6 Places for Camping Fun with Kids and Dogs in the Bay Area
Memorial Day marks the unofficial summer vacation season and now is the time to look for a pet friendly campground around the Bay Area. Here are six great campgrounds that are both kid and dog friendly. Prices and policies change so make sure to get the scoop on pet policies from the campground hosts directly. If you have any other dog friendly campgrounds please leave a comment.
Excerpted from "The Dog Lover's Companion to California", reprinted with permission of Maria Goodavage.
1. Lake Sonoma Recreation Area
- Land Managing Agency: US Army Corps of Engineers
- Directions: From Healdsburg, 10 miles northwest on Dry Creek Road.
- Address: 3333 Skaggs Springs Rd, Geyserville, CA
- Contact: (707) 433-2200
- Cost: $30 including/night
- Dog Regulations: Dogs on leash
This is the only recreation site in the nine counties of the Bay Area run by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and that's too bad. The Corps has a liberal attitude towards dogs, and this park is beautifully developed and managed, not to mention clean. You must keep your dog on a six-foot leash, and he's not allowed on the swimming beach at the north end, but rangers told us there's no rule against dogs swimming anywhere else.
2. Stillwater Cover Regional Park
- Land Managing Agency: Sonoma County Regional Parks
- Dog Regulations: Dogs on leash, $2/per dog per night
- Cost: $35 camping, any extra vehicle $7/night
- Contact: (707) 847-3245
- Directions: 22455 Highway 1, approximately 16 miles north of the town of Jenner, CA.
This is a tiny but delightful beach at the foot of spectacular pine-covered cliffs. Park in the small lot beside Highway 1, leash your dog, and walk down. There is a larger picnic area about the highway, where there is a usage fee. From here, you have to cross the highway to get to the cove.
- Land Managing Agency: California Department of Parks & Recreation
- Dog Regulations: Dogs on leash on campground, allowed on Cross Marin Trail
- Directions: From Healdsburg, 10 miles northwest on Dry Creek Road.
- Contact: (415) 488-4844
- Cost: $35
An exception among the state parks: Dog access isn't too bad. You can take a dog in the picnic area, and that's worth doing here. The main picnic area right off Sir Francis Drake Blvd. is cool and often lively with the grinding call of jays. It's an easy place to bring out-of-state visitors who may just want to eat a sandwich, hug a redwood, and go home.
- Land Managing Agency: Santa Clara County Parks
- Dog Regulations: Up to 2 Dogs on leash on campground, allowed on Cross Marin Trail
- Directions: US 101, exit Hwy 152 west to Gilroy, entrance is on right on Pole Line Road.
- Contact: (408) 355-2201
- Cost: $30
This magnificent 3,700-acre park is midway between Gilroy and Watsonville (in Santa Cruz County). No matter where you're coming from, it's worth the drive. The mountain, covered with mixed conifers, oak, madrone, and bay and sword ferns, is wonderfully quiet and cool - especially appreciated by San Jose dwellers, who's parks are almost never far from the roar of freeways. You may hear the screech of jays and little else.
5. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
- Land Managing Agency: California Department of Parks & Recreation
- Dog Regulations: Dogs on leash
- Directions: near Felton on Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
- Contact: (831) 335-4598
- Cost: $35
Dogs are actually allowed on three trails here! This is a huge deal because state parks are not exactly known for their dog-friendliness. The main section of the park is 1,750 acres, and is filled with things dogs love best: trees. Big trees. Redwoods. Dogs are permitted on Graham Hill Trail, Meadow Trail, and Pipeline Road.
- Land Managing Agency: California Department of Parks & Recreation
- Dog Regulations: Dogs on leash
- Directions: Take the New Brighton/Park Avenue exit off Highway One.
- Contact: 1-800-444-7275
- Cost: $35
Dogs are free to enjoy this wide, arching beach, as long as they leave their leashes on. Dogs are also permitted on the little trails above the beach. If your dog is tiring of all the sand and surf on the beach, take her on the trail that leads up to the big pines and eucalyptus trees. It starts to the left of the main beach entrance. If you walk along the forest/dune area, you'll be able to see Capitola as birds see it. Monterey Bay is also visible from spots here. Dogs like to sit and let their nostrils quiver over scents drifting in from around the world.