Gualala Point Regional Park

Really nice campsites. Half are on the riverside and the others are tucked in the forest with decent privacy. Great hiking trail out to the beach. Restrooms are very clean and the hot shower (5min for $ 2) was amazing. Great campsites for Kayaking.
Mosquitos are HUGE and in abundance. I haven’t seen mosquitos like that since Alaska.
The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars was the staff. There was a campsite that was LOUD until about 1am until the party was silenced by one member who vomited extremely forceful. No staff came to get them to be quite and the camp host was just 2 Campsites away. Yet the one time I had my dog off leash while trying to load him into my truck, in a rainstorm mind you, the park ranger decides to hassle me about it. Just bad timing, but it bothered me.
Nice enough place and probably the best Sonoma County Parks campground.

Wow. We will be back! We booked a campsite here along the river for 2 nights. The campground was clean, the Ranger was kind and the bathrooms — They have mirrors you can clearly see in, electricity and ventilation! The firewod is available on site and the campground manager and ranger dont hassle or jother you as long as you arent causing trouble. They have sites by the rivwr and sites deeper in the wood. The trees and redwoods are just to die for gorgeous. They have new outdoor lockboxes, firepits and tables in each site. The shower is great, coin operating. It was nice and hot a refreshing after a day in the river.
The Gualala river is crystal clear, ideal for swimming as it’s deepest point is maybe 10 feet. Most of the river from the campsite to the ocean is between ankle deep and 6 feet tops! You can rent kayaks and canoes along the river at Adventure Rental for a great price! The beach has wild waves and the coast offers abalone diving! The visitors center has free WiFi and they offer ample hiking trails!
We went into Gualala town and the locals are very kind and helpful. They offer several ranges of dining & drinking experiences, 2 supermarkets, a toy store, bookstore, souvenir shop, fishing shop, hardware store you can rent diving gear from and lodging… etc…
We had so much fun!
This place is a gem, they even offer walk in sites. It felt like paradise cruising around in the crystal clear river with the redwoods soaring over us. It was relaxing and peaceful, not loud — a quick escape from city life up the coast! The drive up hwy1 is gorgeous, too! Time went slower and there isn’t cell service so you’re off the grid… On purpose! You’re in nature but civilization is just a minute away if you need anything. I loved it here!

This was our first time camping here and we loved it! The camp host are really nice and very helpful. Bathrooms were very clean and have electrical outlets. The camp host cleans the bathroom twice a day. They do have quarter showers. Online it says $ 1.50 but when we got to the site found out it was $ 2.00 for 5 minutes and 25 cents for an extra minute. I was a little nervous since you cant adjust the water but it actually gets pretty hot. The campsite we had was shady and each site has a picnic table, fire ring and raccoon-​proof food cabinet. There is no service in the camp site. The town Gualala is one mile away and it has free wifi at one of there stores. We will be planning another trip back :)

Beautiful, shady campsites in a redwood/​bay laurel forest along the river. Sites are very close together, so there isn’t much privacy… but that’s pretty much the only drawback. I was not bothered by mosquitoes, as the county comes in and blasts the area with poison to keep them at bay.
Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and raccoon-​proof food cabinet. Restrooms are clean and have electrical outlets, flush toilets and hot water. Showers available for $ 1.50. The beach can be reached via a beautiful 1 mile trail through forests and meadows.
I would probably stay here again!

We went camping here last week 8÷18−8÷21. The weather, as expected, was cool and damp, just the way we wanted it. We reserved campsites 17 and 18 which are set up as a tandem area away from the river. We hoped that since we were away from the river that we would not have many mosquitoes. Unfortunately, the place was teeming with them. Big and thirsty little sucker. Immediately, we unpacked the citronella candles, sprayed repellent and started a campfire hoping that the smoke would keep them at bay.
The campgrounds are really great. There are only about 20 sites so there aren’t a lot of people and you never feel like it’s crowded. The bathrooms were very clean and maintained everyday by the park staff. Showers take six quarters for five minutes of hot water. We noticed that the campsites near the river actually have more mosquitoes than ours. The Rangers are very cordial and approachable. Neighbors were also very quiet in the evenings. Our kids brought their bikes and made friends with other kids and spent all day riding around the place. When one of them left, they offered their leftover fire wood to us.
Unlike other campgrounds we’ve been to, the faucets are located throughout the grounds but not at each campsite. Washing dishes was a bit inconvenient as we had to drag our bucket of dishes about 75 yards and back, but a minor issue.
Nearby there is the beach and river. Beach was a little choppy for the little kids but they had fun playing in the sand. We saw seals and dolphins (maybe porpoises?) just off shore probably feeding as they kept going up and down the beach. Looked like mother dolphins were teaching their calves to catch fish. Across the river near the highway bridge is a kayak rental place. Since we had little kids, we decided to buy inflatable rafts at the hardware store in town. While playing in the river (which was about thigh deep at its deepest point, we saw kayakers going up and down the river. As it was the end of summer, there was no current and the river was like a narrow lake.
The town of Gualala is about a couple hundred yards from the campgrounds. In town are two great supermarkets, Surf Market and Gualala Supermarket. We visited both and both were well stocked. Surf seemed to be more like Whole Foods and Gualala felt more like Safeway. Gualala had very good prices on wine ($ 9 for a 2012 Bogle Cabernet) and other essentials. Surf Market had a nice deli with great sandwiches, but avoid the chinese food. It was horrible. There were also several other business including a café and bakery, pizza parlors, gas stations, bbq joint, etc.
One night, we went out to dinner at Antonio’s Taqueria on the north side of town. Food was good and a nice break from cooking at camp.
They have free wi fi at the Visitor’s Center across the highway from camp
All in all, a fantastic campground with a lot of amenities nearby. The only drawback was the torrent of mosquitoes that sucked us dry. Luckily, it was cool enough to wear jeans and sweatshirt the entire time but the skeeters were still a drag.

Compared to the last place we camped in Gilroy, this place was paradise. We had a walk in site next to the river. Carrying our stuff from the car wasn’t a big deal since they have a loading zone right next to the walk in sites. I actually liked the shade from the trees. The lack of dust since the ground was a little wet from being shaded by the trees was the best part. It was nice to not have 3 dust covered dogs att the end of the day.
The walk in sites are nice, they are a little bit further from the bathrooms and not as big as drive in sites, but I figured they would be quieter since they are a little set apart. It’s a little bit annoying to find parking once you are unloaded if you can’t find any parking except at the entrance of the campground. When we first drove up, we found a parking spot pretty close to the site, so we just carried everything from there.
Bathrooms were nice and I like that they have single ones. Then I can bring my annoying dogs with me without annoying anyone else while waiting to brush my teeth.
I was impressed with how quiet the campground was at first. There weren’t any kids and very few barking dogs. That all changed when some bachelorette party started their drinking and were loud until super late. Other than that, it was probably the quietest campground we stayed at.
The walk to the beach is about a mile and really nice. There are some great views along the way. We walked along the beach until the wind became too much. The waves are huge and could easily sweep away a dog or person if you aren’t careful.
The campground hosts were super cute and nice. We bought some extra firewood from them and they were helpful with self registration. They have a cat that stays in their motor home and they walk it around on a leash, which I think is the coolest thing ever. I felt bad when our little chihuahuas started barking at the cat and spooked it. But what a nice life! Maybe when we retire we will become campground hosts.
As far as the wildlife, (p.s. I didn’t get bit by one mosquito which might be an act of god) I saw a bobcat by the bathrooms. We did have a raccoon visitor in the night. We had a tiny piece of the trash bag sticking out and that coon was all over it. He stole a graham cracker and tried his hardest to break into the cooler, but no such luck. He visited us a few times throughout the night and got spooked by the dogs once and let out the weirdest sound right next to where my bed was in the tent. Sorta like a hiss. It super creeped me out, but I guess that’s nature.
BTW, think Sonoma County has some of the best campgrounds.

The area is amazing. Access to the river is not good and overgrown. Yes the racoons live there as well so keep your food safe. Great bathrooms/​showers! There is a nice couple that sells firewood and t-​shirts. The town is cute and close and so is the Pacific Ocean!
The problem I found is I needed to use the payphone that is at the bathrooms as there is no cell service. There is a sticker on the phone that suggests to use for credit card pay. I did not have any change on me. I found out later on my checking account that the 20 second phone call cost over $ 20.00!!!
DO NOT USE THE PAYPHONE with your credit card!

Thanks to all of the other folks who left good thoughtful reviews. This is a Sonoma County Regional Park. I am going to have to agree with the lady who commented on the dark nature of the campsite. It’s under a cover of redwoods and huge laurel trees. It’s sheltered from the wind, which in this area, is a boon. Since you’re up the Gualala River a bit, it gives you shelter from the relentless winds of the coast. However, you are on a river– hello, mosquitoes! We were here in June and we had to stock up on a giant 3 wick citronella candle and some bug spray with DEET, as much as I hate to use that stuff, it works!
The entire camp is not large– about 20 sites, if that. Some are better than others, WAY better. What was noticeable right away is how close the sites are to each other. You can practically hear peoples’ entire conversations (or other more intimate things!!), smell what they are preparing for dinner, and learn what they have done that day. It’s very… cozy. It *does* feel safe and this is not some rowdy boom-​box blasting bro party. It’s a county park and is very meticulously maintained. The maintenance lady may have been militant, but those bathrooms sure shined. I mean seriously! The faucets are they type you press down and they stay on for just a bit, but the hot water felt great after a day of sunscreen and bug spray.
We didn’t get visited by the raccoons, as we took proper precautions, but we did have a lot of curious blue-​jays and trolling chipmunks. Driving in VERY late the first night of our visit, we saw a juvenile bobcat on the road into the campground! Very cool!
So, in summary, I might seek out a better reservation for a site now that I know the campground, but I might seek a campsite with a bit more warmth. This is a good location from which to explore the area, but it didn’t hit all the blissful notes a perfect campsite of my dreams does. It’s rather far from a beach, a pro and a con in my book, but camper who loves lots of shade and paddling their kayak might LOVE this place.
Oh one more note. We don’t have and didn’t bring a dog. We laughed about it all day but one morning while waiting to use the bathroom, my boyfriend saw *all 3* bathrooms being exited at the same time by people who had thier dogs with them! There were dogs on leash at several of the sites. They were all well behaved dogs, but it was a bit much for me. Also someone didn’t curb thier dog and that didn’t feel very rugged and camping-​like. It was just gross!

My first impression was the quiet dark stillness of the campground as we first drove in. The trees were tall and the vegetation was plentiful. Being so close to the coast is cold enough. But also imagine a campsite surrounded by dense trees and shrubbery that it literally blocks out ANY sunlight from filtering thru plus the coldness of the ocean… it spells out DARK & COLD! If you enjoy dense dark forestry camping then this is the place for you. Don’t get me wrong though… we enjoyed ourselves despite this. They had clean restrooms that provided flushing toilets with toilet paper and paper towels (but no soap, so bring your own) and a HOT shower. A fire pit is provided per campsite and there is someone on the premises that sells a bundle of wood ($ 7) if you forget or run out.
I have to warn you though… if you are traveling afar: beware the winding roads of CA-​1. The drive is very scary unless you enjoy sharp & winding roads.

A little jewel on the North Coast. Unlike a lot of campgrounds with Redwood trees, you get good light during the day. It is still chilly until the afternoon, so bring warm clothes. Still, it feels good after the valley heat. We burnt a lot of campfires.
Small campground, only 19 sites, so it does not appear hectic. Sites are well spaced away from the river, close together along the river. Take your pick. We like more room, so we chose the larger sites. Look at the map and make your decision. It is pretty accurate as far as how much space you will have.
Rangers are helpful and wonderful, and not overbearing. You feel very secure, the Rangers and Sheriffs Department cruise through. Lots of families. Showers and bathrooms are clean, $ 1.50 for 5 minutes, $.25 for every 50 seconds after that. Hot water starts immediately, so you don’t waste any money.
Take the hike that leaves from the walk in campsites, goes under Hwy 1 to the Visitors Center and then to the ocean and the river. Go south on Hwy 1 and hit some of the trails in Sea Ranch. Spectacular ocean views.
Gualala is about one minute away, a charming little town. Two supermarkets across from each other. One has senior discounts on Mondays, the other on Thursdays. Food is good in town. We ate at the Taqueria and was happy. The Azul Cove and Grill had a great burger. We chose them over Bones Roadhouse, which had mixed reviews from the locals.
The one negative: The camp host. Sold us wet wood. When I knocked on his trailer to buy it, his Greeting was «What do you want?» When I went to ask him about the wet wood, he greeted me with «What is your problem? » He also yelled at the guy before me who was taking some kindling after asking permission. They also never left the trailer, the «Off Duty» sign was up permanently. Camp Hosts with negative attitudes like this have no business working with campers. If you see a Saturn out front, that is the guy, and good luck. You can buy wood albeit a bit expensive at the stores in town. They also have a hardware store.
We will be heading there again.

Them raccoons are sneaky lil’ critters.
Gualala Point Regional Park is situated at the mouth of the Gualala River where it empties into the Pacific. It provides a great campground with several campsites nestled amongst the trees along the river and only a short hike to the beach. If you’re planning on stopping here for a few days, here’s what you’ll want to know:
1) Campgrounds: These campgrounds ($ 26/​day) are probably near the top of my list in terms of amenities. Very easy to get to off of Highway 1. A relatively small number of campsites, so it doesn’t get crazy crowded. Each campsite is pretty big, too, so good for groups of 6 – 8 at least, and many accommodated a fairly large family with their RVs and campers trailers in tow. We had a walk-​in site, which doesn’t allow you to park your car at the campsite, but there’s a 15-​minute loading area very close so you can load/​unload with ease. There’s also a site for hikers/​bikers only ($ 5/​day). The campgrounds are well maintained with an on-​site camp host who sells firewood ($ 7/​bundle). He keeps the firewood under an electrified fence? That seems kind of weird unless you get a lot of people pilfering firewood. He also has a wagon or wheelbarrow you can borrow to lug the wood to your campsite.
2) Campsites: Campsites are spacious and not too crowded together, so at least you can’t hear your neighbors’ conversations. Most campsites are in the trees, so there’s not a ton of sunlight that gets in, although some sites did get healthy patches of sun. This can be an issue if it gets cold. Thus, fires were started pretty early in the evening. Campsites have a firering with removable metal grilling grate, a picnic table, and a small cupboard at the end of the picnic table for storing stuff. This cupboard is absolutely key to avoid having your food raided by the nocturnal masked bandits that come out for a free meal at night.
3) Bathrooms: The bathrooms are as pristine as camping restrooms come. There’s hot water (HOT WATER!) in each individual bathroom, an electrical outlet (ZAP!), a flush toilet, ample toilet paper, and a paper towel dispenser with actual paper towels. Throw in a bathmat and you’d think you were at home. Seriously, though, they keep the bathrooms in great shape, and we saw one guy hanging out by the bathrooms a lot charging his cell phone. Seriously, what was he doing? There’s no cell phone reception so maybe he was watching movies on his phone. Dude, take a look around at the trees, maybe.
4) Activities: There seemed to be pretty much two activities you could do while camping here. You could hike down to the beach (about a one mile, 30-​minute walk, really), or you could canoe up the river. The canoeing/​kayaking looked like a lot of fun, but it also looked like everyone had brought their own boats, so I don’t think there was anyplace to rent, although I’m not sure. For most of the campsites along the river, it looked like you could launch straight from your campsite, that’s pretty fancy. Otherwise, there was a small landing that you could launch from closer to the ocean. The hiking trail is well-​defined and you could walk along the coast for several miles if you chose to be ambitious. The coastal area is beautiful and if you venture further along the trail, you get a lot of gorgeous views of the ocean. The beach is a nice place to hang out, but I think due to the ocean shelf falling off suddenly, you’re not really advised to go into the water because of the very strong undertow. You can also go abalone diving (there’s a limit) or fishing. Mostly, this place is made for chillaxin’.
5) Random notes: The town of Gualala is a 2 minute drive from the campgrounds, so don’t worry if you forgot anything like your bug spray, citronella candle, lighter, firestarter log, tent, sleeping bag, food, etc. There’s a farmers market there on Saturday morning, and a couple of supermarkets, and several shops. I can’t think of many basic camping supplies that they wouldn’t have at one of these places. The Surf supermarket also has a BBQ stand out front where they were serving grilled oysters, hells yeah. The campsites aren’t that far from the road, so you do hear occasional cars passing, but it’s not that noticeable. There were a LOT of mosquitos, so make sure to bring your bug spray and citronella candles (or buy them at the local supermarket).
Seriously, lock up your food. The raccoons were fearless. We had the cupboard open for a few minutes while we were all standing nearby and one snuck up and took off with a loaf of bread. They’ll climb up to your garbage bag and crawl over your stuff at night. Throw everything away and keep things secure in the cooler or in the car. I heard they made off with one of the local kids when the parents weren’t looking and raised it as their own. I can’t confirm this, but there did seem to be one exceptionally large raccoon walking on his hindlimbs.
Gualala Point Regional Park, you are pretty awesome.

Awesome State Park. Perfect views of the ocean complemented by a variety of environs. You can be down by the river, strolling along the ocean, tramping through a seaside meadow to climbing through coastal redwoods. You can whale watch at the appropriately named «Whale Watch Point» and spy on the resident sea otters and seals as well. Stop by the Visitor Center (if open) and learn about Gualala’s history. Beachcomb the mile long spit of beach. Picnic on the tables facing the ocean and people watch. Great trails and one of the most maintained State Parks I have ever been to.
Oh and learn from our first experience 3 years ago when we were much younger (and poorer)… Just pay the (now) $ 6 dollar fee to park. Or else you might end up with a *friendly* reminder that they have your license plate number and you are a cheat and need to pay up. Or don’t and have a hell of a time coming up with all the spare change you can muster and writing a note saying that you are sorry but that this was all you could come up with and laughing all the way home about it. Awww memories.

Great hikes through meadows, and along the coast and beach. Incredible views — a great thing to do when you’re in the area.

Great on the weekdays as there were only a few other in the campground on Sunday night!
At night the Racoons come out so beware, they will snitch food right off your table while you are 10 feet away! Be sure to secure ALL edibles in a SECURE place!

Gualala State Park is beautiful! As long as you bring your bicycle, you’re all set! IF you don’t have one, the only other option for activities is kayaking because the town doesn’t provide bike rentals.
I agree with Zella: $ 5 entrance fee, amazing views, & very clean. We obtained the bicycle/​hiking maps from the Gualala Visitor Center (called the Dolphin), picnic’d, & biked along the beach trail.
& the name: Gualala — one that you can’t forget & how can you not? It means, «when the river meets the ocean»… it literally does.