Camping at Portola Redwoods

Portola Redwoods State Park has 55 family campsites in the redwoods, four group campgrounds, four hike-and-bike sites and a six-site backpackers' camp on Slate Creek. Family and group sites are reserved through ReserveCalifornia, each family site holds up to eight people and two cars, and no site has hookups. The family campground is reservable from late spring through mid-autumn.

The Family Campground

Of the 55 family sites, one is wheelchair-accessible and four are walk-in sites a short walk from the parking. Every site takes up to 8 people and two cars. There are no RV hookups anywhere in the park.

RVs and trailers: the limits are 21 feet for trailers and 24 feet for motor homes, and only sites 1, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 19 are RV sites. Remember the last miles of road are narrow and steep; see directions.

Showers: pay showers in the main campground cost 25 cents for two minutes. Bring quarters. State Parks may close them in extreme drought.

Times: check-in is 2 p.m. and check-out is noon. Quiet hours run from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and generators may not run between 8 p.m. and 10 a.m. Sound should never carry beyond your site.

How to Reserve

Book family and group sites at ReserveCalifornia.com, or by phone at (800) 444-7275. With no reservation, check the list of open sites at the park office: you may register for one night at a time, and only for a site listed as available.

Weather Closures

In fall and winter storms the park may close and campers may be moved. State Parks then offers a full refund from the day of evacuation, or a move to another park in its Santa Cruz District if there is space.

Group Campgrounds

Four group camps are for tents only, and reservations are required:

• Ravine Group Camp: up to 25 people; extra fee for more than 6 cars
• Hillside Group Camp: up to 50 people
• Point Group Camp: up to 50 people
• Circle Group Camp: up to 50 people

The three larger camps charge extra for more than 12 cars. Head counts include children and are strictly enforced.

Hike-and-Bike Sites

Four hike-and-bike sites sit in Huckleberry Campground. They are first come, first served all camping season, for people who arrive on foot or by bike.

Slate Creek Trail Camp (Backpacking)

Slate Creek Trail Camp is a primitive backpackers' camp about 2.5 miles from the Old Tree trailhead along the Slate Creek Trail. It is one of the Santa Cruz Mountains backcountry trail camps run by State Parks, alongside camps at Butano and Castle Rock.

• Sites: 6, up to 6 people each
• Cost: $15 per site per night, plus an $8 non-refundable reservation fee
• Water: none; pack it in, or treat water from Slate Creek about a quarter mile from camp
• Fires: not allowed; backpacking stoves are fine except in extreme fire danger
• Dogs: not allowed

Reservations are required and there is no dispersed camping. Submit a request on the State Parks backcountry trail camp form up to 60 days ahead; staff process requests Monday to Friday, 1 to 5 p.m., and you pay by phone at (831) 338-8867 to confirm. Hikers must be off the trail by sunset, so start early enough to reach camp in daylight. More trail detail on the hiking page.

Campground Rules Worth Knowing

• Crumb clean. Jays, ravens and crows that raid camps also eat the eggs and chicks of the endangered marbled murrelet, which nests in these old-growth trees. Leave no food out, not even a crumb. State Parks requires visitors to watch its short crumb-clean video.
• Firewood. Buy it at the park office or from the camp host. Do not gather wood; fallen wood feeds the forest.
• Dogs are allowed in campsites on a leash no longer than six feet, and must be inside a tent or vehicle with you at night. See dogs.
• Young campers. Under-18s camping without a parent or guardian need written permission; under-15s may not camp without a parent present.

Good For / Maybe Skip If

Good for: families who want a shaded redwood campground with showers within two hours of the Bay; backpackers trying a first short overnight on the Slate Creek Trail.

Maybe skip if: you need hookups or a rig over 24 feet (try the larger campground at Memorial County Park, which takes some RVs up to 35 feet), or you need to stay connected: there is no cell reception.