This park is about half way between Watsonville and Gilroy on Hwy 152 (Heckler Pass Highway) It is about 15 minutes east of Watsonville in the mountains. This is also a county park and was a very beautiful place for RV, Tent and they have Yurts for rent too. Road is steep and would be difficult for a big rig, but a small RV 22' 30' would have no problem. Sites are back in, they have flush toilets and showers. Showers are brand new and spotlessly clean. You are in tall Redwood trees so minimal air card and TV available. Most all sites are in the trees. Each site has a table and fire pit. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This park is very clean and well maintained. The staff is very friendly and the little lake is a lot of fun to go kayaking and peddle boating. The park is centrally located to go to Santa Cruz and the beaches or Monterey and Carmel. We love camping here and have been coming back for the past 10 years. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great location for visiting Monterey and Santa Cruz and the rest of the area, which is very beautiful. The park is very quiet - no planes, trains or automobile problems. The sites are all grass. Sites further from the lake are more level than the ones closer. They are rather closely spaced, but the park only seems to fill up on the weekends. The staff has the longer stay folks spread out so that during the week there is plenty of room between the sites. The Wi-Fi worked better than at any park I have visited. I was able to pick up all the main TV channels over the air with my antenna. My Sprint phone and Verizon Mifi worked well here. This is a city park so there are people around mostly in the evenings till the park closes around 8pm - fishing, playing ball and picnicking. There are little boats available for rent to take out on the lake. We enjoyed people watching, the Little League and nice walks by the lake at sunset. The staff was very friendly and went out of there way to be helpful when I had an emergency. I would definitely return and will recommend this park to others. We camped here in a Motorhome.
It is very quiet during the week, but there is more activity on the weekends, due to the closeness to the city park. We had a large site close to the lake. The park is close to town and to a golf course. We would recommend this park to others. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Pinto Lake City Park campground was our destination for this trip. We had stayed here for one night last summer to escape the extreme heat inland, and decided that it was so nice that we would return for a longer stay. There are lovely large expanses of grass throughout the park and the campground itself is grass. We saw no mud anywhere in the park. The green grass, the large redwood trees and the beautiful lake all combine for a particularly attractive environment. Mid-week this time of year, there were many empty spaces. The staff is friendly and helpful in every way. There is no cable but the wifi is excellent. There are no fire pits or picnic tables at your site, however, tables are located throughout the park. A large children’s play area is near the lake. There is a County park just a mile or so up the road which has a large dog off-leash park and the town of Watsonville is very close by. The little league was playing every afternoon, but by 7:30 pm when the park closes for day use, it was very quiet. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a great little park in Watsonville. It is a city park that has a few RV sites. It sits right on Pinto Lake. There is fishing, boat rentals (in season), a great play area for the kids, and a Little League Baseball diamond within the park. The spaces were grass and fairly level. The views of the lake were great. The gal in charge was great (more later). The place was only about half full when we were there. It is a convenient place to use as a base for visiting Santa Cruz and Monterey. You are able to pick out which spot you want, so we looked around and picked one that was right next to the lake. We originally planned to stay for two nights, so paid the $70 dollars due, in cash, to the gal and proceeded to park our motorhome in that spot. Just after getting it backed in, my wife, who had gone up to the office to tell the lady which spot we had chosen, came running down from the office and said that the gal had forgotten to tell us that #15, buy edict of the the city, could only have small units in there. No problem, we just moved over to #14. A few minutes later she came down to us and handed us back $10 of the $70 because of the inconvenience to us. We said "No, that isn't necessary, it wasn't any big thing to move", but she insisted. We ended up staying three nights and loved the entire stay, and will be back. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Friendly staff, wonderful setting on edge of town. Only 5 minutes to full service supermarket and various shops. Very quiet at night behind locked gates. We enjoyed great weather, fishing in lake and visiting local ocean beaches 15 minutes away. We are looking forward to our next visit. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Rate shown includes charge for pets. Site a level grass back-in. All utilities worked fine. Cable TV hookup doesn't work as it is no longer available. Plenty of off the air TV channels. Our site (2) was also satellite friendly. Wi-Fi worked fine for e-mails and browsing, but not much else. Playground, fishing dock, and boat rentals inside the park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Do not come here expecting a fancy place. No clubhouse, no cable TV, no showers, 30 amp only, parking on grass or dirt. Restrooms are about what you would expect for a public park. What you DO get: is a quiet place to park, that is reasonably priced for the area, next to a pretty little lake. They do have a good Wi-Fi signal. This is a good location to see both Santa Cruz and Monterey. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Basic park, but compared to pricing in the area, it is a great value. Since it was muddy and rainy when we stayed they had the RVs use the parking lot and bump up against the back end of the sites. Since it was lightly populated they allowed the rigs to spread out. Otherwise, for those with slides the sites are only 15' wide, so check to make sure they can space you apart. Two rigs ended up next to each other, and it is very tight with multiple slides. Not much amenity wise, during the day the lake it popular with families (they have an algae problem that you can google about). At night the gates get locked (you get a key), and you have the park to yourselves. Bathrooms are not much to look at (after all it is a county park). We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This has to be one of the most pleasant places we've stayed at since leaving Canada in late October. It is a quiet, serene, pretty park with a small lake (not for swimming). Birds aplenty. All amenities available in the City of Watsonville. The back-in sites are easy in and out, and are very adequate for most units. Electric, water and sewer at every site and 30 amp power. Paddle and row boats to rent. Fishing (kids 15 and under no license required). The WiFi has to be the best we've encountered in any RV Park that we've stayed in. Perfect! Great biking in the area. We've been here for one week and we'll definitely stay here again. The people are helpful, friendly and generous. Don't by-pass this one. One in a million. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a no frills park. Stayed a week. Very quiet. Pretty location next to a fishing lake, great area for bird watchers, and rural stores about 1 mile away. The park is open to the public, but gates are locked from 5pm to 8am; you get a key. Park staff keep the place very clean. No cable but about 15 over the air channels. Sites are narrow but with only 5 spaces taken this was not a problem, perhaps in July/August it could be. We would stay here again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This was a great, dog-friendly place for us, near Elkhorn Slough. It is a great little lake. We enjoyed seeing the families and the children that visit the park. We'd come here again. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
This is a very quiet park, very clean, and the staff is very friendly and helpful. I had a lake view space where I could set and watch all the waterfowl on the lake. I just can't say enough about this park so if you are in this area we recommend you stay here. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a family friendly park. You park on the grass, so it's very clean if you have pets. There is a small playground by the lake with a BBQ and several picnic tables as well. We have been coming to this park for a few years now. We like this place because it is affordable and fairly close (driveable distance) to Carmel and Capitola. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Very quiet and if you have your own toilet and shower and great place to stay. Very convenient for us to stay while visiting for Leguna Seca track. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very pleasant and quiet. Lots of grassy areas for picnicking. It is Convenient to Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Watsonville.The gate is locked at sunset, but they give you a key. There are restrooms but no showers. The campsites are very narrow - only 14 feet wide, so you are very close to your neighbors. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Nothing fancy, just a little laid back park with a nice view of the lake. Sites aren't very wide due to the fact that it was built in the 60's or 70's, but they have plenty of length and are grassy. They lock the gate every night at about dusk, but you get a key. This is a city park, so there are rules concerning drinking alcohol outside your RV. We like to camp here because it's very peaceful and is about half way between Monterey and Santa Cruz. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Beautiful setting on the Pinto Lake. No swimming allowed. Narrow level sites. Only 2 sites with direct lake view. Very nice staff. Gate locked from 09:00 PM - 07:00 AM. One has a key on loan. Located 20 miles from Monterey. No morning sea fog! Very quiet place. On the weekends: many nice local families come for day visits and BBQ parties. We would return. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This place is a gem! It's about 10 miles from Santa Cruz and 20 miles from Monterey, so you're close enough to the tourist stuff, but you don't pay tourist resort prices. The staff is very friendly, and the sites are reasonably sized and grassy, although a bit narrow, and do not have picnic tables. There's fruit and vegetable markets close by, so you can enjoy the local produce, as well as the central coast weather. Since it's a little inland, the marine layer fog burns off more quickly than it does right on the coast, so the weather is very nice. We'll definitely plan on staying here again if we return to the area. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This campground is only 3 miles from our house, but we like coming here for a weekend getaway. The grounds are kept up and there is ample room between rigs. The little league plays here and we watched a couple of games while we were here, which was fun. My in-laws come and spend a couple of months here during the winter, which is very convenient. It's nice to walk by the lake, and they have picnic tables and a playground by the lake, so it is very family friendly. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Great find for families with young children. They will like the kids play area, the lake, the boating, the grass where the recreational vehicles park, and the surrounding park where the recreational vehicle park is located. This park is close to Cannery Row, Carmel, and State Beaches. Also, it is economically priced so you can camp here often. Restrooms are in typical, city run condition. Hence the 8/10 review. Fault belongs to city, not the RV park. Did not find "questionable" characters on our visit during Memorial Day weekend but rather families wanting to enjoy time with family which gave the place a nice vibe. Will be returning. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
May 2012
$34
Great little find. You park on grass. Good wifi (fast), cable tv, and quiet after they close the park for the night at 8 pm. Little league baseball played on the adjacent ball field but is over by 7-8 pm. Ducks and geese down by the lake really like you if you have some bread for them. Since the parking lot and park is open to the public, we did see a few sketchy people around but no one bothered us. We would definitely stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Pleasant RV park in the midst of a community park with a lake. Day use activities include lake boating and fishing, playground, picnic areas and ball fields, but none of this caused any bothersome noise. In the evening, the day use area is closed and a gate to the park is locked, leaving the whole park to RVers. A key to the gate is available to campers. Campsites have nice green grass and are narrow but long enough that we left our trailer hooked up. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Given that it is a community park setting, it was surprisingly quiet. The staff were very helpful. The grassy sites are large all are within a short walk from the lake. It is a couple of miles off of hwy 1 and an easy drive north to Santa Cruz or south to the Monterrey peninsula. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Quiet park nicely situated at a lake. Mens restrooms was without doors. No showers. Friendly owner who is into nature. We would go here more. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Good little quiet park. Good location, close to Monterey and Santa Cruz. Good electric, water, cable, strong Wi-Fi. Couple downsides are: the park gets really busy on the weekends, and the sewer connection is higher than the RV outlet (we were parked on a hill). Other than that, nice park, fishing on site, closes at sundown so it's really quiet at night. Would stay again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
If you are looking for a reasonably priced RV park in this area, this is the only place. Don't expect any glitz here, but they do run a tight ship! They go out of there way to try to accommodate all guests and to make sure everyone is held to the same rules. It is a good base for exploring the coast from Santa Cruz to Monterey without the high prices of all the other parks around there. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We stayed four nights at this campground while visiting family. We enjoyed the quiet nights and convenience to shopping as well as attractions in the Monterey bay area. We needed some work done on our tow vehicle and got an excellent reference from the manager of the park. We plan to always stay here when we return. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Great park! Rate shown is nightly rate with a dog, but stay 7 nights and the 7th night is free. We chose this park because of its price compared to other parks in the area, and it's proximity to Santa Cruz (20 minutes) and Monterey (30 minutes). What a pleasant surprise when we arrived! Staff is helpful and very friendly. Park is well maintained and very peaceful, even during the day on weekends. At night we felt safe and secure as they lock the gates at dusk and provide you with a key for after-hours access. Very family friendly park with playgrounds, picnic areas, a ball field and volleyball. The small lake offers fishing, boating and seasonal rentals. All sites are grass. They are pretty level and we had plenty of room as the park was less than half full, but they might be a bit close together if the park is full. There are LOTS of water fowl so be sure to remove/wash your shoes before entering your rig! Expanded cable TV and excellent Wi-Fi included in nightly rate. Any necessary shopping is just minutes away. This is an excellent base camp for exploring the region at VERY reasonable rates for this area. Just what we were looking for. With so much to see and do in the area this makes an excellent base camp at very reasonable rates. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Pinto Lake has great wi-fi. I take a 12' jon boat with electric trolling motor. The lake is big and the wild life is interesting. The site was small, but came with cable, sewer, water, and 30amp electric. You get a key from the manager to get in and out after park hours. I will definitely camp here more often thanks to the lake and wi-fi. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This small, quiet park is a gem. Great Wi-Fi, friendly staff, catch and release fishing. Sites are a bit tight, but level and lots of grass. Staff friendly and helpful. Close to shopping, Santa Cruz and Monterey. Rate reflects extra charge for dog. A bargain for sure. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This park has 28 RV sites and each one is on grass. There is a playground for the kids and a lake for fishing and canoeing. The lady host was very friendly and helpful. The park is dog friendly and very quiet. It is a half hour from Monterey and Santa Cruz. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
My wife and I stayed at Pinto Lack for four days, October 28th to November 2nd 2011. We had a great time as it was very clean, quiet and a peaceful place to stay. The people that greeted us were very nice and helpful. The water in lake smelled a little but all the water fowl made up for that. Locking the gate at night I thought was good security for all campers. Thank you Pinto Lake for your hospitality we felt very welcome. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
The park is surprisingly quiet given that it is in the midst of a day use park with boating, fishing, baseball, volleyball and picnicking. The park gate is locked at sundown so only campers are in the park after dark. They provide a gate key so campers can come and go before/after hours. Alcohol and smoking are prohibited in the park which was fine for us but it may be unusual for those accustomed to having a beer and smoking a cigarette outside. The sites are very close together (can’t have awning out if there is a rig next to you) but if the park isn’t full, they suggest leaving an empty site in between rigs. It was nice having full hookups with a good cable TV signal. One suggestion to the city is to make the RV road a loop (by the boat dock) so that large rigs don’t have to do so much maneuvering to get in and out of the RV street. Watsonville was a good base camp for us to explore Santa Cruz and Monterey area. The area has lots of fruit and vegetable farms. It was nice buying vine-ripened produce at a good price from the local produce stands. Staff was very helpful with pointing out things to do in the area. All in all a nice park to stay at and we will return when we’re in the area again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This is a delightful lakeside park with free wi-fi, friendly staff, and access to the Santa Cruz-Capitola area. One of the quietest parks we have stayed at in our 8 years of motorhome travel around the country. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Rate posted is the weekly rate. Great location for exploring the the central Ca.coast. We easily went from north of Santa Cruz one day to Big Sur on another day. The coastline is beautiful. I would probably have given Pinto lake a very high rating if it wasn't for the bathrooms. They leave a lot to be desired. But it's the city that's responsible for the cleanliness of the bathrooms not the park. As mentioned by others it's a very quiet place to stay within Watsonville, but close to everything you'd need. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We enjoyed our stay at Pinto Lake. It is quiet at night and secured with a locked gate. Dogs not allowed to run loose. Lake close by, close to all conveniences and other towns. Host was very nice and helpful with anything we needed. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We stay at this campground several times a year. The location and price is unbeatable. The grassy sites are a welcome change. The staff is professional and friendly. The campground is located in a city park visited by local residents during the day. We enjoy watching them fish, picnic and play little league baseball. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We learned of this park because we were attending a birding festival in Watsonville. We found that it was ideally situated for us to travel easily up and down the coast. The manager was most helpful, both with helping us learn our way around, to helping us find birds, the best vegetable markets, etc. They were extremely responsive in answering emails and questions. It's a small park near a lake and close to shopping. Even though it's a city park with ball games and fishermen coming and going, it was very, very quiet. Gate is locked and 7 PM until 7 AM. The sites are grass, all back-ins, level and fairly large. The hookups worked fine. We had to go into town to do laundry, but that was fine too. We stayed here for 8 nights and would most definitely stay here again! We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We have not stayed at this park for a few years but are glad we came back. We stayed for three days, visiting the Monterey Coast area, and a great Mexican restaurant called Cilantro’s, in Watsonville. We enjoy the grassy sites instead of pavement that so many parks have. We were allowed to choose our site according to openings. When the park isn’t full the host tries to leave openings between RV’s. The host was very helpful along with her assistant. The lake provides fishing and boating, with a playground nearby. There are ducks to feed, they stayed right at the water's edge. There were joggers and walkers in sight each day. It is pretty quiet during the week, with a few children’s ball games in the adjoining park. Weekend would be busier with more locals. There is a gate (key given upon registration) that is locked at 7 P.M. when the non-campers’ exit, leaving the RV section secured and private. Internet is available, cable with 80 channel choices, full hookups, no campfires, (appears to be a trend in many more private parks now) and no showers, although we didn’t need them as we use our own rig for that. The rules seem to be few but one regarding dogs was fine with us, nothing worse than listening to a barking dog locked up in an RV. Another reviewer stated they were given a chart where to put chairs, perhaps they were being funny, we certainly never saw that. In finishing, the park is green, inexpensive, comfortable and we had a nice stay and will definitely be back again for a great restful stay. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very nice , laundry available, cute & cozy in between a park and a beautiful little lake with excellent fishing judging by the pictures in the office. In " the country " but less than a mile from a major grocery store and other amenities. Highly recommended, We'll be back next year when I visit Orion Telescopes again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Neat and quiet park right at the shore of Pinto Lake with friendly staff and neighbors. We completely enjoyed our stay here. No fixed check-out time. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We selected this park as a result of its proximity to the golf course and stayed here a time or two before to practice for the world championships without incident. If you are looking for an RV park where a requirement is dead silence and to stay in your closed RV, this is your place. Otherwise I'd go somewhere else. One female host was very accommodating but the older, short haired white female host rules with an iron fist and ruined our stay. While practicing putting in front of the RV at approximately 8 pm, she came up to us and asked for us to stop. I asked if the quiet time was 8 pm and she said "No, but for this it is" and made a new rule. She seemed proud of the fact that she made the 70 year old gentleman near us stop putting as well. The next day at 9 pm we were asked to shut our RV door because she could hear our voices on the dock. We were not loud and having normal conversation. At the end of the stay, she tried to get extra $ out of us by accusing us of having extra people and vehicles, which we did not. All this plus the lack of showers will have me going elsewhere and reporting this host to the city of Watsonville. She even had the nerve to give me a flyer to recommend the park to other users after grilling me about the additional fees! We camped here in a Motorhome.
No swimming in lake. Do not eat fish caught in lake. Dogs may not be left unattended at any time, either inside RV or on leash outside RV. Extremely quiet, well-maintained park. We plan to return here soon for a quiet night or two away from home. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a very clean and quiet campground. The spaces are a little narrow, but very long for extra vehicles. The weather here is almost always very mild and pleasant. The manager is a nice lady who takes the time to greet her guests and offer any information she can. We love this campground and will return. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Pinto Lave RV Park was very gorgeous with a friendly and attentive staff! I had an excellent time and went with the hopes of some R&R. Everything was wonderful except I had an unpleasant experience with a guest that seemed to be living at the RV park. He was a bit of an odd-ball and bragged that he ran a radio station from his trailer. He gave me the creeps and I spent most of my time inside my camper to avoid contact (he was always outside talking to visiting couples). I would visit the park again but in hopes that the strange man moved on to another park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great park - comfortable sites, easy hook-up with large Motorhome. Super staff - very friendly and anxious to assure a good stay for each guest. Quiet and very pleasant. Good base to explore Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay. Definitely will stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We picked Pinto Lake as it was the first trip out in our new (to us) MH and close to our home city. I was pleasantly surprised. The Staff were friendly and very helpful. The site was clean and quiet. I will definitely be going back there again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We come here at least three times a year in our 38 foot motorhome with tow. It is the best value in the area. We like the fact that the park is locked up after dark. Hook ups on lawn are rare nationwide, this is a very nice feature. The management is very professional and friendly. The local daytime flavor is refreshing. We will keep coming back as long as we own our motorhome. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Odd park located within a county park. The park itself is inundated with families during the day. It closes at 7 or so, and just the RV'ers are left. Bathrooms are fair but has no showers. There is no swimming in the lake even for dogs, but it is fun to kayak. The have boats on site to rent. The lake goes way back, much more than you can see. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This campground was a nice surprise. It is very quiet, small, and has very friendly staff. When we were here we were able to occupy two sites because it wasn't busy, so there was lots of room between sites. You are parked on grass and sites are pretty level. The lake is right by the campground and it has nice picnic area, paddle boats and lots of birds to watch. You can even try your hand at fishing. If we hadn't had commitments further south we would have like to stay here longer. Signage to the park could be better - our GPS wasn't accurate. Park staff are doing what they can to make improvements. Wi-Fi is not the fastest, but it worked. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Nice, clean city park. Security gate closed at night (you get a key). Host very pleasant, very helpful. Nice setting, close to public lake. Convenient to Santa Cruz, Monterey. Only complaints we had concerned our two dogs (golden retrievers): (1) park had a strict rule about not leaving dogs in RV if you left the park, so we had to take them grocery shopping and everywhere else, and (2) park had a metal trap set in what looked like a gopher hole in the park grounds; we were fortunate that neither of our dogs stuck his nose or paw in the trap. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We were pleasantly surprised by this little park near Santa Cruz. We camped during October, so it wasn't super busy. The sites have grass, which was a nice change from gravel at so many other parks. It's not a "resort", and is pretty low "frills" but we didn't need that. We needed safe, quiet, and relaxing. It's just a 15-20 minute drive to downtown Santa Cruz. We were able to park at a site that had a direct view of the playground, which was great because our 6 year old could run and play with the kids while we watched from the RV. The management is so friendly and very involved in the park. It's quiet even though it's right off a main road. The gate is locked at night (you get a key), which cuts down on drive throughs in the night. My favorite thing about this park is the water. The lake is beautiful and you have the option to rent boats or fish. The sunsets and sunrise were gorgeous! The price is so much more affordable than other area parks. We will definitely be staying here again and will spread the word to our friends! We camped here in a Motorhome.
We like coming here because it's quiet, close to home and inexpensive. The park must have rules, if it doesn't it will get run over and won't be worth going to. We will keep going back, we really like this place. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
I will start by saying I would stay here again as not to confuse my comments in any way suggesting I don’t like this park, but I want to be clear on what to expect from this place. It's a good family park and its location makes it an ideal basecamp for visiting Monterey and Santa Cruz and avoiding crowded, over priced RV parks. You will hear sirens during the day from the nearby hospital as well as small aircraft from the nearby airport. There are lots of ducks and geese in the camping area. There is a playground that is frequented by the locals; they must walk through the camping area to get to it. A rooster from a neighboring home will wake you up bright and early. The gate referenced on the website is not a gate, it’s a chain with a padlock on it. There is one at the entry to the park that gets locked off when the park closes, there is another to the camping area that is always locked (so your getting out of your vehicle to unlock it and lock it back up, if your parking in the camping area). We camped here in a Motorhome.
Pinto Lake Park is a quiet, reasonably priced place to park. Management were very accommodating, though sticklers for rules which included quietude at night and enforcement of space boundaries. The Lake (reservoir)is gorgeous with inexpensive peddle boat rentals. Many waterfowl made use of the water and surrounding shoreline. The setting is rural with orchards and farms nearby. For myself, who chooses bus rather than scoot around in my motorhome, an excellent Santa Cruz Metro service bus stop adjoins the park. I'll stay again next year. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We are Full timers. Have never been to a park with such strict rules. Managers very flakey. If you are a smoker do not come here. You cannot smoke outside of your rig. You cannot drink any alcohol outside your coach. Manager inspects each site for violations. So far we have seen him call the cops on someone once in two days. They admonished our neighbor because his awning was to close to his neighbor. We have never seen anything like this. It is certain we will never return here but will be sending a letter to the City of Watsonville. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Insane. That pretty much sums up our experience at this RV Park that is run by a couple that have clearly chosen the wrong profession. Why do we all camp, be it tent or RV? To relax, visit with friends/family, meet interesting folks from across the country, and to simply unwind. This park will appeal to you if you enjoy being read your rights at the front office while being video taped so the owners can prove that you received the warnings. Air Space must not be violated. No adult beverages: sorry Nana, you can not have your evening glass of wine by the campfire. Wait, did I say campfire? Nope, none of those. First red flag was a nearly empty park on a Friday afternoon. Upon speaking to our neighbors (the only other 2 campers) we learned that the managers will knock on your door and tell you you have to move your motor home, keep quiet, etc., because the neighbors are complaining. Don't ask who's complaining because of course they can't divulge that information. Then go to the next camper and repeat. Knock and repeat was their game. This had everyone looking over their shoulder thinking the camper across the way was complaining about them. It was only after we all got together that we realized it was all false. There are also rules on how to arrange your lawn furniture. Don't worry, there's a diagram they'll give you at check-in in case you forget. If you challenge them with logic, you're in deep doo doo. They have the local police on speed dial and call frequently. Do not stay here. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We had a grass back in site near the playground. Cable TV pictures were blurry and we were forced to rely on antenna. There is a washroom in the day use section, but no showers in the park at all. Everyone has to pay a $5 key deposit even if you aren't leaving the park. In the morning I was left looking for the assistant manager to get a refund. The lake itself is a water supply reservoir, so no swimming. We spotted white pelicans near the shoreline. If you intend to use the park keep a close watch out for the park sign. From either direction there is only a small sign. We camped here in a Motorhome.
I'm rating this a five because the sites are way to close now. The first time we visited, there was only a couple other rigs, but now it's very busy and your crammed into each space. We didn't have room to extend our awning. It's a very pleasent, green park and the lake is close to the sites. Since it's owned by the city, they close the gates at night pretty early. They issue a key for the gate for a refundable fee of $5.00. The manager is very friendly. We camped here in a Motorhome.
KOA's have a habit of saying a popular city in their name (in this case "Santa Cruz Monterey Bay") but actually being in another city (in this case "Watsonville") which seems a bit deceptive if you are not aware they tend to do this. That being said this time I guess it was OK because Watsonville is midway between the 2 cities in its name. The road in has some trees that need to be trimmed back if you are in a large motorhome as we were (40') but the park seem very family friendly. My ATT cellphone did NOT work well here but their Wi-Fi was OK. We stayed here 4 nights and might stay again, but would probably look for a place nearer to Monterey Bay next time. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We arrived on 10/27 around 4 p.m. unaware the park was having a HUGE Halloween celebration through-out the entire park. When we checked in, the office was without electricity. The office staff guessed at which site we would fit in and sent us on our way. We’ve stayed at many KOA campgrounds and traditionally, a KOA person will escort us to our site. We have a 41’ 5th wheel pulled by a Dodge Ram 3500, so we are by all means a “big-rig.” There were three KOA carts with KOA people at the bottom of the hill when we arrived and when we were pulling into the park. At no time did any KOA staff feel it necessary to alert us that the entire park was full with tons of excited children running around trick-or-treating, loose dogs, people, cars, Halloween decorations thick in every site as I have ever seen. We drove up the hill in our big rig to the chaos to a back-in spot that was far too small. It took us nearly 30 minutes to back into our spot all the while trying to dodge small rampant children, adults and again, loose dogs. While focusing on dodging the Halloween chaos and backing into our too small site, we missed the fact that there was a pine tree with one low branch; that ended up putting six tears down our brand new 5th wheel roof. We needed to be in this area for work or we would have pulled out the next morning at sunrise. Heck, hindsight is 20/20, if we would have not been in such shock from all the chaos, we would have pulled our unit right back out the gate and not stayed at all! We went down and talked to the office the next morning and they told us we should have read on the website events to find out about the Halloween events; forget the fact we received 3 emails from this office, encountered 5 KOA employees at check-in. Yes, 1,800 miles from home, of course, we should have checked the website events section! Other problems we had while at this spot were: 1) loose dogs! We were here from 10/27-11/4 and encountered loose dogs every day. We have 2 small dogs and put up panels to keep wandering loose dogs from getting very close to us or our dogs, and it’s a good thing with the loose Australian Shepherd, Rottweiler, French Bulldogs and one Jack Russell Terrier visiting our site without the owners even paying attention. We even saw a Rottweiler tied up to a tree during all the chaos. It was very large and not under control in the slightest, in fact, the owners were enjoying the Halloween festivities and not even at their campsite! I’m not opposed to dogs of any breed, but they should not be loose in a campground, period! 2) AT&T cellular signal in this park was nearly non-existent. 3) FLIES! I don’t know if it was because of all the outside cooking, food, candy during the Halloween festivities or what, but flies were abundant! It rained one day, which I would figure would help wash whatever it was attracting the flies away, but it didn’t. This park does have 6 or 7 pull through premium sites that are the only actual sites for big-rigs. We just arrived at exactly the wrong time without any warning and now get to replace the roof on our 2012 5th wheel, which is why I would not recommend this park to anyone ever. Outside of crazy busy weekends, this isn’t a bad park if either the KOA would enforce their loose dog rules or you go in understanding to watch for loose dogs. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Absolutely the best KOA of all. We normally avoid KOAs, but we had friends to see here so we did. What a wonderful surprise. All campgrounds should be this nice. Friendly helpful staff. Great electric, water and cable connections. We would go back here again in a heartbeat. Lots of activities for children to do. Great store and just overall a great place. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Really well run park, staff was super nice and helpful. Hope you have kids because it's busy, busy. Overnight price was a little high. Overall nice location if you have a tow car. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
June 2012
$76
This was our first time at this KOA - we were pleasantly surprised - it is very well maintained,every kind of camping available, LOTS of planned activities, super family friendly. The only negative I can say is it is very pricey & then didn't even get a "printed" brochure of the area - it was a poor photo copy! We camped here in a Motorhome.
We spent 4 days in their Premium pull through sites. Sites were level and included full hook ups and cable TV. The park offers free Wi-Fi. We had plenty of room for our 36' rig with 2 slides and truck. Overall we were very impressed. Tons of activities for the kids. Neat beach theme through out the park. Its a easy drive to Santa Cruz. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Seriously pricey without kids who use their considerable facilies. Good layout with level spaces. Well managed and friendly staff. Fenced/grassy dog run area, but quite small and not for exercise. Many kids and attendant noise. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Downgraded review after our attempts to resolve a poor experience with one of the managers there didn't come to fruition. We met some great neighbors from out of the country. We were embarrassed when a KOA employee (later turned out to be one of the managers) interrupted our conversation to complain about our kids using kids' chalk to draw a simple hopscotch design on the pad where the RV sits on top of. He said he didn't want other prospective RVers to think it was a "trashy" campground. We were all stunned. The kids chalk washes off in seconds and certainly wouldn't have bothered anyone who came here for the reportedly "kid friendly" nature of the park. Not to mention no one would see it because an RV would be covering it. With some of the speeding cars and unleashed dogs running around the campground unchallenged, we felt this was not keeping focus on what's important. When we contacted the manager, we found out this employee who confronted us was her husband. She was very defensive and said his recollection of events was totally different. I won't go into all the details, but the 5 independent customers to this event apparently ms-perceived the manager's intrusion. A simple apology to us for making a mistake would have sufficed. As a result, we have no plans to return to this park. When being charged $108 a night for an RV pad, we expect a little better customer service.
We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very nice campground! It was so luxurious, I would not call it camping. Nice friendly staff. Guy at the front desk was the most helpful and friendly man. I would definitely recommend RV'ing at KOA. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Visited twice. Once in the lodge and another with 27' motorhome. Easy camping! Good roads. Easy back ins. Great facilities for kids and pets. Lots of walking around space. Never felt need to leave. Even at these prices gets full on holiday weekends. Will visit often until we find as nice a place for less $. Easy to find less $, but won't be as nice or as painless. Can relax and not worry about camping. Will visit often. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We don't usually chose KOA's after some sketchy experiences in the past but this is BY FAR the nicest KOA we've stayed in. Awesome facilities for families with kids! Get one of the inner sites with concrete pad and gravel surrounding or one of the most expensive sites with patio, fire pit, and chairs. When in the area again we will return. Again, awesome facilities and activities for kids! We camped here in a Motorhome.
Expensive but a very pleasant campground. Staff was friendly, helpful and everything was very clean and orderly. One of the best run campgrounds I've seen. Pretty much everything you will need can be found on site. We will definitely visit again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
First of all, this place is expensive. I was floored when I was told the price for a nights stay. Oh well, I was told by friends that this is the best place in the area for a motorhome. We have a big-rig class A and tow a car so we needed a pull-through. We arrived in December: this is very off season for this area. I called a day before asking if I could check in at around 11AM as that was when we were arriving. Upon arrival, I asked the guy at the desk if our space was available. He said it was an extra $20! I told him I called ahead and was told if the space was there it was OK. He called someone and acted as if he was doing me a big favor by waiving the fee. So, we drive to the site and guess what? There was no one else here. The area we were put in, had me and no other pull-through sites and one fifth wheel in another area. The place only had a few other guests, so what was the big deal on checking in early? I don't like feeling like I am being gouged. Oh well, the place was one of the nicest I have been to. Even though we didn't use them, I checked out the bathrooms and showers. Really, really clean! There are beautiful grounds and it is very dog friendly. All in all, a very nice place. I would imagine in the summer it would be packed and not as enjoyable for a loner like me. We would stay here again for sure. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Our campsite was large, well-shaded and had a concrete patio (not all sites have a patio) with a fire ring. Great kids and pets RV park! Kids congregate in the playground and quickly make friends. Plenty of space to walk the dogs and there are two enclosed dog runs. Bonus is a dog washing facility. Along with the playground, there is a play area with a jumping pillow (about 20 by 40 feet), mechanical bull or surfboard and climbing walls (all free). Proximity to nearby state beaches makes for more activity. This is a definite "return to" park. Staff was friendly and always available to help. Put your trash by the "curb" and it magically disappears at the hands of the ever-present staff. They even deliver pizza to your site. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This was our second night and first experience of a KOA camp. Check in on the gate was efficient but I was disappointed to have to pay an additional camp tax of a couple of dollars to use the facilities, $88 for the night should have covered everything! This is a big camp ideal for kids, ours loved it, but this would be a big minus if you wanted peace and quiet. We were opposite the playground. The sites were big and we had logs delivered to our door for the BBQ. Campers seemed only to be families with children or church groups, there was a lot of praising going on outdoors!! The shower facilities were small and communal. They weren't clean simply because there were so many people using such a small number of cubicles. The shop was well stocked and big, and generally everybody was helpful. I have given it a 7 as it was too big and noisy, and I preferred other sites. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This place has all the makings of a great campground, but the staff is inadequate. The jumping pillow is great, but amounts to a babysitter for most lazy parents. So, you end up with 30 kids on it and 4 parents supervising, and no one from the KOA office around to enforce any of the rules! The poor kid who ran the mechanical bull, also had to run the train all week because the park was so poorly staffed. Not to mention the woman in the front office who had zero people skills when you check-in. Replaced with the staff members from any other KOA we've been to, and this would be a great campground. Otherwise, it amounts to an overpriced, understaffed parking lot for RV's. We were given the wrong spot, then got stuck waiting beside the wrong spot to call the front office to correct it, and were put on hold for 15 minutes, before we finally gave up and took the wrong spot. By the way, don't let their website fool you: there is no pizza during the week, few movies, and most activities only occur on the weekends. And don't trust your little ones in this park because there is nobody around from KOA to enforce the speed limit. For 83 bucks a night, stay 2 nights at another KOA where the staff takes pride in the facility. Sorry, but that's the truth. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The good - VERY KID FRIENDLY/ORIENTED. There is tons of stuff for the kids to do. The teenage workers and maintenance crews were very nice. It is a good location central to beaches and area attractions. The bad - VERY KID FRIENDLY! Although our kids had a great time, if you like peace and quiet, give this place a miss. There are kids everywhere! We didn't mind a bit, but if you are retired and just wanted some quiet time, this is not the place for you. Also, it is VERY PRICEY. Our space was tight. There was no room for our truck. We had to park it in an adjacent site or in front of the office. There is no cable TV, you would expect it for $90/night! Front office staff is rude and very unfriendly. Overall, our kids had a great time on the playground, bouncing pillow, etc. but I doubt we will go back. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The positives: lots for kids to do such as a train ride, jump pillow, mechanical bull, movies on a giant inflatable screen and it is close to the beach. General: most sites are back-in other than about 10 premium sites, but they helped me back in. Most of the staff was friendly. The negatives: when we made the reservation, we had done a conference call so that we could make sure to reserve two sites right next to each other for another family we were camping with. When we arrived, we were not together. The guy behind the counter said that there was a $10 fee for reserving specific sites, this was not mentioned on the phone. I understand that people make mistakes, but the young man working the desk could not have been more condescending and rude about it. After ten minutes of explaining the situation to him and getting his eye rolls, we asked to speak to the manager who took care of it placed us in adjoining sites - which the guy behind the desk said was impossible. The other bad thing was that the pool was closed for chemical cleaning one afternoon. The other negative was that they do not enforce the quiet hours. We were right next to the playground and there were teenagers playing on the playground and being loud until close to midnight, which kept our friends in the tent awake. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Beautiful campground with plenty of room for our tent trailer. Clean restrooms. It was one of the best campgrounds we have stayed in. We had a wonderful time. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
This site is truly kid friendly with enough activities to keep the kids busy, however, we thought the beach access was to far to walk safely with kids, and shower area lacks privacy since it is co-ed and small. This location had some staff with attitude issues but we were overall happy with the site. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Wonderful campground for families with kids. While we stayed all but the banana bikes, miniature golf, and climbing wall were free. Our kids loved the jumping pillow and mechanical surfboard. 5 minutes to Manresa beach, with great waves. 10 minutes to Capitola Village, and 20 to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Youth workers were great with the kids. Only downside was that some of the female adult staff were rude. Have already booked our next stay. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great Service. They delivered firewood and propane right to our campsite, sometimes before I could get back from ordering it. Grass with concrete patios and trees at most sites. There are plenty of kid things to do. Lots of cabins and rental RV’s available. We where here on Memorial Weekend and it was full. Good restaurants near by. If you like camping with all the amenities this is the place. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
I would love to give this park a higher rating. Based on what I paid per night and the garbage around the park, it won't happen. I keep telling myself not to pay these ridiculous rates that KOA's charge and this one might be the one that convinces me to do that. The work campers and employees are very friendly and helpful but I watched them all ride by bags of garbage left on sites the entire time I was here. This park also has quite a few "permanents" with junk all around their rigs. I would not stay here again. (800) 562-7701 We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
The campground has lots of activities for kids and is family oriented. Some of the activities include the following: train rides, jumping pillow, bike rentals, bucking horse and mini golf, but all for an additional price. Pretty steep considering the fact that this is probably one of the most expensive places we have stayed at: $100/night! Also has other activities like group campfire with smores, skits, movie night, bingo. There are also a few beaches close by: Manresa and Sunset beach, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Capitola are 15-20 minutes away if you want to get off site and do a day trip. The site itself was just ok. It was level, with a fire ring and bench, but no vegetation or privacy between sites. I guess I was expecting something spectacular after spending the $100/night. However, the sites on the perimeter are much nicer with views of the trees/redwoods. They also have about 8-10 premium sites that include a Gas BBQ, patio, chairs, wood stove. If not for the price and the poor RV site location that was assigned to us, I would have rated this at least an 8. The kids loved it, I would go back again begrudingly. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We decided to try something new this time around after receiving the email invitation for the KOA stay one night get the other night free promotion. After looking through the KOA web site we found this location and noted the kid friendly environment portrayed on their web site. Having two kids (5 and 2) we thought this would be a perfect way to start the camping season this year. This campground is definitely kid friendly however it's not adult friendly.. at least not when it comes to the wallet. We were very disappointed to find that all the kid activities featured at this campground were an additional charge on top of the expensive nightly rate. (Thank goodness we got one night free). Each kid friendly activity had it's own individual charge or you could purchase an "all day" pass that would get you on all the activities as many times as you wanted during the day. The all day pass though was an additional $20 per kid. There are also age restrictions for the mechanical "bull" and jumping pillow so purchase of an all day pass was useless for us. The jumping pillow also wasn't regulated at the time we were there so at times there were dozens of kids jumping on it which would have proved hazardous to the littler kids. The kids did love the "train" though that roamed through the campground and rode it a couple of times ($1/person) and I even enjoyed it. The pool was also warm and clean and included a hot tub. The campground was also clean and well maintained. Staff was very friendly as well and quickly assisted when I had a small problem with the fire pit that's not worth mentioning. The mini golf .. well if you could call it that. I could have fit the course in my back yard. It was very very small and almost not worth playing. Before I forget though .. the playground is HUGE and is bigger than some community playgrounds I've been to. The kids loved it and so did we since it was free :) One of the best playgrounds we've ever seen in an RV park or even in our local housing community. I gave this campground an 7 because as an RV park it was very nice. However I think that the very high price per night should include at least the chance for the kids to try one or two of the activities once for free. The web site should also post the age restrictions on the activities. Probably will not come back here as I can get more value for my money elsewhere. It's cheaper in some cases to take the kids to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and ride the rides there instead. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is definitely a campground geared toward kids and families. If you are looking for peace and quiet and/or privacy, this is not the place to go. If you are looking for a place that has ongoing activities and festivities and you don't mind the noise level, this is the place. The sites have little to no privacy and there is not much in the way of trees, etc. They have two nice fenced dog runs and things for the kids like banana bikes and a jump pad. The individual rates to use stuff is pretty steep, but they do offer a wristband and if you have active kids, will probably get your money's worth out of the wristband. Not close to town so make sure you bring everything you need. They do a have a store onsite and during the busy season, enough staff that you are almost tripping over them. Close to Santa Cruz and not too far from Monterey, both of which make nice day trips. Also close to the ocean/beach within just a few minutes drive. Free WiFi was nice although cell service was kind of sketchy. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Many others have made the same point--but I will make it too: $80!!! No way that is appropriate. Having said that, we stayed there for 3 nights, enjoyed it completely and our 4 year old had a great time. That is what the campground is all about--lots of things for kids to do. We were there Monday to Thursday so all the activities were "free". On weekends they charge $10 per head to ride the train, bounce on the jumping pillow and ride the bull. That is appalling on top of the per day charge. A few things are included in the regular per day campsite fee--including a very large, like-new play structure and the swimming pool (we didn't use the latter but it was large and looked very nice). The investments made by the owners seem to have been primarily in the fun stuff--the campground itself and the hookups, sites etc are tired and are not at all consistent with the fee they charge--and they need to bring in cable TV. There is virtually nothing available over the air (2 stations plus 2 very fuzzy). Wifi is "free" and worked very well. We stayed in a large pull-through and there was plenty of room for dinghy, the slideouts, awnings etc. The campground is not very close to anything (no restaurants or services nearby) but is well-located between Santa Cruz and its boardwalk/amusement park and Monterey and the fabulous aquarium. Getting to the campground from 101 is via some very narrow roads with overhanging trees or a longer way bouncing across the strawberry fields--scenic but you wonder where the campground is. It is tough to make an overall rating--OK location and access, tons for kids to do, antiquated hookups and ridiculous price--but it was fun, is one of the few games in town and we will probably stay there again. Other campers will need to consider what is important to them and make their choice about staying here. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Is there and echo..(echo) (echo)? The price is steep. Plus add in the kiddie activies (~$10) and a hotel stay seems somewhat reasonable. Sites are adequate. Nothing special, just adequate. However, my kids informed me that this was the best camp ev-er. They always had something to do and enjoyed all of the activites that the camp had to offer. From the bikes to the mechanical bull. The beach is a mile or so from the camp. The camp is within a dozen miles or so from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and about 1.5 hours from San Francisco. All of the amenities were in good working order. The camp's complextion changes vastly during the week. During the week, it seemed like every other campground. On the weekend, it's Kid Central. For those of you who have an aversion to large amounts of chilluns, beware. For those of us who have active kids, c'mon down. Yeah, the price is steep. But if we come back to this area, I'm going to have to do a lot of explaining to my kids why we didn't stay here! We camped here in a Motorhome.
Older park in remote area outside of Watsonville, CA. Lots of low trees on roadway leading from Hwy 1 to site - watch with big rigs. Park is way over-priced for what you get - must be sought after because of lack of RV parks in this area. No cable TV, sites very rustic to kind of run down. $81 per night!!!! You can stay in luxury, five star motorcoach resorts in Vegas and Indio for this kind of money! We camped here in a Motorhome.
Large sites, fantastic playground, jumping pillow was a hit with the kids, banana bikes were getting old, but kids still had fun, pool was pristine clean, store was well stocked and great. KOA employees were wonderful and friendly, and they even let us stay a bit past our checkout time so the kids could swim longer. No cable, but we still got a ton of channels with our own antenna. Several families were camping together and the adults were very loud until about midnight, and that was not pleasant, but they ignored the quiet time rules. We were right next to the playground, so I was concerned the kids would be noisy, but it wasn't the kids - it was their PARENTS who were noisy! Go figure. This is a GREAT place, and we will definitely go back. They're remodeling the main bathroom/shower building, so that will probably be nice once it's done. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Santa Cruz KOA is a beautiful park with large sites and plenty of shade trees. Several wonderful beaches are less than a mile from the park. The camp host were extremely friendly and helpful and there is a nicely stocked store. Santa Cruz is a short 20 minute drive and the Monterey Pennisula is about 30 minutes. Make sure to check out the charming villages of Aptos and Capitola. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
November 2006
$65
My family has enjoyed camping here for several years. We have 5 children ranging from ages of 3 to 15 and they just love camping here. The pool is always clean, we usually go to the beach and then rinse all the sand off in the heated pool before heading to the trailer for the night. The staff is always very helpful and very courteous. The prices can be a little hefty but the location is perfect and the staff makes it worth the stay. I recommend getting a premium site when making reservations. I also recommend getting there on a Wednesday or Thursday so you can get a better site before all the weekender's show up. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Nice park with nice cabins for people that don't have trailers. Banana bike rental was fun. Miniature golf is not up to par, but small kids would like it. Pool was clean and store was nice. Site was nice, but the fire pit was full of garbage when we arrived. Arcade area for kids. Park staff was nice. Close to the beach, but you have to drive to it, too far to walk. Will stay here again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Had a great time at this KOA during Thanksgiving 2005. The owners cooked up the Turkey and mashed potatoes for the entire park. Very friendly service, and helpful. Even though this RV site was very pricey ($60/night), I think it was worth it. Would go again given the chance!! Lots to do for the kids. Clean restrooms and showers. The owners helped out all Rv'ers that came in late by taking them to the site and helping to set up. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is an older campground kept up very nicely. Most sites are straight back-in which
can be tricky for the bigger rigs. Many sites have woods or grassy hill behind. One mile to ocean. Best location to explore Monterey Bay. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 3 / 10 ]
2000
$36
The park is well maintained. The restrooms are clean and the sites are spacious enough. There is a nice swiming pool and bike rentals. There are many things to do for children. However they do not supervise the park in the evening. My family and I spent the weekend. Friday and Saturday night had people out in the street dancing and playing loud music till 3:00 AM. I thought it was a fluke and came back next year and found the same result. Go during the week if you like to get sleep. We camped here in a camper.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2000
$36
Pool is heated year round. Beautiful landscaping. Video game arcade. Breakfast available certain weekends. Walking distance to beach (approximately 1-2 miles). Playground. We've been there at least half a dozen times. It's a great "sure thing" campground - we know there won't be any unpleasant "surprises." We camped here in a camper.
We stayed in site #25, which the camp host called "The Crown Jewel" of the park It was big, clean, and a short trail to an ocean overlook, with a drop dead view. The beach was quite a hike downhill. There are no amenities, other than the concrete pad and a fire pit. We were surprised at this, and landed there without water, because the CA Parks website said "developed". Now we know this does not mean hookups. Sunsets are amazing here, as the name would imply. The drive in is awesome, through farmlands and beautiful valleys. It is off the beaten path. Generators are against the rules after 8pm, as a ranger was quick to enforce. Nice place! We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a great state park quite and clean great views and just overall relaxing. Stayed in site 18 big and wide and long enough for our RV. Strawberry fields forever right beside our site. Cool and foggy in the morning. Clear and cool during the day. Would stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Secluded, quiet, beautiful campground. Can't see the ocean except for two sites, but just a 2 minute walk to an amazing view and sunsets. Ranger is very relaxed. No hookups, or dump. Both Sunset and Manresa Beach are nearby and beautiful. Aptos, Santa Cruz, Seascape and Monterey all within a 30-45 minute drive. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Good level site with a very large firepit. The walk to the beach is farther than we would like but the beach was incredible! Washrooms were very dirty with a sign apologizing for government cutbacks. We camped here in a Motorhome.
You can definitely see the affect of CA budget cuts here, but this is still a wonderful park. Bathrooms marginally clean, overall setting is unbeatable and sites are huge. Even though the CA State Park map says there are hook-ups, there are none. Come prepared to dry camp and plan to dump out elsewhere. Extra cars are add'l $10/nt. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We stayed at Sunset Beach for 1 night to break-in our travel trailer. The park is set right near the ocean with a 10min walk to the beach (quite a few hills and steps to get there). There are no full hookups or dumping stations available. The sites are good in size and some a pull-through (we stayed in back-in site 19). There are no onsite stores so, make sure you bring what you need as it is a 15 min drive to one. The wind did pick-up at night, and the temps dropped to 50's so plan to dress warm or have a heater. Phil's Fish Market (25 mins away) has great Cioppino for the cold nights. The bathrooms were well maintained and the quarter operated showers were warm. You cannot beat the location for the price. We will stay again when the weather warms-up We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Great little county park right outside of Santa Cruz. Not much space for big rigs, but we did get our 34' fifth wheel in. The beach is down the hill quite a bit and they provide stairs that are built into the hill side. The camp host did sell fire wood. We will be back. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Although this state park is set in a beautiful location on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean it was in need of a lot of attention at the time of our stay. You will not be able to get a big rig into this park. At 32' we were one of the biggest motorhomes there. There were a lot of transients staying in the park in dilapidated trailers and homemade campers. The park host was a young man who looked to be barely out of his teens and did not inspire any confidence in his ability to handle anything more complicated than selling firewood. The wooden picnic tables and food lockers were rotten and falling apart. The whole place seemed to be going down hill fast (perhaps due to a lack of funding) and the fee of $25 for no hook-ups was ridiculous! It's too bad because we usually enjoy are stays at state parks, but we won't be back to this one. We camped here in a Motorhome.