Salt Point Sp Gerstle Cove Campground

Open — Gerstle Cove Campground is open year-round for reservations. Woodside Campground is closed for the season. The park currently does not have a camp host to sell firewood.

About

Gerstle Cove Campground is perched atop dramatic coastal bluffs along Highway 1 within Salt Point State Park, offering 30 family campsites with sweeping Pacific Ocean views. The campground provides direct access to six miles of rugged Sonoma coastline featuring sandy beach coves, steep sandstone cliffs, rocky promontories, and kelp-dotted waters. The adjacent Gerstle Cove Marine Reserve, one of California's first underwater preserves, offers exceptional diving and snorkeling opportunities where marine life is completely protected. The park encompasses diverse ecosystems beyond the coastline, including large prairies, forested hills, and unique pygmy forests atop coastal ridges. Over 20 miles of hiking and equestrian trails wind through this varied terrain. Wildlife viewing opportunities include blacktail deer, raccoons, coyotes, brown pelicans, other water birds, and sea lions near the tidepools. Coastal weather can be changeable with fog and ocean winds even in summer, so layered clothing is recommended. The campground provides paved campsites with fire rings, picnic tables, and restrooms. It operates year-round via advance reservations through Reserve California. Note that Woodside Campground (the park's other campground) is closed seasonally, and the park currently has no camp host selling firewood. Dogs are allowed on-leash in the campground and on paved areas but prohibited on hiking trails and beaches.

Directions

Located on Highway 1, approximately 90 miles north of San Francisco. The park is roughly 18 miles to the nearest gas stations, with Gualala to the north and Jenner to the south. A small store for basic groceries is at Fort Ross, approximately 5 miles south.

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