Campgrounds and RV parks near West Menlo Park, CA

The Peninsula mixes urban day trips with Pacific coast and redwood forest within an hour of West Menlo Park. On the coast, visitors stroll miles of sandy beach or walk and cycle the paved Coastside Trail, with whale watching, fishing, and surfing all popular. Swimming carries real risk due to strong rip currents and cold water, so many campers stick to tidepools and beach walks instead. Inland, Portola Redwoods has 18 miles of trails following creeks under old-growth coast redwoods, with hikes ranging from easy to strenuous. From Trailer Villa, San Francisco, Stanford, and Silicon Valley attractions are all within a short drive, making it a practical base for combining city sightseeing with coastal day trips.

The Peninsula has a Mediterranean climate, so trip planning revolves around rain timing and coastal fog rather than snow. Summers are warm and dry inland, with temperatures typically ranging from the mid 60s to mid 80s Fahrenheit, while winters are cool and wet with occasional strong storms and temperatures rarely dropping below freezing. Coastal sites at Half Moon Bay run noticeably cooler and breezier year round, with marine fog common from late spring through summer mornings. State park campgrounds operate on different calendars. Main Portola Redwoods State Park runs on a seasonal basis, with its 52 family sites, four group camps, and walk-in environmental sites typically open from spring through fall and closed November through March. Francis Beach Campground has 52 campsites and is open year round, but a 7-day camping limit applies during the peak season from May through October, with longer stays allowed at other times. Private parks like Trailer Villa and Pelican Point operate year round. Reserve well ahead for summer weekends, holiday weeks, and the autumn pumpkin season around Half Moon Bay.

Hookups vary widely by park, so match the campground to the rig. Trailer Villa offers 116 full hookup sites with 50, 30, and 20 amp power, big-rig access, bathrooms with showers, on-site laundry, and Wi-Fi; expect an urban, paved feel near Highway 101. Pelican Point provides full hookups with 20, 30, and 50 amp service, a dump station, laundry, cable TV, and a small store, with a 40-foot maximum RV length and walking access to the beach and Coastside Trail. At Francis Beach, plan for limited hookups: there are no water or sewer connections at the campsites, though roughly 34 sites have electric, and the park has a dump and potable water station plus quarter-operated hot showers. Main Portola Redwoods Campground accommodates tents, trailers, and RVs up to 24 feet, with no hookups and very limited cell reception in the redwood canyon.