camping near San Francisco CA

[h2ojocky]

Where is the best place to camp near SF? I want to stay close but don't know about maneuvering in the cit . Thanks for your advice.

[timandsusan]

In 2010 we did a West Coast trip from the south heading to Washington State. For SF, we choose Petaluma KOA. It worked for us --we took a tour directly from the KOA to SF for a guided tour of the sights. Yes, I would have liked to stay in the Botanical Gardens longer but they drove! The next day, we returned to the Ferry Terminal on the north end of the bay, took the ferry to the landing near the Alcatraz tours, took the Alcatraz tour--it was great. Returned the same route. Petaluma is easy to get around in, enjoyed the Farmer's Market and had a nice time. On our last day, we drove up north to take a winery tour--really easy and enjoyable. From Petaluma we continued North to the redwoods.

[washley1]

In 2012 we spent a couple of weeks in the area, visiting our son who lives there. We stayed one week a ways south of San Jose, but it was too far out. Week two we were also at he Petaluma KOA. That week was great! It is by far the best CG we saw in the entire area, and we visited a few before and after for comparison.

[brenkco]

Russ and Linda,

We have stayed at them all. Petaluma Koa is nice but maybe too far away (pre-wedding/wedding plans?). Without traffic you're 45 minutes or so depending on where your going

There are 3 other options that I might suggest:

SF Rv park, Pacifica, tight expensive but best overall. 10-15 minutes to SF. Easy traffic
Candlestick Rv park. Tight, expensive, poor neighborhood, not bad if you enter from the south
Pleasanton fairgrounds. Good choice if city access on BART works for you.

Towing in the city is not an issue if you know where to travel. Pm me with any questions or perhaps we can talk.

Ken

[JandC]

We stayed at Novato RV Park, Novato CA. It was only a 15 minutes drive from Ferry terminal. The Ferry terminal to go over to San Francisco had free parking and the ferry ride was pretty cheap if I recall correctly.

It was gravel, plenty of room for a 39' fiver, and the owner/operator that checked us in was very friendly and helpful. She told us to come back to the office after we were set up in our site and she would have a packet ready for us. We went back over and she had prepared a packet of information for all the sites we wanted to see, including information on how to use the several different types of public transportation in San Francisco.

We stayed a week. Even though it wasn't the cheapest CG we have ever used, it was a perfect location and a very nice facility. You would not want to drive a 1-ton truck into that city.

[mtheo]

Livermore fairgrounds has camping, not fancy but OK. Short drive to Bart station, which is a nice way to get into city without driving.

[washley1]

quote:Originally posted by brenkco

Russ and Linda,

We have stayed at them all. Petaluma Koa is nice but maybe too far away (pre-wedding/wedding plans?). Without traffic you're 45 minutes or so depending on where your going

There are 3 other options that I might suggest:

SF Rv park, Pacifica, tight expensive but best overall. 10-15 minutes to SF. Easy traffic
Candlestick Rv park. Tight, expensive, poor neighborhood, not bad if you enter from the south
Pleasanton fairgrounds. Good choice if city access on BART works for you.

Towing in the city is not an issue if you know where to travel. Pm me with any questions or perhaps we can talk.

Ken

SF RV Park in Pacifica is a great location, except that the "park" is a parking lot. One big crowded concrete pad, with great ocean views. Candlestick is a dangerous neighborhood according to my law enforcement son who lives in the Bay Area.

[Wheelhouse]

Half Moon Bay has a couple of good campgrounds and state parks with camping. Its about 30-45 drive to San Francisco. Its also 30-45 minute drive to Santa Cruz and 1-1/2 hour to Monterey.

[Zak]

X 2 for Petaluma koa...nice, clean, rides to city every day...easy.