Best Campgrounds Near Berkeley
20 hand-picked camping destinations curated for families visiting REI Berkeley. Each campground selected for quality, scenery diversity, and memorable experiences.
Showing 20 campgrounds
Featured Picks
Steep Ravine Campground
Steep Ravine offers a standout nearby experience with dramatic ocean cliffs, coastal redwoods, and access to a small beach, pairing top-tier ratings with classic Marin hiking, fishing from nearby shorelines, and family-friendly bike access.
Kirby Cove Campground
Kirby Cove combines one of the most iconic Golden Gate Bridge views in the Bay Area with a sheltered beach and cypress groves, giving Berkeley families a close-to-home, high-rated coastal escape that feels incredibly special.
Portola Campground
Portola Campground delivers classic redwood-basin camping with streams, shaded sites, and both hiking and biking, plus permitted swimming holes—an excellent all-around forest destination within a day-trip range.
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park Campground
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park balances oak woodlands, hidden redwoods, a creek and waterfall, and excellent ridge hikes, plus dark-sky stargazing—offering a different inland feel from coastal redwoods while still highly rated and family-friendly.
Liberty Glen (Lake Sonoma)
Liberty Glen overlooks Lake Sonoma with warm-water swimming, fishing, boating access, and rolling forested hills, making it an excellent weekend base for families seeking a lake-focused adventure within a few hours of Berkeley.
Gerle Creek
Gerle Creek offers classic Sierra scenery with creekside camping, nearby reservoir paddling, and excellent hiking and fishing, giving families a high-rated, true mountain-weekend option distinct from coastal and lowland sites.
More to Explore
Francis Beach Campground
Francis Beach in Half Moon Bay is a very popular, highly reviewed blufftop campground with easy beach access and a family-friendly coastal bike path, ideal for first-time or quick-getaway campers.
Samuel P. Taylor State Park Campground
Samuel P. Taylor State Park pairs towering redwoods with a creekside valley and a paved multi-use path, giving families shady camping, flat biking, and creek play all within an easy drive of Berkeley.
Pantoll Campground
Pantoll Campground is a high-rated, simple forest campground at the heart of Mount Tamalpais, perfect for families who want direct access to an extensive network of redwood and coastal-view trails.
Bodega Dunes Campground
Bodega Dunes offers sheltered campsites among dunes and cypress trees with nearby wide beaches and coastal trails, giving a different Sonoma Coast experience from cliff-edge campgrounds like Wright’s Beach.
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park Campground
Henry Cowell Redwoods combines big trees with access to the San Lorenzo River’s popular swimming spots and trails, making it a great weekend pick for families mixing redwoods with summer river play.
New Brighton State Beach Campground
New Brighton State Beach offers blufftop sites above a broad Monterey Bay beach with swimming access, pier-area fishing, and nearby bike rides, ideal for beach-centric family weekends.
Black Miners Bar Campground
Black Miners Bar on Lake Natoma brings warm flatwater for paddling and swimming together with lakeside trails and oak-shaded sites, offering a mellow foothill lake option distinct from coastal and high-Sierra waters.
Eagle Point Campground
Eagle Point Campground sits right above Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay, giving families an alpine-lake base with beaches, waterfalls, and classic Sierra hikes in a single, highly rated destination.
North Grove Campground
North Grove Campground in Calaveras Big Trees surrounds families with giant sequoias, meadows, and streams, offering a unique big-tree experience very different from coastal redwood parks.
Aquatic Park Cove, Black Point Overnight Anchoring, Sailing Vessels Only (Auxiliary Engine Ok)
Aquatic Park Cove provides a rare boat-in camping experience right in San Francisco Bay, ideal for families with sail or paddle craft who want an overnight on the water with iconic city and bridge views.
Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area Campground
Carnegie SVRA Campground caters to families who ride dirt bikes or ATVs, offering direct access to an OHV trail network in rugged inland hills, a very different experience from forest or beach camping.
Wright's Beach Campground
Wright’s Beach offers sites just steps from the sand on a dramatic stretch of Sonoma Coast, perfect for families who prioritize beachcombing, surf watching, and sunset walks.
Kelsey Creek Campground
Kelsey Creek Campground sits between Clear Lake and Kelsey Slough, giving families easy access to warm-water swimming, boating, and productive fishing in a wildlife-rich wetland setting.
Union East Campground
Union East Campground on Union Reservoir offers quiet, paddle-friendly alpine waters, granite shoreline slabs, and forested sites, ideal for families seeking a more remote, self-powered lake experience.
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