Campgrounds and RV parks near Pleasure Point, CA

Surfing defines the area, with breaks along East Cliff Drive drawing surfers year-round to spots such as The Hook and Sewer Peak. Non-surfers can walk or cycle the East Cliff coastal path, which links Pleasure Point to Capitola Village and on toward the Santa Cruz Wharf. Tidepools appear at low tide along the rocky shelf below the bluffs. A short drive west reaches the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Municipal Wharf, and downtown Santa Cruz. East along the coast, Capitola Village offers harborside dining and a sandy swimming beach. Seacliff State Beach in Aptos remains open for day use and pier-area walks, and the visitor center interprets the wreck of the SS Palo Alto concrete ship. Kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals operate out of Santa Cruz Harbor.

The Santa Cruz coast is a year-round RV destination, but conditions shift sharply by season. Summer, roughly June through early September, is the busiest stretch. New Brighton State Beach and Santa Vida RV Park and Campground fill weekends well in advance, and ReserveCalifornia inventory for coastal state parks is often gone the moment the six-month booking window opens. Coastal fog is common on summer mornings, clearing to mild afternoons. Spring and fall are quieter and often warmer than midsummer along this stretch of coast, with September and October frequently the sunniest months. Whale sightings are possible off the bluffs in late fall and again in spring. Winter brings the bulk of the rain, mostly between December and March, and the heaviest Pacific storms can damage coastal infrastructure. Seacliff State Beach campground has been closed since the January 2023 storms and is not currently accepting RV reservations.

Expect a mix of bluff-top state park camping and small, paved private RV parks rather than backcountry sites. New Brighton State Beach has just over one hundred developed sites, eleven of them with RV hookups, plus picnic tables, fire rings, food storage lockers, and hot showers. RVs are capped at 36 feet there. Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park is essentially a row of paved, full-hookup sites along the North Harbor, with no on-site restrooms or showers and a self-contained-only policy. Santa Vida RV Park and Campground sits in a redwood and oak forest with full-hookup sites, a dump station, and bathhouses. Coastal sites can be cool and damp in the mornings even in summer, so plan for layers and check site length limits before booking.