Best place to camp near Sonoma or Napa?

[JBBeaubeaux]

We are leaving South Lake Tahoe on Sunday August 28th and would love to spend a week in the Sonoma/Napa area visiting the sites and the wineries.

Any suggestions of a place to stay?

[aftermath]

About 5 years ago we camped right in Napa at the Napa Valley Expo grounds. I think it is a county fairgrounds. The sites were very nice, clean with full hookups. Here is a link

http://www.napavalleyexpo.com/rv-park.php

The only problem you might run into is with the calendar. If the fair is going on you will be out of luck. Call and check with them.

The location is perfect for visiting the area and wine tasting.

[OTRA15]

Here are some older threads with possible leads:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...rea-72125.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ds-138402.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...nds-63653.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f48/...try-57008.html

In the 90's we stayed at a nice campground right on the Napa River, just north of downtown, but I think it may have been washed away in a flood. I don't see it on the current map.

Have fun!

Peter

[kscherzi]

I give a big thumbs up to the Calistoga RV Park. http://www.calistogarvpark.org/

They're priced between about 35 and 50 a night depending upon site. Easy walking g distance to downtown and restaurants and grocery store. Of course there's more wineries than can be visited nearby. I also recommend taking a day trip and driving about 30 minutes over to the Sonoma County Alexander Valley. Some great wines with less of the Napa Valley pretentiousness.

[sheriff1]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

I give a big thumbs up to the Calistoga RV Park. http://www.calistogarvpark.org/

They're priced between about 35 and 50 a night depending upon site. Easy walking g distance to downtown and restaurants and grocery store. Of course there's more wineries than can be visited nearby. I also recommend taking a day trip and driving about 30 minutes over to the Sonoma County Alexander Valley. Some great wines with less of the Napa Valley pretentiousness.

I like this one as well. Check out vacant spaces when you go in as there are some with shade trees to keep the RV a bit cooler.


2015 F350 CC 4X4 6.7 Diesel
2010 27FB Silver Cloud "The Silver Spoon"

[PKI]

We have never stayed in Napa. It's close and we just do it as a day trip. If I was going to camp, I think I would enter on HW 12 off I80 and take the Silverado trail up to Calistoga RV Park. A couple or three days in that base camp and then I'd move over to the Sonoma Fairgrounds RV Park for a few days. The Calistoga park may not be as nice as the web page, but it's worth a try. The Metro in Napa is a parking lot with grass and gets you into Napa. It is not a bad choice if you don't like to move. The Fair grounds at Sonoma seems to be a nice stop over.

Note, HW128 into Calistoga from the North is twisty. On the other end of the Mapa valley is the intersection of HW12 and HW29. That area is quite busy and usually backed up. Just stay calm and you will get through it.

Travel safe. Pat

[mpsgolf]

Following thread ... Headed thru Napa on the way to Yosemite in about a week.

[leap-baby]

We were in that area this past May. Stayed at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. It was nice, with full hookups and shade trees. We would stay there again.

[cdufault]

We stayed at Salt Point State Park during a hellacious rainstorm in roof top tent, and still had great fun. Deer on the beach and very scenic... Just guard your food from the raccoons! Maximum length for a trailer is 27 feet and for a motorhome 32 feet.

[mojo]

Have stayed at Skyline Wilderness Park. Nothing fancy, quiet and in a large wilderness area, but close to downtown Napa.

[Riverdrifter]

We were there in the spring and stayed at Alexander Valley RV park. The location is very convenient and we love Healdsburg but the campground isn't great although right on the Russian River. We were gone wine tasting and eating out so didn't mind the less than stellar park. It is very quiet which is good!

[CruizinDux]

First off I should say that due to the Clayton fire (over the hill to the E from NV in Lake County now 95% contained, there may be higher than usual occupancy in camping/rv locations in Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties. IMO plan ahead.

I‘m kinda of partial to Sonoma County as I lived on the Sonoma coast for 20 years. However I remember as a child when our family who lived in Concord would picnic for the day in NV and it was Krug, Beringer and Christina Brothers with tasting room open and fruit meant walnuts and plums, not grapes. The rest is history. Both Sonoma and Napa Valleys are gorgeous and world renown for their wines. I simply like Sonoma more as the crowds are smaller. For those who live in the area IMO there are no valley boundaries, just a good bottle shop or better yet, a good winery connection! Note, allow extra hours when turning left onto Hwy29/128 in NV on weekends and this time of the year (with the crush on) probably any day thru October.

Seems the NorCal WBCCI meets at Cassini Ranch (Duncan’s Mills/116) on the Russian River, Wrights Beach on Hwy 1 a few miles S of the 116/1 intersection is on the beach awesome. There are also some camping and RV’s opportunities in the Bodega Bay area.

For Sonoma County try http://www.sonomacounty.com/campgrounds and click on show more results at the bottom. Note the Sonoma County fairgrounds in Santa Rosa is listed and a great central location (in Hwy 12 just E of 101) to head N to Dry Creek/Alex Val/ 101or S to Valley of the Moon/Sonoma town.

Don’t ignore the Sonoma Coast as the drive to Guerneville on 116 and left onto Westside road to Dry Creek/Healdsburg or Hwy 1 S thru Bodega Bay to Petaluma and on to the Carneros region is reasonable for a day trip…and on to Sonoma, and on to Napa/29 if you’re interested. In NV, stick to the Silverado trail for the N/S driving if you can using the crossroads to access the west side.

Note check the schedule for Infineon Raceway @ Sears Point in case they are have a NASCAR or other event. It affects the traffic in the whole N Bay.

As for Napa Bothe SP is in NV itself and hard to beat the location mid-way between St Helena and Calistoga on 29/128.

If you have trouble finding reservations, consider Solano County (Cordelia/Suisun on I/80) for RV parks as it’s a very short drive to Napa Town via American Canyon and access N to Hwy29 and the Silverado Trail.

Lastly and please don’t consider this a hijack but two stops in Santa Rosa are worthy of your time. I mean, you can only wine taste sooo long! The first is the Charles Schultz Museum (see pic below, obviously) and the second is the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens both in Santa Rosa. Luther, thank forever for those Santa Rosa plums!

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the detailed reply Bob. Curious whether you ever went to the Buena Vista winery in Sonoma, carved into the mountain. I was first there in the mid 50's if you can believe that. My grandparents moved to Sonoma way back when.

Small world . . .

Peter

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Thanks for the detailed reply Bob. Curious whether you ever went to the Buena Vista winery in Sonoma, carved into the mountain. I was first there in the mid 50's if you can believe that. My grandparents moved to Sonoma way back when.

Small world . . .

Peter

Very...funny the things you remember from our youth

I remember the caves from Beringer but it's the doors from Buena Viasta that stick in my memory.

mid 50's. our 5th grade class had a field trip to the nearby Sonoma Mission & General Vallejo Home. I think it was that summer that our family did the Napa picnic and later Valley of the Moon...mission and the Jack London Home. It wasn't until the early 80's that we made it back to the valley to Buena Vista, Kenwood and again the Jack London home (SP...Wolf House).

We have a college friend in the wine industry so it was helpful to have some inside knowledge in those days...the late 60's and 70's was explosive and quite simply to many new wineries to keep up with....tho we surely gave it our best effort!

Bob

[kleimanr]

Calistoga RV is at the Fairgrounds. Choice of full hookup or water and electric. Shade, paved, neat town right there.

[Nomad518]

I'll second the recommendation for Wrights Beach. It's part of Sonoma Coast State Park. No hookups there but you can use the dump station and facilities at Bodega Dunes State Park which also has a campground. Wrights Beach is normally booked full on weekends but there are often openings midweek and it's right on the one of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see.

Bothe Mill State Park on 29 just south of Calistoga is also nice. Again, no hook ups but a great location for exploring Napa and Sonoma wine regions.