Drive-in Campgrounds


California > Redwood National and State Parks

Select a campground to see a detailed review. Only park-owned campgrounds are shown; not listed are the many privately-owned campgrounds, which tend to be more RV-oriented.

★★★★★

Jedediah Smith Campground

Jedediah Smith

Open all year · $35/night + $8

The only place in Redwood National and State Parks where you can actually camp among old-growth redwoods.

★★★★

Mill Creek Campground

Del Norte Coast

May–Sep · $35/night + $8

Bigger sites make this campground feel less crowded, but you have to get in your car and drive to go anywhere.

★★★★

Elk Prairie Campground

Prairie Creek

Open all year · $35/night + $8

A pleasant, woodsy campground conveniently located near some great redwood trails.

★★★

Gold Bluffs Beach Campground

Prairie Creek

Open all year · $35/night + $8

A popular campground next to a huge, deserted beach.

★★★

Sue-meg State Park

Open all year · $35/night + $8

Try this park if the campgrounds in Redwood National and State Parks are full. It’s a 15-minute drive away and it has three nice, large campgrounds.

★★

Florence Keller Regional Park

Open all year · $20/night · no reservations

A cheap place to stay in the redwoods that usually has spots available.

Big Lagoon County Park

Open all year · $25/night · no reservations

A small, densely packed campground about a 15-minute drive south of Redwood National Park.

Ruby van Deventer County Park

Open all year · $20/night · no reservations

A small campground in a thin strip of second-growth redwoods between a road and the Smith River.

Sand Camp River Access

Six Rivers National Forest

Open all year · Free · no reservations

This isn’t actually a campground, but in the Six Rivers National Forest, you can camp anywhere that’s away from a road, trail, developed area, creek, or meadow. Tent camping only.

Also consider

★★★★

Flint Ridge Backcountry Campground

Redwood National Park

Open all year · Free

Actually a backpacking campground, but a lot of non-backpackers use it because it’s only a five-minute walk from the parking lot.

★★★★

Alfred A. Loeb Campground

Alfred A. Loeb State Park

Open all year · $29/night · no reservations

A nice RV-centric campground in Oregon, a 40-minute drive from Redwood National and State Parks and next to the northernmost redwood grove.

Cabin 1 in Jedediah Smith Campground

Surfer and dog next to Camel Rock, seen from Luffenholtz Park, Trinidad


 

© 2021 David Baselt