We stayed at San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA in Petaluma, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Another nice RV park in another wine country.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-04-30
- Check out: 2023-05-07
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Cloudy and drizzle
- High temps ranging between 58-64°F, lows around 43-47°F
- Negligible wind in the shelter of redwood trees, apparently up to 25 MPH gusts nearby
Noise:
- No freeway noise
- No road noise
- Distant train noise, rarely heard
- Occasional neighbor noise (kids)
Site:
- #17, back in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
- Very unlevel; used blocks on front jacks
- Medium site: about 40 feet long by about 40 feet wide
- Swing seat, table & chairs, fire pit on nice concrete patio
- Tall trees; shrubs and hedges between sites
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 55 PSI water, conveniently located
- Loose sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 5-14 Mbps up, 45-140 ms ping
- AT&T: 11 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
- Verizon: 16 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Swimming pool
- Petting zoo
Our review on Campground Reviews:
A bit expensive, but pleasant enough after the initial hurdles
We stayed for a week in a deluxe patio back-in site in the redwood grove. The beginning of our stay was not auspicious: firstly, my husband went to check us in but didn’t have his wallet, and they demanded ID, so I had to go in with my full wallet because they not only wanted ID but to also actually physically see the “card on file” and made me swipe it instead of just charging it from the computer.
Secondly, unlike most KOAs, we did not have an escort to show us to our site…which was occupied by a long-term resident. So we had to drive our rig back around to the office to get that sorted out. They were due to leave the following day, but we got the (almost) as good site next to it. So even though I’d paid the site lock fee (like a chump), I didn’t get the site I’d selected (and did not get a refund).
The site was unlevel front-to-back and was just big enough for our 40-foot motorhome. Any longer and we would have either 1) hit the berm behind the site or 2) had our nose out in the street.
However, once we settled in, we enjoyed our stay here. The large family groups were in another part of the park, and the redwood grove area was nice and quiet. We also enjoyed the hedges between the back-in sites, which provided some privacy on the lovely patio. We camped at San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa is fun for Peanuts fans. Lots of fantastic wineries in the area. If you enjoy bubbly, definitely check out Iron Horse. Head to Muir Woods for a beautiful walk and take the scenic route along Hwy 1 back to camp.
Interactive map:
The RV park map; it says our site was #16, which was the one we had chosen (and paid the site lock fee to reserve), but when we pulled up to the site, it was occupied. So we went back to the office, and they reassigned us to the site next to it, #17:
Our site:
A nice fairly private patio, with shrubs and a hedge providing screening, and attractive stamped concrete:
Bear and fish stamps:
Not much clearance:
Utilities; I used a water-weighted bag to secure the sewer, since it was unthreaded:
This is site #16, which we were supposed to have, next to where we ended up; a bigger site, being on an angle, but otherwise much the same:
A free range peahen:
Other sites:
Most of the sites seem rather unlevel:
Entrance gate:
Office:
Petting farm:
Goats:
Games:
Deflated jump pad:
Picnic area:
Chicken run:
Chickens and peacock:
Rooster and peacock:
Donkeys:
Dogrun:
Games:
Feral cat:
Cabins:
Covered seating:
Playground:
