If you want to enjoy your camping vacation in your RV, Northern California is a great place to go. In addition to having enjoyable weather and breathtaking scenery almost all year round, it also has a wide variety of campgrounds with several great amenities for campers.
If you’re planning a camping trip in Northern California, you’ll find below a brief guide that walks you through various locations for the best RV camping spots. Here’s a link to our favorite tent camping spots in the area, as well.
» Check out these Northern California Hot Springs.
» Looking for more inspiration along the route? Check out all our guides to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego. Find the best beaches in Monterey, waterfalls in Southern California, and national parks.
How to Choose a Camping Spot
There are dozens of options available for camping in California, including the relative comfort of RV parks, National Park campgrounds, and even open forest land that’s dedicated to walk-in camping.
Consider whether you would want to hike in to a spot or whether you’d like to have your car nearby with some creature comforts. Do you want to tent camp or RV camp?
Do some online research to find a spot that you like. There are websites dedicated to providing photos of campsites and the National Park Service website has photos of many campgrounds as well.
What Gear to Pack
I always recommend pulling out all your camping gear and having a look over everything before you pack it, just to be sure everything’s in order.
The last thing you want is to find the poles for the tent didn’t get packed! A few days before leaving, be sure to pull out all the gear and take an inventory. You can do that that with the help of this handy camping checklist.
- For comfort: Tent, sleeping bag, mattress, pillow, tarp for under the tent
- Practicalities: Lantern, first aid kit, bug spray, camp chairs
- For cooking: Camp stove, pot/pan, cups, utensils, ice cooler
RV Camping In Northern California
1. Manzanita Lake Campground
- Address: Highway 89, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mineral, CA
Website
Manzanita Lake Campground is located 48 miles west of Redding in the Lassen National Park, one of our favorite national parks in California for hiking and enjoying the lake.
The best thing about this campground is that it’s adjacent to Manzanita lake, so you get to swimming, fishing, and kayaking right when you arrive. There’s also easy access to Lassen Peak trails if you’re into hiking. The site also allows campfires and pets.
The campground features 179 campsites along with a range of amenities, such as restrooms, coin-operated showers, a dump station, and food lockers.
Additionally, the camp is near a few shops where you can grab anything you forgot, or rent fishing or kayaking gear to enjoy the lake to the fullest.
The campsite fees for RVs range from $15 after mid-October to $26 during the main camping season.
2. Collins Lake Campground
- Address: 7530 Collins Lake Road, Browns Valley, CA
Website
Another campground with a great lake view is the Collins Lake Campground. This one is a 60-minute drive from Sacramento and it’s totally worth the trip.
The Collins Lake campground is open all year round and offers a wide variety of activities that makes an excellent spot for RV camping vacations.
You can enjoy hiking, kayaking, fishing, swimming, cycling, and more. The campground also has many amenities, including restrooms, a general store, laundry, and cabin rentals.
The campground has over 250 campsites, so it’s usually easy to find a spot there. Camping fees start from $36, but the prices vary significantly depending on the amenities, hook-ups, and features included. Prices change regularly, so make sure that you check them while making reservations.
3. Francis Beach Campground
- Address: 95 Kelly Ave, Half Moon Bay, CA
Website
Francis Beach Campground features 52 campsites and is located a few steps away from the beautiful sandy beaches of Half Moon Bay, with amazing views of the ocean and passing whales.
All campsites are built to accommodate RV, trailers, and campers, but there are also 3 campsites that are built for tents.
The campground is open all year round with admission fees that start from $35 per night for standard sites and up to $65 for premium campsites with electric hook-ups.
There are also spots for hike-and-bikes for $7 a night along with a constant reservation fee of $8.
The campsite has standard amenities, such as food lockers, restrooms, tap water, picnic tables, fire rings, and even WiFi access!
» Check out the Best Things to do in Half Moon Bay.
4. Sue-Meg State Park Campground
- Address: 4150 Patricks Point Dr, Trinidad, CA
Website
This one is formerly known as “Patrick’s Point State Park Campground”. This campground is around 15 minutes away from the town of Trinidad, one of California’s best Northern California beach towns.
This campground is an amazing spot if you want a campsite that gives you access to both the beautiful beaches of Northern California as well as the amazing redwood forests nearby.
The campground features around 124 campsites but it offers an amazing level of privacy, as each site is covered by ferns and trees.
Sue-Meg campground has a variety of standard campground amenities such as picnic tables, fire pits, dump stations, restrooms, coin-based showers, and even tree swings!
5. Ancient Redwoods RV Park
- Address: 28101 Avenue of the Giants, Redcrest, CA
Website
If you want to enjoy a campground that is nestled away into the deep Redwood forest, you should consider this one!
The Ancient Redwoods RV park is a privately owned campground that is located near some of the oldest and largest trees around the globe.
For instance, you can find the fallen Dyerville Tree, which is around 350 feet long as well as the Founders Tree, which is around 346 feet long!
Unlike previous entries on the list, this one is mainly open during the season of April to October, but the park takes reservations as early as February 1st.
This campground is a unique experience but it’s not recommended for beginners and families because of some limitations, such as weak cell signals and restrictive pet policies.
With that being said, each campsite is quite spacious and there are various amenities that make the campsite a great choice, including small stores for picnic supplies, restrooms, showers, and more!
6. Emerald Forest Campground
- Address: 753 Patricks Point Dr, Trinidad, CA
Website
This one is fairly close to the Sue-Meg State Park Campground, so it also doubles as an alternative if the other one is fully booked.
The Emerald Forest Campground is also a great choice if you’re looking for an easy RV camping experience, as it boasts a huge variety of amenities for your peace of mind.
For instance, the campground offers various picnic tables, WiFi access, tap water, showers, video arcades, clean toilets, sanitary dumps, electric/water hookups, a clubhouse, laundry cabins, and small shops to buy and rent picnic essentials.
The campground has around 70 campsites with admission fees that range from $35 to $48 per night.
7. Mt. Lassen / Shingletown KOA Holiday
- Address: 7749 KOA Road, Shingletown, CA
Website
If you like the convenience of KOAs, you should consider the Mt. Lassen/Shingletown KOA. This campground is a perfect base if you’re planning to explore Mt. Lassen, as it’s only 15 minutes away from the North entrance gate.
Like other KOAs, this one offers a huge range of amenities and features. This includes standard amenities like restrooms, water/electric/sewage hook-ups, picnic tables, and BBQ grills as well as unique amenities like heated pools and sports courts for basketball and volleyball.
The campground is super clean and well maintained. Yet, it’s surprisingly affordable, with prices starting from $41 per night and up to $70 per night for its 55 campsites.
8. Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort
- Address: 4980 Highway 9, Felton, CA
Website | Reservations
The Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort is another brilliant RV campground that stretches over 10 acres of deeply forested land!
The campground is very well maintained and is relatively close to civilization, as you’re back in town in around a 10 minute drive!
The campsites grant you easy access to San Lorenzo River as well as Henry Cowell State Park where you can enjoy the scenery of the amazing redwoods of Northern California.
The RV camping spot has over 84 camping sites that are all ready for hook-ups. Additionally, the RV resort also features 11 extra tent camps!
Pets are allowed in the resort, so it’s a great choice for large family trips. You can also find amenities like restrooms, warm showers, fire rings, picnic tables, big rig access, playgrounds, a clubhouse, dump stations, clean drinking water, and much more!
The price of admission may vary, but it averages between $60 to $120 per night, depending on the amenities and location of the site.
9. Castle Crag State Park Campground
- Address: Castle Creek Rd, Castella, CA
Website
If you have a small RV and you want to keep your spending to a minimum while enjoying your trip to the max, you should consider the Castle Crag State Park Campground.
This one has 64 campsites, but they’re all designed for RVs that are equal to or smaller than 30 feet long.
However, admission fees in the campground start from $18 per night and only go up to $40 a night, which is remarkably less than basic campsites in some other options on the list.
Despite the affordable price, the campground still features a variety of amenities, such as access to tap water, restrooms, showers, BBQ grills, fire rings, and more!
10. McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
- Address: 24898 CA-89, Burney, CA
Website
Lastly, we have the McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, which houses an excellent campground with over 102 campsites, 85 of which are designed for RV campers that are 32 feet long or smaller.
In this campground, you’ll find quick access to various hiking trails to enjoy the beautiful scenery and bird watching.
The campground itself has various necessary amenities, including food lockers, restrooms, access to clean water, picnic tables, fire pits, and much more!
Pets are also allowed in the campground, but they’re limited to paved areas only, so you have to keep that in mind!
Wrap Up
There you have it! A brief guide that walks you through 10 of the best RV camping spots in Northern California with information about their amenities and admission fees!
Remember that each campground and RV resort has its own rules and regulations, so make sure that you do your research to pick the one that suits you best!
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Angie is a long-time California fan, having lived in the Monterey area for many years. She loves reading, cooking, and hanging out with her two kids.