Description

The San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA is a lovely resort-level campground that is family and big-rig RV friendly. The campground is within easy driving distance of San Francisco sights, Sonoma and Napa County Wine Country, as well as local breweries, beaches and imposing stands of giant redwoods.

Location

San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA
20 Rainsville Road
Petaluma, CA 94952

Details

We stayed for one week at the San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA in mid-May of 2016. We have also visited this campground several times in the past for shorter stays. We have always been impressed by how friendly the staff is and how clean and well maintained the grounds and facilities are. For this stay we had a full hookup pull-thru site with 30 Amp electrical. Our site was well shaded and had reasonable separation between sites to either side.

The KOA occupies 70 acres with 312 sites providing many options for campers, including: tent, big-rig RV sized back-in and pull-thru sites, group sites and various sized cabins. The campground is beautifully landscaped with mature trees providing shade for most sites.

Cost

Our stay here averaged $63/night, including tax and KOA Value Kard discount.

Amenities On Site or Nearby

The campground provides a small general store with basic groceries, household goods, camping supplies, souvenirs and tourist info for the local area. Gas stations and restaurants are available a mile or so away at the exit from Highway CA-101. Other groceries, supplies and amenities are available nearby in Petaluma.

Ratings (1-5)

Accessibility – 5/5

The campground is easily accessible from Highway CA-101 and the surface roads. Most of the lanes within the park are wide enough to easily accommodate the largest RV rigs, although there are a few interior lanes/turns which could be a problem, depending on how other campers have parked.

Much of the campground and facilities are handicapped accessible.

Facilities/Amenities – 5/5

The campground offers all of the basic amenities expected from a KOA and more – tent sites, full and partial hookups sites, rental cabins, laundry rooms, large playground, picnic area, restrooms and showers, swimming pool and spa. The camp store was fairly large, providing many food staples, RV and camping supplies, souvenirs, and a nice choice of local wines. The swimming pool is quite large, clean and well maintained. As noted, staff was friendly and helpful.

For younger folk, family-friendly amenities include a petting farm, large bounce pillow, rock climbing wall, trike rentals, game room and video arcade, hayrides, movie nights and karaoke. By all accounts, Halloween is a big event here, but book your Trick-or-Treat stay early!

Site quality – 4/5

Sites are clean, spacious and most are well-shaded. RV and tent sites are equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. Some of the end sites are equipped with Adirondack-style chairs and swings. RV sites are level and surfaced with gravel or asphalt. While most of the RV sites are quite spacious, several pull-thru sections have less separation between sites and may feel somewhat cramped.

Scenic Value – 4/5

The campground is set among rolling green hills and farmland. The campground itself is beautifully landscaped – forested mostly with eucalyptus, redwoods and other conifers.

Location/Isolation – 4/5

Since this campground is situated well away from any busy highway or other roads it receives little road noise. This is, however, a very popular campground and can be very busy, especially for weekends and holidays in peak travel season.

Paws Friendliness – 5/5

This campground is very paws friendly and provides a large enclosed interactive pet run. The park is spacious enough to provide a good long walk for your pet. There are plenty of pet cleanup stations located throughout the park.

Overall Rating – 4/5

Overall, we thoroughly enjoy our stays at the San Francisco North / Petaluma KOA and can highly recommend this campground.

Additional info

Internet access

We  could receive a moderate Verizon signal at this campground and did not require our antenna or booster for good MiFi hot spot internet access. The campground provided free WiFi, but we did not use this during our stay.

Water Quality

The water at this campground tested moderately hard – we added our water softener to the water filtration stack.

Nearby attractions

There are many attractions within easy driving distance from the campground, including:

• Golden Gate Bridge and other sightseeing in San Francisco
• Tour wineries in the Sonoma and Napa County Wine Country
• Visit local breweries – Lagunitas, Petaluma Hills, Russian River and other brewing companies
• Visit local beaches near Bodega Bay
• See giant redwoods along the drive through the Russian River Valley