Finding RV Parks in Monterey can be difficult if you aren’t familiar with Monterey and the cities around it. If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent a good amount of time researching any and all RV parks nearby to find the best one for your family’s needs. As an RVer who visits Monterey often, I am giving you my all-time favorite place to stay, as well as some other great options nearby.
You are going to learn all about the best RV Parks in Monterey California.
After learning about some of these spots, you’ll be ready to plan your trip to the beautiful Monterey California area to explore all the beauty and fun that it has to offer.
This post is all about the best RV Parks in Monterey that you’ll love visiting.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
RV Parks in Monterey
Planning a Trip to Monterey, California?
When exploring the Central Coast of California, RV parks in Monterey are a great way to go. There are some great RV Parks in Monterey, CA to explore and bring you close to some amazing attractions. Monterey is absolutely one of our favorite areas on the Central Coast of California, it’s stunning and offers some really great activities for families. It’s the perfect place to camp at an RV Park and enjoys the beach or nearby shopping and parks.
Picking an RV Park in Monterey
Let’s face it, the Californian coast is expensive anywhere you go. Hotels are easily $300+ a night, it’s crazy! If you’re traveling in an RV, it can be much more affordable. However, if you’re not careful, there are still some places that can be pretty costly. We found our new favorite spot to camp our RV in Monterey and will probably choose to go back there whenever we visit the area. When looking for an RV park, we always check to see if the location is nearby attractions we’re interested in checking out. We personally also want to be near a grocery store, gas station, restaurants, and fast-food locations. This RV Park in Monterey checked all of our boxes!
Marina Dunes RV Park
We picked Marina Dunes RV Park because it was just minutes away from the beach. It is also just 20 minutes from Fisherman’s Warf and Cannery Row in Monterey. We love that it’s just across the street from the Marina Dunes Preserve and a short walk to the Marina State Park. It’s usually a pretty quiet beach spot, and you may even catch some paragliders taking off from the cliffs nearby!
At the Marina Dunes RV Park, they have all the necessities that you’ll need for a short or long stay. They are pet friendly, have laundry facilities and even a gym. I would consider it to be a smaller park with only 96 spots. It has a really nice community with lots of greenery and shade. Each spot had a fence and we felt comfortable with the amount of privacy that we had. The only downside that we experienced was the noise from HW 1 right behind the park.
Best RV Parks Near Monterey, CA
As most of us do, I hopped onto Google to check out what options we had for our first trip to Monterey with our new fifth-wheel RV. When we purchased our RV, we received a free one-year membership to Thousand Trails. We upgraded to the Trails Collection which added on access to 100 extra campsites across the US. We plan to do quite a bit of camping over this year and the one-year camping pass with Thousand Trails is a great option for what we need at this time. If you haven’t heard of Thousand Trails, it’s a camping membership that gives you free or very cheap access to campgrounds all over the US. You can check it out and get $100 off by clicking our referral link here.
Marina Dunes RV Park was one of Thousand Trail’s options in the Monterey area which meant that we could stay there for $20/night. The location was right where we wanted to be, I called and they had availability for us, so we booked it!
Finding Private RV Parks in Monterey, CA
As I was researching RV parks in Monterey, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many military-only parks there were. If you are a veteran or currently serving in the military, there are some great options that are only for military families. Along with those, there are a few KOA’s nearby. We have enjoyed every KOA camping experience that we’ve had! Moss Landing KOA, the Salinas KOA, and the Santa Cruz/ Monterey KOA are all in the area and are set up for families to enjoy their park as well as the surrounding area. The other surrounding I recommend searching for RV parks would be Carmel, Big Sur, Salinas!
{Related Post – Buying An RV For The First Time: 6 Important Things You Need To Consider}
So, What is there to do in Monterey?
Once you get to Monterey what should you and your family do? There is literally so much to do in the Monterey area! Check out my next post for a full list of great family activities to do in Monterey. For now, here are a few of our family’s favorite things to do while we RV in Monterey.
Top Things to do in Monterey
Cannery Row
With lots of shops, restaurants, and places to explore, Cannery Row is one of our favorite places to stop while in Monterey. It’s full of history with many things that point to John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row novel. We love grabbing a bowl of clam chowder, or stopping and having lunch with a view of the water at the very first Bubba Gumps restaurant.
Dennis the Menace Park
As I said, there truly is so much to do with kids in the Monterey area! Our son is 2.5 and loves parks, so we took him to Dennis the Menace Park in Downtown Monterey. I had heard great things about the park but had never visited before. It was our first time and we were impressed with how extensive this park is! There are swinging bridges, tons of slides, places to climb and jump. It was impressive. You also have a beautiful view of the ocean as you’re watching your kids play.
The Beach and Dunes
Of course, there is the beach! We spent a couple of afternoons over at Marina Dunes State Beach, just minutes from our RV park. We love how quiet that beach is. Walking distance from where our RV was parked, we could walk through the Marina Dunes Preserve which takes you through the dunes and eventually out to the water. It’s a beautiful walk and Oliver was totally ready for a nap after we were done! A win-win for everyone!
Enjoy Your RV Camping Trip in Monterey
We always enjoy our time in Monterey, California. Whether it’s at the beach, a park, shopping, or even just having family time back in the RV park. Camping is a time to spend together and explore. It gives us a chance to slow down, live simply, and go on an adventure together to experience somewhere new (or a favorite place).
This sounds like a very fun vacation. I’ve always wanted to travel in an RV for a long road trip. I’ve been hesitant because I don’t like to drive for too long in the road.
Hi Aghogho! Absolutely, it’s quite a thing to travel long distances. I don’t know how some people do it for long hours. We have two little ones and I have lots of snacks and a bag full of activities to keep everyone occupied for a couple of hours. We always break up the travel too if we can, so having a stop for a day or two if we’re traveling far.