Russian River RV Campground

This is a very nice place to stay. The rangers are very nice. The bathrooms are clean. Sights are semi level and are just dirt and pavement. The river is very nice and everybody loves to float in inter tubes. Lots of things to do and see within an hour driver.

Cutting our visit short at this place and paying to go somewhere else. No sewer hook up, no 50amp, no 20 amp plug ins, river is not close and it’s a small stream that you can’t do anything in except sit in. Also, the guy at the front gate is a self appointed Nazi who runs the place like its his own and treats people like they are idiots. I almost badged him one day but decided to leave early instead. Never coming back!

Most important thing is to NOT Google the location! It is incorrect. Call the campsite itself for directions and then use them to a T! We were on an elevated campsite and when stepping out of the 5^th wheel, we had to be very careful not to fall down the hill. Didn’t like that. The campground was very full but it’s on the Russian River which is nice to sit in or float down on a warm day. Traveled over to the wine county which was nice. Not sure if we will go back but it’s ok for $ 10/​night.

Not recommended. If you have anything longer the 20 feet or if you’re towing something, this place is a nightmare. They don’t assign spots, so you have to drive around and hope you can find one that you can fit in. The hook-​ups are only partial. You get water and power, but there’s only one dumping station for the whole camp, and you have to maneuver your right over to it on all their one ways and hills. It was not much fun at all. Especially since we had a 31 foot motorhome with a tow dolly. It was scrape city all the way through. And since it’s so hilly… thank God for auto levelers…

Good place for camping!
PROS:
–Very clean: bathrooms, lodge, grounds, the river. Te whole place is nice and clean. Way better than government run camp grounds.
–Quiet: most people keep to their RVs, none of those people that have loud music and groups. Nice!
–Electricity and water: at each camp site. This is fancy!
–Lodge: nice comfy, air conditioned, TV and Wi-​Fi. Super awesome place to avoid the crazy heat of the mid day during the summer.
–Cell phone signal: is good, since it’s close to the highway.
–Mostly good people.
–Conveniently located: easy access from 101.
–Wine tasting close by.
–Private access to the River inside the campground! Not crowded at all!
–Tubes for the river! Rentals are $ 15 for the whole day.
CONS:
–not a tent place: 95% RV camp sites, so if you are looking for a tent camping experience, just make sure you call ahead.
–WiFi is slow. S L O W !!! Don’t count on it if you want to work from there.
–No camp fires allowed.
–More than double the cost of a normal campground.
–Noise: you can hear the cars/​trucks driving by on the highway.
–Closest town is not very «large». So don’t count on eating out or anything fancy.
–So Many Rules! They are very strict: no camp fires, only coals, no more than 6 ppl, no pool for 18 or younger, etc etc!

Why isn’t there a ZERO star? One star is being way to gracious. First impression, OLD GRUMPY PEOPLE who don’t like children and ride around in golf carts «policing» the grounds because they didn’t save enough for their retirement years and are now stuck living in a place like this! My fiancé rented a cabin for me to join him on the weekend while he was away working and staying in a trailer with a coworker. The OVER PRICED $ 95 a night human birdhouse is NOT worth the price. My fiancé gave me the «code» to get in the gate, I promptly entered, drove around and when I couldn’t find the cabin, I asked the grumpy golf cart police where the cabins were. He immediately asked me how did I get in (vs trying to help me) and I said my fiancé gave me the code. OMG!!! you would’ve thought I was a hardened criminal! he proceeded to tell me how if he «read his paperwork» it says the code is not to be given out. I assured him he apparently wasn’t aware. He grumpily tells me to follow him and when we get to the human birdhouse, how did I guess… he wanted to“scold” my fiancé when he asked to speak to him. I warned him he just got off from working nights and would not be happy, as he came out unhappy from being woke, it appeared the golf cart police softened just a tad but still had to make his policing point. I will NEVER stay here ever again and I am so happy I decided to only stay Saturday as I originally was going to stay Friday as well. NOT WORTH TIME, MONEY OR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE FROM THE CONSTANT POLICING. There is a KOA not far away, steer clear of this site. It is very narrow, and sites are so close together, there’s no privacy, and 5 mph signs posted EVERYWHERE! Good grief!

The staff was very friendly and helpful. we arrived late on Thursday night in the dark. John the park ranger met us at gate and showed us all of the open spots. After picking our location he stayed and made sure we got backed in safely for the night. We had a great 3 day weekend at the resort, thanks to the staff and location.

Where do I start, this place is a dump!!! And it cost me $ 131 for 2 nights that we didn’t even stay there for due to how unacceptable this campground is. We drove around for 5 minutes and knew this was not for us. Also do not follow the directions that are given from the web site as they lead you onto a one lane gravel road into the middle of nowhere. The camp sites are so small and many on a grade that it would be terrible to park and or try and sleep on. Some camp sites did not even have a picnic table. I called ahead and spoke to a representative and asked about the campfire situation. He assured me if you use charcoal or a Duraflame log you would be fine. He made no mention that you must supply your own fire pit with lid. What a joke, no mention anywhere about that. I wouldn’t stay there if you paid me! Not to mention you are camped basically under Highway 101, not real camping. Several camp sites were home to long term RV’s that looked so run down and disgusting you didn’t even want to look at them. There is no map of the campground so you can’t even picture where you might want to set up, very disturbing. Worst campground ever! Please think twice before you camp here.

This review is based on the tent camping experience. Even though this place is advertised as tent-​friendly, it is not! I wished we looked at reviews before booking online.
This is a 95% RV park and 5% tents. Most of the sites that had tent setups were there with an RV. There were many sites that had plants and satellite dishes setup — a sign of long-​term residence.
By the time we arrived, it was barely past noon on a Friday (8÷8÷14) and there were maybe three or four sites to choose from. We drove through the entire campgrounds. All the available sites were small, so small that we would have had to set up the tent on asphalt. That is not real camping! You’re in an environment where the majority of people still have the conveniences of home! You get zero of the nature experience.
As quickly as we could (5 mph in this case), we made our way out and back through the ranger station. We told them that we did not find anything suitable for tent camping and it was just not what we expected. The ranger said that we could always just set up on the asphalt. What a let down.
It was a $ 100 nonrefundable lesson, and now we know never to pick this spot for tent camping.
On the plus side, and this justifies the mandatory star I must give for a review: the ranger had called a couple days prior to my arrive to let me know about the road conditions and to warn me that some GPS instructions were getting them lost. He gave me lots of good information on getting me there.

This was a nice little park. We went there for a Holiday and arrived by mistake one day early but the staff was very accommodating to us and allowed us to check in one day early without too many hassles. We have a large RV with a tow but some of the sites are large enough. Sites are first come first serve. Our Ranger was a tough ex-​marine. We really liked him but you don’t mess around with those guys or break rules but, unlike some people, we don’t have a problem with that. Also, we are not members but they allowed us to come in as Retail Clients. Just remember, this is more rough camping. The sites do not have septic so plan you stay on how long you can hold out without and use the dump station. I would not recommend using the Honey Wagon service. When we were there, there was a weird incidence where the Honey Wagon was pumping someone out and ran over the employee“s leg and had him pinned but just kept pumping and wouldn’t shut the thing off. Like I said WEIRD. However, this service is contracted not part of the park. There was a lot of wild life. We were visited by deer nearly every morning and the park was peaceful and calm. The best thing was the swimming spot on the Russian River. IT GETS HOT!!! and the water is cold. Most days, we had the spot to ourselves or a few other people. We just walked down and we are Senior Citizens. Can’t believe someone said you had to drive. Just not true. But, each to their own.

We went camping with our entire family to this spot for the fourth of July weekend. Well, we had quite the adventure of a weekend here. I’ll start from check in! Make sure you park behind the line and get out of your car to register. They love to give people a hard time about that. The rangers were trying their hardest to make it the most difficult check in possible! I told them I was camping with someone who was already at the site. I gave them the last name and even the camp site number. Took the guy about five minutes looking for it but couldn’t find it. Luckily, another ranger came up and found it in less than 30 seconds. After sorting it all out, they found out I had my wife and one year old waiting in my vehicle. They finally kicked things in gear and got us registered. My brother was coming in a few hours after me and I gave him specific instructions on how to register and he followed them extremely close. They still hassled him at registration. I think part of it was that we were younger because they were extremely polite and helpful to some older groups who came through and registered all while I was standing in the blistering sun.
Once you get in, make sure you drive 5 mph. It’s another thing they like to get after people. They must be exempt from the rule because they go way faster than 5 mph in their golf carts.
We were tent camping. There are a lot of rocks and hills. But it’s camping so you really can’t complain. I saw a few people even put tents on the rv slabs for a flat surface. The bathroom was fairly clean for a campsite. I was impressed with it but for about two days they didn’t have soap to wash your hands.
There are no Wood camp fires allowed. We had a propane pit that we used. It says curfew at eleven, we stayed up past midnight multiple times. Just be courteous and watch your volume and no one minds.
So on the fourth of July is when interesting things started happening. They have a sewage dump service that comes around for a fee. It’s a tank being pulled by a small tractor. They were emptying a tank when the tractor started to roll. The guy tried dropping the bucket to stop it from rolling. That didn’t work and he tried jumping in the tractor. He ended up slipping and both legs were caught under the back tires. A couple of us were pushing against the bucket as another worker backed it off of him. The ambulance took him to a hospital where he was life flighted to Santa Rosa. He didn’t break any legs but broke his hip. There were a few things they need to be addressed by management. The man who got caught under was already injured. He had a boot on one leg. He probably shouldn’t have been operating the tractor. They never chalked the tires. Especially when you’re on a hill! They kept working after and seeing that they didn’t chalk the tires after the event bothered me. The last thing is that the first person that the other employee called was the manager. CALL 911!!!
They have a beach area that is pretty rocky. Everyone was setting up in this area. We decided to head across the way to the rock islands. The small island was perfect for my wife, son, small dog and myself. Although the majority of it was rock, the soil below was soft and the rocks form to you of you lie on it. They also have a rock that’s about five feet up that you can dive off of. My family ended up going canoeing at a place 20 minute drive up the river. We started back for the day. There are quite a bit of people floating the river. Well over if the floaters didn’t have enough beer. He called in his helicopter to bring him more beer. The helicopter landed about 20 yards away from my wife and son. Scared the shit out of her. I was across the way helping my niece across the water. Had to book it back to help my terrified wife. The guy feely extremely bad and have us since beer. Not many people can say a helicopter brought them beer but we can!
The following day we took floaties and drove up the way and dropped in and floated the river. Word of advice, use inner tubes. Some of the rapids are extremely shallow and rocky. Taking rocks to the back and butt were hilarious but not recommended. With the inner tube, you can plank/​lie flat and float the rapids with ease. Also, stop to drink. We popped open some beers and then ran into rapids, trees or rocks and got water in the beers.
I think I might have rated it higher if we hadn’t been hassled so much. There were other events that occurred with my brother but I won’t get into it cause it’s already a long review! Every place is what you make of it and you can have fun here, even tent camping.

This place is NOT for tent sites. Do NOT come here if you only have tents and no RV.
The other problem with this campground is that they don’t let you reserve a particular spot when you make the reservation. When we showed up, there were literally 1 or 2 spots left, and they were mostly terrible.
Come here ONLY if you have an RV and you don’t mind living in a parking lot with many other RV’s. Some of those people seem to be living there semi-​permanently.
DON’T COME HERE IF YOU ONLY HAVE TENTS!

Worst camping experience we have EVER had! Definitely NOT for tent campers. We saw tents set up on the driveways. We were completely surrounded by RVs with people who seem to have somehow semi-​permanently moved in. Curfew is at 11pm and some guy came out of his RV and bitched me out because it was 11:02pm! All I was doing was making coffee & turning out the lights! Geeze! The place had no ice & no campfire rings. The guys at the front gate are very disorganized.

This was our first time staying here in our rv… We arrived early Friday afternoon to be met with a kiosk with a walkie-​talkie in a lockbox… I knew the adventure was on. They have explicit instructions on use of a walkie-​talkie but for the normal person it’s no problem to essentially announce your arrival to the Ranger. Approximately 30 seconds later the sound of a golf cart climbing gets my attention sure enough here came the Ranger. She’s very nice and polite and ask immediately about the year of my RV… that made me a little nervous thinking they may block it… it’s a vintage RV. But my panic was quickly relieved when she just expressed interest in the year model and that it was really cool. she then announced that she’s unable to do any transactions in the kiosk and that we have to follow her down to the lodge. and she goes to get back in the golf cart and the way she goes down the hill. Upon arrival to the lodge which is approximately 30 seconds further down the hill we meet the manager he’s a very nice gentleman and takes us into his office and proceeds to do the check in. He then goes into a sales pitch not really a hard sell but the fact I can buy a membership at the camp ground and there’s other campsites throughout the coastal region that they share memberships with. He told me the ins and outs of membership and that’s takes about five minutes .it sounded a little confusing
The grounds themselves are nice lots of shade trees and lots of asphalt… The spots themselves are very narrow but long. children’s playground is pretty much on asphalt. They have a basketball half court fair condition, tetherball court, and posts I’m guessing for a volleyball court though I don’t know if I really want to play on the asphalt. Stayed in spot 14 was about a four minute walk to the swim hole. You can drive your vehicle also to get pretty close for ice chests. Saturday was movie night did not catch the movie but the options Friday we’re down to avatar and or frozen… The Chuck wagon was open for simple breakfast meals biscuits and gravy sausage gravy… Pancakes on Saturday and French toast on Sunday all moderately priced they also serve coffee and juice. It was fun for the experience. Shower facilities and bathrooms were okay to good had pleanty of hot water had washer and dryers so bring your quarters. Spots all have electricity and water but everyone shares the same sewer dump spot so on Sunday a line Can develop. I was there Friday through Sunday the bathroom maintenance sheet on the bathroom door had indicated no one had been in there since earlier that week for bathroom maintenance and refilling/​stocking and it kind of showed. They advertise having Wi-​Fi what they don’t advertises is the Wi-​Fi is only available in the lodge which is in front of the Campground. There were lots of dogs that all seemed very good about keeping them on leashes except for by the river but that was a different story for another day
Also a quick note… the exit when they state 15 miles an hour when exiting highway 101 they’re not kidding. hair pin turn

Wendy was very nice at check in. She was glad we came and smiled, completely opposite of the prison guards at Cassini ranch. No fire pits kinda a bummer, but the dale (what locals call Coverdale) is known for dead grass, and fires, great place for old people 50 +. My wife and I are 30 years old and like large camp sites where when you spit u don’t hit your neighbor… Nice place for large rvs. And right on the water! Drove the truck right down to water to float down on inter tubes. A lot crabby campers but nice employees.

We went back one year later for the same reason. It was the only site that was still available on
for the Memorial day weekend. We had a blast.
The riverfront is long enough you can drop in from one end and float for several minutes through some minor rapids to the bottom end. My 10 year old and his 11 year old friend thought this was great fun even though the water was too cold for us adults. The adults just hung out on the beach and soaked up the sun.
The staff was totally chill. We got the «tent only» site #101 which was more than adequate for our two large cabin tents. Again, we stayed past the official checkout time and no one seemed to mind.
Many of the sites though aren’t tent friendly, and it’s first come, first served so no guarantees. Definitely not the wilderness, and it caters to the RV crowd, but tent campers can have a good time here too.

*IF YOU ARE A TENT CAMPER AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!*
I made reservation at this ‘camp site’ on Reserve America thinking that it would be a nice spot to pitch a tent and after a long day paddling down the Russian River. The total price was $ 46 for one night, which I found to be a little steep, but decided to proceed with the reservations anyway. Boy, was that a mistake!
We were met by a sweet elderly Woman at the front gate who proceeded to give us a map of the sites and told us to go ahead and pick any open spot in the campground. Upon driving around the campground loop, we could hardly beleive our eyes! This place is a Trailer Park in every sense of the word. All of the best spots had been taking up by RV’s that have clearly been there for years. The leftover tent spots where relegated to a small 8’x8’ patch of dead grass, surrounded by street, whith little to no privacy.
After doing 3 loops around the premises, we decided to just eat the $ 46 and drive 100 miles back to San Francisco, severely dissapointed. I am sure this place is great if you have an RV, but it is just not suited for tent campers. *AVOID*

The staff here is very friendly. They really make you feel comfortable and go the extra mile to be helpful. We really enjoyed the monthly birthday cake celebration and BINGO. A big «shout out» to Weldon, Dave, and i’m sorry i forgot the maintenance guys name. You giys were AWESOME!!! The inner tubes for floating the river was a real plus and so worth the $ 15 a day price. The only reason I didn’t give it a full five stars is the campsites are not very tent friendly. Besides the ground being very unlevel, the sites really aren’t big enough for a family sized tent. If you’re in a motor home or trailer, you’ve got it made.