Campgrounds and RV parks near Twin Lakes, CA

The sandy shoreline at Twin Lakes State Beach is popular for swimming, picnicking, and beach walks, with the Santa Cruz Harbor jetty and channel right next door for watching boats. Schwan Lagoon, across East Cliff Drive, is a small coastal lagoon that draws birdwatchers. The harbor itself offers kayak and paddleboard rentals and access to Monterey Bay. A short drive opens up the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, surfing at Pleasure Point, and the wharf area downtown. Inland, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park has miles of hiking trails, an old-growth redwood grove with trees over 270 feet tall and more than 1,500 years old, and the San Lorenzo River for swimming and fishing. New Brighton State Beach adds bluff-top trails and beach access in nearby Capitola.

Santa Cruz has a mild Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and warm, mostly dry summers. The driest, busiest stretch runs from late May through mid-October, when coastal fog often burns off by late morning and measurable rain is rare. July typically sees almost no rainfall, while January is the wettest and cloudiest month, with most of the annual precipitation falling between November and March. Summer and holiday weekends are peak season at the coastal state beaches. New Brighton State Beach is one of the most popular beachfront campgrounds in California, and prime summer sites tend to disappear as soon as each new arrival date opens on the six-month rolling window. At New Brighton, about 68 sites stay open year-round while the rest of the campground operates seasonally from roughly April through October. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park Campground is open year-round and is noticeably quieter outside the Memorial Day to Labor Day stretch. Spring and fall both bring mild weather, fewer crowds, and easier last-minute availability, though winter storms can close trails.

New Brighton State Beach sits on a forested bluff above Monterey Bay with 111 family campsites, including about 11 sites with water and electric hookups and nine premium sites near the bluff edge. The campground accepts RVs and trailers up to 36 feet. Sites have a parking spur, picnic table, fire ring, and food locker, plus flush toilets, coin-operated hot showers, potable water, and an RV sanitation station. Wooden stairs lead down to the beach. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park Campground has just over 100 sites in a mixed oak and evergreen forest, accommodating trailers up to 31 feet and RVs up to 35 feet. There are no hookups, but flush toilets, coin-operated hot showers, and fire rings are standard, and cell service is generally usable. Private parks in town typically offer full hookups and laundry.