmelt from the Klamath Mountains and the Sierra feeds the reservoir to high-water levels that maximize the shoreline access and the scenic impact of the lake in the green, flower-season landscape. Reserve your RV site or cabin at Lakeshore Resort and let Lake Shasta's 365-mile shoreline, the ponderosa pines, and the northern California mountain landscape make the I-5 corridor's most impressive water body the destination rather than the backdrop.

from $53/night

Antlers RV Park & Campground

65 RV Sites, 39 Tent Sites

Antlers RV Park and Campground in Lakehead, California, offers 65 full-hookup back-in RV sites and 39 tent sites overlooking Shasta Lake, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 75 feet. A single back-in category means every guest gets the same spec, with a private boat launch, slip rentals, outdoor pool, and general store five minutes off I-5. Sixty-five back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp, sized to 75 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. One category and no guesswork — and 75 feet accommodates a long coach with a tow, which is generous for a lakeside property on sloping terrain. Thirty-nine tent sites, cabins, and trailer rentals round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. A private boat launch, boat rentals, and slip rentals open the lake for boating and swimming, with an outdoor pool, sports courts, volleyball, basketball, ping pong, horseshoes, a playground, and picnicking filling the rest. Planned activities run through the season. Pets are welcome. Directions southbound: take the second Lakehead exit (702) for Antlers Road / Lakeshore Drive, turn left, right onto Antlers Road at the stop sign, and continue about 1.5 miles. Shasta Lake is California's largest reservoir, and this is one of the few private camping resorts that genuinely overlooks the water — houseboating, bass fishing, and the Shasta Caverns are all here, with Mount Shasta rising to the north. Summer lake season drives demand hard. Reserve well ahead for June through August.

from $33/night

The Parkway RV Resort & Campground

21 RV Sites

The Parkway RV Resort & Campground in Orland, California, offers 21 full-hookup pull-through RV sites with water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp service, sized for rigs to 70 feet. Every RV site is pull-through — a genuine convenience for overnight I-5 stops — with an outdoor pool, a boutique shop, and a dog park on site, midway between Sacramento and Redding. Twenty-one sites run in standard, deluxe, and premium pull-through categories on 30 and 50-amp, all carrying full hookups and sized to 70 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Cabins serve guests without a rig. A general store, boutique shop, firewood, laundry, restrooms, showers, and a dump station handle the practical side, and WiFi reaches the property. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a dog park for pets and horseshoes and planned activities filling out the on-site calendar. The boutique shop is an unusual touch for an interstate corridor park and reflects the resort's positioning above the standard highway stop. Wine and beer tasting are available nearby. Pets are welcome. Orland sits in Glenn County's upper Sacramento Valley, flanked by the Coast Range to the west and the Cascade and Sierra foothills to the east. Black Butte Lake and the Sacramento Valley wildlife refuges give guests reason to extend beyond an overnight stay. The resort operates year-round on the I-5 corridor, serving both through-travelers and longer Sacramento Valley stays. Summer brings the heaviest highway traffic; with 21 sites, availability can tighten quickly on holiday weekends.

from $78/night

Crescent City Harbor District

53 RV Sites

Redwood Harbor Village at the Crescent City Harbor District sits at 159 Starfish Way on the working harbor of Crescent City, California—the northernmost city on the California coast, positioned at the southern edge of the Del Norte County redwood forests and within 10 miles of both Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and the southern boundary of Redwood National Park. The harbor-front location gives it a character unique among North Coast campgrounds: boat docks, marina access, and a short walk to the harbor's shops and seafood restaurants combined with one of the most ecologically extraordinary redwood landscapes in the world just up the highway. Full hookup sites with 30 and 50-amp electric service, water, and sewer serve both back-in and pull-through configurations accommodating RVs up to 45 feet. The park is big-rig friendly, and the site layout takes direct advantage of the harbor position with boat dock access and marina proximity for guests arriving or departing by water. Showers and restrooms keep the property's practical amenities functional, and South Beach—the long sand beach that curves south from the harbor mouth—is accessible on foot from the campground. The pet-friendly policy accommodates traveling animals in a coastal setting where the beach provides excellent off-leash terrain where conditions allow. Crescent City's harbor occupies the southernmost protected harbor on the Oregon-California border coast, where the Pacific's exposure and the absence of natural harbor protection along most of this coastline make Crescent City's anchorage commercially and recreationally significant in a way that stretches of wilderness coast to the north cannot match. The harbor's sportfishing fleet targets Chinook salmon, rockfish, lingcod, and Dungeness crab in the productive cold-water upwelling zone that makes the Del Norte coast one of the more biologically rich stretches of Pacific Coast in California. The working waterfront character of the marina—commercial crab boats alongside recreational fishing vessels and the Coast Guard station—gives the campground an authentically maritime atmosphere. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, 10 minutes northeast of Crescent City, protects the largest old-growth coast redwood forest in the Del Norte coast redwood ecosystem—the Smith River corridor within the park harbors individual trees exceeding 350 feet in height and several thousand years in age in groves that the Smith River's flooding has maintained by preventing the Douglas fir encroachment that characterizes drier redwood sites. The Howland Hill Road provides an unpaved drive through the park's interior that is one of the most immersive old-growth redwood experiences on the coast, accessible without the crowds that concentrate at Prairie Creek and Humboldt Redwoods farther south. Battery Point Lighthouse, on a tidal island accessible at low tide from Crescent City's waterfront, is one of California's most accessible active lighthouse museums. Redwood Harbor Village operates through the coastal California camping season in a climate where Del Norte County's consistent marine influence delivers fog, moderate temperatures, and the dramatic storm activity of the Pacific's winter swell season—storm-watching in January and February on this stretch of coast is among the most viscerally impressive experiences on the West Coast. Summer is peak season when the fog lifts regularly and the redwood parks reach their highest visitor density. Reserve ahead for summer holiday weekends when the harbor campground's combination of marina access and redwood proximity fills the property quickly.

from $37/night

Cloverdale/Healdsburg Campground

61 RV Sites, 18 Cabins, 46 Tent Sites, 14 Lodges

Cloverdale Healdsburg Campground in California's Alexander Valley offers 61 RV sites, 32 cabin and lodge units, and 46 tent sites on a ridge overlooking Sonoma County wine country, with 30 and 50-amp full hookups and rigs accepted up to 100 feet. Premium view, premium pull-through, and standard categories join a pool, spa, game room, and dark-sky stargazing. Sixty-one sites span 30/50-amp standard, 30/50-amp standard pull-thru, 30/50-amp premium, 30/50-amp premium pull-thru, and 30/50-amp premium view categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric with site WiFi, sized to 100 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. One hundred feet is exceptional and accommodates the longest coaches with a tow. The premium view category is the one to request. Thirty-two cabins and lodges and 46 tent sites round out an unusually deep lodging inventory. A general store, laundry, and restrooms handle the practical side. An outdoor pool and spa anchor the property, with a game room, pond, walking trails, and dog park filling the grounds. Fishing and swimming run on site. Pets are welcome. The dark-sky certification is the differentiator — this is one of the few certified campgrounds in Northern California, and on a clear night the ridge position delivers what that promises. The Alexander Valley appellation spreads below, with Healdsburg's tasting rooms and restaurants a short drive south. The campground has been operating for 34 years. Harvest season and summer drive the heaviest demand in Sonoma. Reserve well ahead for August through October.

from $63/night

Clear Lake Campground

39 RV Sites

Clear Lake Campground in Clearlake, California, offers 36 full-hookup RV sites on Cache Creek with 30-amp service, taking rigs to 40 feet, plus a boat ramp, kayak and boat rentals, and an outdoor pool. Established in the 1950s, it sits on the sole natural outlet of Clear Lake — the largest natural freshwater lake entirely within California. Thirty-six sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30-amp in back-in, creekside back-in, and pull-through configurations sized to 40 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, and BBQ pits. Rigs longer than 40 feet will not fit, and the 30-amp service is worth noting for guests running high-draw appliances. Laundry, restrooms, and showers handle longer stays, and WiFi reaches the property. Water access is the campground's core. A boat ramp gives direct entry to the creek and lake, and boat and kayak rentals are available on site for guests who arrive without their own. Fishing, canoeing, kayaking, paddle boats, and swimming all run from the property, with an outdoor pool as the managed alternative. A playground serves families, and hiking, biking, ping pong, and birding fill out the rest. Pets are welcome. Cache Creek carries bass and catfish, and Clear Lake's position on the migratory corridor concentrates birdlife through spring and fall. Note the lake experiences blue-green algae blooms in some summer periods, which affects swimming conditions. Clearlake sits 90 miles north of San Francisco on Highway 20, in Lake County's wine country and volcanic highlands. The campground has drawn returning Bay Area families for seven decades. Summer is peak — reserve ahead, and check current lake conditions when planning swimming.

from $58/night