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Mikeborny's avatar
Mikeborny
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015

Ventura Ca to Seattle Wa?

Planning trip from Ventura california to Seattle Washington. Stops planned for Yosemite, SanFracisco, Napa, Portland, Seattle. Any recommendations for places to stay close to San Fran and Napa? Anyone knoe how easy it is to get a spot at Faria Beach in Ventura?

17 Replies

  • According to their website, the RV park at Candlestick is still open. Looks like they want about $100 a night to stay there. I've never stayed there myself, and I don't think I would. It is literally only several hundred feet from the housing projects at Hunters Point and that is one of the most crime ridden neighborhoods in California. I have no idea how much crime the park may get, but it is very close to a very violent area.
  • Travelr wrote:
    Marin RV Park on Redwood Highway in Marin. Just north of GG Bridge. Half hour drive to city. Its EXPENSIVE but is the closest to SF. Can catch ferry which is a 10 minute walk or 8 minute drive. Parking is hard so better to walk. We have been staying here for over 10 years. Started at $38, just booked for Xmas (we have family both in the city and in Novato so come often. Also come to just enjoy SF, maybe take in a Giants game or two)

    Book early though.. Always busy with Europeans/Cruise America... Fills up fast.


    This is a good choice. An alternative is the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. They have an RV park there and it's only a few mile drive to a BART station. You can get right into SF on BART. If you want to be close to SF then San Francisco RV resort in Pacifica is about the closest you can get. Pacific is just South of SF on Highway 1. There used to be an RV park at Candlestick park but I assume since the stick was torn down the RV park is gone too.

    For Yosemite I like Yosemite Pines RV park in Groveland. It's about 22 miles to the Yosemite Gate from there and 45 miles to the Valley. There is also a KOA over on 140 just outside of Mariposa that is good.

    I've never stayed in Napa, but I know there is an RV park at the Napa fair grounds.
  • Tioga Pass is already closed for winter from what I heard and I know Yosemite is not really RV friendly.
    Neither is San Francisco. I live here, so I don't camp here, but I know there are lot of campgrounds of choice in 60 miles radius from the city, where people can easily drive big coach there and take daily trip in dinghy to see the city.
    I have 1/2 acre with lot of parking space here, so would gladly host fellow camper, but &*&^&^% city made ordinance forbidding RV parking here.
    Even when I bring my coach from storage for overnight packing, I have to make a trip to Chief o Police to get 24 hr permit for parking at my 160' curb space.
  • Another idea we use all the time... App for your Iphone/Ipad.... Allstays. Excellent tool. We use it 100% of the time on every trip, even if we have been there before. Also as someone said, look at RVParkreviews.com. Good place for others feedback.
  • Marin RV Park on Redwood Highway in Marin. Just north of GG Bridge. Half hour drive to city. Its EXPENSIVE but is the closest to SF. Can catch ferry which is a 10 minute walk or 8 minute drive. Parking is hard so better to walk. We have been staying here for over 10 years. Started at $38, just booked for Xmas (we have family both in the city and in Novato so come often. Also come to just enjoy SF, maybe take in a Giants game or two)

    Book early though.. Always busy with Europeans/Cruise America... Fills up fast.
  • Mike....In Ventura, you have Rincon Parkway which are 40' sites (painted rectangles on the asphalt alongside of the road paralleling the beach) that are anchored at one end by Faria County Park and Emma Woods County Park at the other. Both Faria and Emma Woods are small, dirty and all three are first come first served. During the week (non holiday) you can probably get a site. A little farther north is Gaviota State beach, probably a better choice. Also in that area is a fairly new park called Ocean Mesa, but is pricey.

    You'll have to look at a map and do some planning because you're next two stops, Napa and San Francisco are on the west edge of the state and Yosemite is on the east edge of the state, directly across from each other. There are very few RV parks in San Francisco. You'll have to do some research to see how far you're willing to drive. Alcatraz is a great tour, but book tickets in advance.

    Depending on what time of the year you're going, Yosemite can be tough to get a campsite. It usually takes booking five months out.

    You should have no issues with finding campgrounds in Portland, but Seattle is another place with no campgrounds in town. There is a KOA jut south of Seattle that would probably be your best bet.
  • There are a number of RV park review websites that can be of great value in answering your questions. rvparkreviews.com is probably the best known, but campendium is a newer site that promises to be very good. There's an app for rvparky that we find very handy when traveling. TripAdvisor & Yelp also have some parks reviewed.