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    Manresa Uplands Campground

    3.7 (45 reviews)

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    Manresa beach sunset
    Mel L.

    Check it out if you can. Will not disappoint. Clean camp sites ,with running water,bathrooms close by and an outside shower at no cost or an inside shower for a small fee ,quarters required. The beach was free of trash and welcoming. Site 30 is the last before the trail to the beach so you can hear the ocean at night . Easy to be first on the beach in the morning and last to leave at night.I encountered only friendly,happy campers here. Was really fun to have dogs so welcomed and happy.We had a great experience here and will be back .There is a 132 stairs on the cliff if you want a stair workout with amazing views and fresh air off the coastline. Epic ! Shout out to the state park rangers at Manresa Uplands for holding it down . You all are doing a wonderful job and with so much kindness and respect for the space. Thank you for all you are doing to make this place so special . Just Go!

    Campsite and box of firewood from FoodMax
    Jerry G.

    This campsite is hit or miss Mostly Bad then good so y'all just will have to go and check it out for yourself for example you have to park your vehicle and haul all your stuff into the campsite which is a Big pain in the U know WHAT!!! then drive your vehicle back up to the main parking lot and walk back down to your campsite approximately a 5 to 7mim walk Some campsites are private were you have a lot of trees and bushes blocking you from others & some wide open where your neighbor can see right into Your campsite The staff at the front gate is hit or miss they don't seem to start until 11 AM approximately close between 5 or 6pm if you get there after they close go ahead and go down to your campsite an then the next day come back up to check in also if someone is checking in it takes quite a bit of time the front gate person does not get out and write your license plate information down so you have to get out and look and tell them so each vehicle is taking approximately 10min or more to check-in and you have to wait and wait and wait Restrooms are only cleaned Once a day in the morning approximately between 7 AM and 9AM Only 2 Showers so expect a line so more waiting Take quarters $1.25 for five minutes 2 Quarters to start the shower Lots of chipmunks around so keep your food while you're gone away from your campsite locked up in the boxes they do provide for you don't keep any food inside your tent because they will CHEW through your tent to get to it There is lots of loud music way past 10 PM there is NO Security/Authority there whatsoever going through the campground to make sure all is well and that campers are being Safe/keeping the rules after hours The upside is once you're all settled in and you go down to the beach area which is only a few minute walk it's wonderful there!!! No Fires on the beach right now they will Not let you like you could before however you can still have campfires at your campsite make sure to bring some firewood because sometimes they have firewood for sale at the front gate and sometimes there Out I would recommend going into town to FoodMax they have a pretty good size box of firewood for $14 a case

    Michelle W.

    Ditto to what hubby Dave W. said. I want to include that this was my first time ever camping. I was a bit scared, but was calmed by seeing how clean the area and restrooms are.

    Campsite #20
    Eric M.

    I absolutely LOVE this campground. It is so convenient with the showers on site and being so close to the ocean. I would highly recommend this place to anyone!

    Smores a cookin'
    Jason C.

    "Day 1 Overnight for Gilroy Garlic Festival" This campground is a hidden gem and frequently ranked as the best beach camp in California. Who knew? I chose it because it fit my strategy for a Gilroy Garlic festival weekend. And I'm glad I did. After you part from Highway One, you must roll your windows down so that you can be absorbed by the colors and smells of the tall central coast trees. You're surrounded by old growth hardwoods, scented conifers, rich eucalyptus, nature's aromatherapy. And as you soak the pastoral views and deeply-set gated homes, you will notice that the chatter from people inside the car has quieted. Everyone is staring out the windows in silence and listening to the wind in the trees. But don't drift too far into la-la-land or you'll miss the park entrance sign that leads you down a tree-lined path. And in Robert Frost's own words, this truly looks like the path less traveled. When we arrived at the campgrounds, I was struck by the careful planning of the sage, chaparral, and native plants, all woven to provide as much privacy as possible for each camp site. I quickly ran through my mental checklist: - Campgrounds clean. Check! - The bathrooms removed enough to be private. Check! - The sites secluded enough to avoid uncomfortable stares and half-hearted waves from neighbors. Double Check! Ahhh. We were going to have some fun. But the best part of this campground isn't the campsite. The best part comes from taking a 5 minute walk towards the beach. As I passed through beautiful sand swept bluffs, I could feel that familiar off-shore breeze on my face as I listened to the low mumble of waves in the distance. I was hyptnotized by the beautiful, tall eucalyptus trees, and wondering what their aged eyes have seen...when I suddenly find myself alone, in a surreal peaceful sort of way. There I was, standing in a giant span of a beautiful sandy beach; a beach with notably few footprints. As I stood staring at the ocean, I spotted a lone local resident meandering with his dog, while a few random sea gulls floated overhead. A postcard perfect sample of central coast beach. All to myself, and all I could think was how I was going to squirrel away enough time to come back.

    Breakfast over the breakers
    Bryan W.

    Have you ever driven along the Pacific Coast Highway and dreamt of owning the expansive ocean view from one of the million dollar homes perched on the coastal cliffs? If so, and you're discouraged because the dream seems out of reach, then take heart - you can enjoy that view from a campsite in Manresa Uplands State Beach nestled between aforementioned mansions which are pleasantly out of sight and out of mind. All for only $35 per night. The campground is in a clearing on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The clearing is bordered by tall windswept trees that allow you to pretend your more isolated in the wilderness than adjacent to developed land. I tell you this fact about the clearing because I had imagined the sites were beneath a redwood tree canopy and they are not. The benefit is you have a panaromic view of the ocean. Bushes as tall as a man separated the campsites and afford privacy. The campsites are walk-in. We fairly easily toted in all of our standard car camping equipment sans car. OMG! Do families like the campsite. As a group of three couples we were in the minority of campers. I had assumed that the walk-in campsite wouldn't seem kid-friendly, but that's because I forgot how much energy children have. There are two routes down to the sandy beach. You can either follow a switch back, paved trail or take 100 stairs down. This campground is listed in the Moon California Campground guidebook as one of the Top 10 most scenic campgrounds in the state. It earns this designation as a premier, panoramic view of the Pacific with about 2 dozen campsites. In addition to the fire rings at our campsite, there are fire rings on the beach.

    Quick picture of the site we had (17), well at least part of it.
    David W.

    At first I was a little worried, I had grown up camping at New Brighton, up the road about 5 minutes, and had awesome memories. How could Manresa compete with childhood memories? Well it may not have competed with them, but it allowed me to have newer memories with my family. We (2 other families and my family) decided to go camping and when booking our stay, NB was sold out so we chose the next best thing. We were not disappointed. Manresa is a decent sized campsite area but has the smaller feel to it since it has several sections. The bathrooms were clean, private, and not a far walk from any site. The showers were 25 cents for 2 minutes and from what I heard since I chose the dirty route, the water went from cold to hot instantly so you didn't waste money waiting for it to warm up. The downside is that, as stated before, you can't park at your site, you must unload at a small lot and then move your car to the overnight lot. However, with this, you don't hear car doors opening and closing as people get and put stuff back in the cars. There were 2 Costco style flat bed carts available for lugging stuff to the site. Or, plan ahead and bring a big toy wagon like we did. :) Almost every site was inhabited by a family (or multiple families) so be warned that there may be kids nearby having a good time and being loud. Since we were one of those sites, it didn't bother us. This may become a yearly site to visit. The beach is a 5 minute walk with a good amount of fire pits. It wasn't crowded when we where there. Extra notes: Do not plan on using the fire pits to make dinner, they only have a small grate on them. If you want to use them for food, bring another grate. If you can book site 13. Trust me, you'll like it. Don't book site 11, it's next to the bathrooms. sites 17 and 18 are pretty big and a great place to book if you have a large group. You can only have 2 cars per campsite. The first one is included in the fee, the second one is $8 . If you have more cars, plan on getting another site, asking your neighbors if they have only 1 car, or parking and walking from a distance. Plan ahead. Since this place gets busy and doesn't necessarily care about the number of people to site rule, spots get taken quickly.

    Sunset from the beach.
    Menlo K.

    Camped here Fathers' Day Weekend. The campgrounds were full and the weather was beautiful, but the beach was still not crowded. It's a standard California State Park Campground... 8 people and 2 cars per site. They are walk in, not drive in, so be prepared to carry your gear a few hundred yards. The beach is a little bit of a walk, but beautiful when you get there. The shoreline has been covered with sand dollars at morning low tide both times I have been there. We were able to watch dolphin and whales breaching from the campsite while making dinner. 20 minutes south of Santa Cruz. Don't get it confused with Manresa State Beach. It's a different part of the same stretch of sand, but about a mile south... and with camping. You can book 6-7 months in advance.

    Manresa State Beach Sunset
    Sandyann G.

    Manresa was the perfect camp spot for a girl's week-end away from home. We had a great site...thanks to Erin S... and only had to drag our things a short distance from the 20 minute loading zone. It was also secluded and felt like we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We got to watch a drift of Quail pass through our camp a couple times and a friendly bunny frolicked in our camp for a few hours. The beach access is a short stroll down a path. There are fire rings available on the beach but I believe quiet hours apply there as well so it is best to start your campfires early. No alcohol is allowed so bottoms up my friends before you head to the beach or, as the most interesting man in the world would say, 'Stay Thirsty'. The only bad part about Manresa is you must unload your car and then park it pretty far away. I don't mind walking but it is uphill and at night it is difficult to find your way back down into the campgrounds as your options are the road or the unlit paths. Bring some form of light as the paths are steep and slippery from the overnight parking area. The bathrooms are cleaner than most so it is nice to see this SB not taking a hit from California's money woes. The rangers do seem to be a little zealous in enforcing quiet hours. My friends and I were sitting around enjoying our fire and having pleasant conversation. As usual, I was napping as close to the fire ring as possible. This was about 9:30pmish. A ranger stopped and came over to tell us that quiet hours were at 10:00 and they 'do cite' for noise. Hmmmm...well that woke us all up and quite a lively discussion began. Had she not said anything we probably would have been in bed within about five minutes.

    Poison Oak at campsite #37

    POISON OAK at #37. Be careful. We camped at #37. It was a good size site. It can fit about three tents or so, however there were many POISON OAKS at the back of the site about 10 feet from the bench and fire ring. I already notified the ranger, and I hope they get rid of it. I suggest to search for this poisonous plant on the internet and learn to identify before camping here. I am sure there are many more. It seems people are setting up their tents inches from the plant just by looking at the ground clearing. This is also one of the reasons that you should never pick up twigs, dry leaves to start your fire, unless you can identify clearly. It could be POISON OAK. I'm still giving this campground 5 stars. Very dog friendly, nice beach, good exercise to haul your stuff in. Walk-ins are much better than drive-ins. No gas fumes, lights, noise, etc. We had fun, just avoid that said plant.

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    Very very long wait to get checked in and to speak to someone In kiosk to ask questions. Not much shade around.

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    Ask the Community - Manresa Uplands Campground

    Review Highlights - Manresa Uplands Campground

    You do need to haul stuff to your campsite with only a 20 min drop off point and a little hike to park your car overnight.

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    Moss Landing KOA Express - Check In, General Store, Bathroom and Shower

    Moss Landing KOA Express

    4.0(107 reviews)
    8.9 mi

    I am a big fan of KOA and have stayed at all of the three levels that I thought they had up till…read morenow. This one is a small KOA - the manager tells me it's the first KOAExpress. The other levels, journey, destination and resort are increasingly fancy, but generally have some kind of market, a cafe or restaurant, pools, jacuzzis and the like - more so at the higher levels. Well, this one was a fraction of the size of most of those. it was very well kept, nice level paved sites, excellent bathrooms - two full bathrooms, where you get your own toilet, sink and shower and door It's essentially located right in the harbor, there's a gate that will get you to the docks. Including all the whale watching boats . A bunch of sea lions were my neighbors on a rock on the other side of the fence. There are a couple of restaurants within walking distance as well, so that makes up for not having one on site

    I really love KOA campgrounds. This one is a hidden little spot between Monterey and Santa Cruz,…read moreless than a 1/2 hour drive to each. Really nice staff, very clean and safe. The spots are very close to each other, but this is a small campground, maybe 50 spots. The KOA person guided us into our spot, made it easy because if it was just me and the wife... well you know! Moss landing is an old fishing town, very small, abut very historical and interesting to walk around. The ocean beach is walking distance from the campground. I will return to this place, very safe and very secluded. Nice clean laundry room, landscaping is beautiful, location is in a very secluded area in the farming community. Very tight spots, you are really close to your neighbor. But that's OK, this is a place you stay at, and go out during the day to see the sites around the area. There is no stores or restaurants in the area. Only one deli (which is really good but only open to 3pm). So you will need to have food and supply with you.

    Photos
    Moss Landing KOA Express - Sunset

    Sunset

    Moss Landing KOA Express - Moss landing KOA

    Moss landing KOA

    Moss Landing KOA Express - Makes you wonder why humans can't do this

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    Makes you wonder why humans can't do this

    Uvas Canyon County Park - Greater Periwinkle

    Uvas Canyon County Park

    4.6(281 reviews)
    11.5 mi

    This review is specifically for the Waterfall Loop Nature Trail within Uvas Canyon Park, one of the…read moreBay Area's many "hidden gems." Nothing like a relaxing hike along a pristine nature trail to clear the mind and nourish the soul. I noticed that one recent review calls this hike "easy" but as we were climbing the stairs from the parking lot, we encountered two young women who looked to be in their 20s who were going in the opposite direction, returning to the parking lot. "It's beautiful," one of them volunteered to us, "but it's really HARD!" And indeed, on the trail we encountered young people who were visibly panting, even though the Waterfall Loop trail is shorter and easier than others in the park. So you might want to take that into account, FWIW, as the expression goes. It might also be helpful to mention the following: * The rules of this park call for purchasing an entry pass/parking permit online BEFORE you arrive. The reason is the limited number of spaces. Your permit is good for entry during a ONE-HOUR WINDOW for which you make your reservation. The person in the car ahead of us hadn't purchased a permit in advance and was able to use a credit card to purchase it at the entry gate but that might only be done when ample space in the lot is available. * To access the park, you must drive through a private 110-acre resort (Sveadal, meaning Swedish Valley), owned and operated by the Swedish American Patriotic League since 1926. It's a SINGLE-LANE road that is NOT LEVEL (quite rocky). You will want to make sure that your vehicle is in reasonably good shape for this drive. The only really scary part of this road for us was that at a couple of points, the incline is steep enough that you can't see ahead of you on this single-lane road. So you have to trust that no other vehicle is going faster than it should be coming toward you, in the opposite direction. * One more point ("muy importante"/very important): If you're coming for the waterfalls, use your preferred AI platform to check to make sure that the water will be flowing at the time of your visit. That's because the falls are generally seasonal and dependent on the amount of rain during preceding months. The falls are not large and thundering but they are nonetheless quite beautiful and soothing. PS: For those who don't know Spanish but may be interested: The Park is named after the Spanish word for grapes (uvas), referring to the abundance of wild grapes (Vitis californica) that early settlers found growing along the creek and throughout the canyon.

    The best hike I've ever been on! Great views with multiple waterfalls throughout the trail and a…read morehuge plus that the park is completely dog-friendly. Easy parking but you have to reserve a spot ($6) ahead of time. We only booked a day before and there were still a lot of availabilities. The reserved hour is only a time frame of when you have to arrive to the park but you can stay for as long as you would like. My printer ended up not working the day of so I called the park and they were so nice in offering that I just write my reservation number on paper and place it on my dash. The weather was so nice when we went (mid March) and almost all of the trail was beautifully shaded. We did the Waterfall Loop trail which was about 3 miles and lasted about 1 hr & 40 min. Moderately challenging and such a fun workout with absolutely amazing views. I loved everything about this park!

    Photos
    Uvas Canyon County Park - Lower waterfalls with my crush

    Lower waterfalls with my crush

    Uvas Canyon County Park
    Uvas Canyon County Park - Waterfall Loop Trail

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    Waterfall Loop Trail

    New Brighton Campground - Lunchtime

    New Brighton Campground

    3.8(23 reviews)
    6.2 mi

    April 18-21, 2025…read more Thought I'd update my review, since it's been almost 8 years! since my prior review. We stayed in one of the sites with water and electricity. I believe there are only 10 or 11 sites with hookups; the rest have no hookups. Even though they don't have hookups, I prefer the sites on the bluff overlooking the ocean, but those are almost impossible to get these days. It's competitive out there when trying to make reservations. We were very happy with our large grassy site with beautiful trees and lots of birds. The sites at this campground are a nice size; it's great to have your own space. Unfortunately, our luck was that there were several big groups of campers here together, and they tended to gather at the campsite near ours. Lots of kids, scooters, bikes, barking dogs, etc. Just families enjoying each other, but it was rather lively. The campground seemed like a different world after these groups departed. Peaceful, even. There is a bit of road noise that you can hear from some of the sites depending on their location; but at night it is quiet enough to hear the owls hoot. There are two trails down to the beach; the one that was closed on my prior visits was open. It's quite a climb, but worth every step. Dog-friendly beaches are always a huge plus in my book. Also a plus is that there are four dump stations ($10). I'll definitely come back--I'll keep trying; someday I might actually get one of those premium sites on the bluff again. Note of caution - if you have a tall rig, some of the trees on the road to the campsites were in need of trimming, so you need to watch carefully. Easy does it. Also, the garbage trucks come through at 6:00 in the morning. Really? At a campground? ....... So if you like to sleep in...forget it.

    Great beach camping spot in the Santa cruz county. Easy beach access, cute trails around to walk…read more You are able to walk into capital village which is a great spot. Bathrooms are pretty clean. They have dry spots and full hook ups as well!

    Photos
    New Brighton Campground
    New Brighton Campground - Morning view

    Morning view

    New Brighton Campground

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    Manresa Uplands Campground - campgrounds - Updated May 2026

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