Sunset State Beach

We traveled with a 22ft travel trailer. Spot 79 at Dunes Camp. This is the best spot at Dunes camp. Flat with lots of space.

There is NO dump station or water for RVs anywhere at this campground. Closest dump station is at New Brighton State Beach 10 miles away for $20.

Bathrooms old. Showers ok, old but clean.

The beach only allows dogs in one location and you need to drive to it. There are stairs to the trail from Dune Camp but dogs are not allowed there because it is a Plover nesting site. Rangers drive by to tell you that if they see you.

Last thing, only one bar AT&T cell coverage

Amazing location

The location and calmness of this place is what makes it. Although bathrooms were relatively clean they weren’t very private and could do with renovating. However for the price they were fine. Camp hosts were kind, lovely spots available in Dunes Camp and a 5 minute walk to an unbelievable sunset. Would return.

Perfect camping spot 2 minutes from the beach. Clean bathrooms with running water. Very very very safe. Lots of families but again, super safe and beautiful

Lived in the area for years and never knew it was there. Clean campground and restrooms. Easy walk to the beach.

The actual phone number is Phone:(831) 763-7063.

You can make reservations 48 hours ahead of time at their website. Otherwise, First Come, First Served.

This was such an easy going trip, the staff was great and worked well With security. Plenty or area to picnic with large groups, charcoal grills, sinks. Great place for a small fat get to gather or couples tent in the water.

Some campground sites are large enough for two tents and cars can be parked close by but the real benefit here is the beach access. Sunsets are very beautiful and certainly make it worthwhile to go camping here.

Nice campground, relatively quiet. Beach access walking over the dunes or for less walking, drive down 1/4 mile to the beach parking at the south end. Beach is wide and empty. 

Dunes Camp and South Camp loops have decent spacing in most sites. Pine Hollow campsites seemed a little tight.

Reservations are hard to get in 2021, we lucked out and happened to find a reservation that must've just been cancelled.

We stayed here for three nights and it was beautiful! You can walk down to the beach, take a trip to the henry cowel redwoods, go ride bikes in santa cruz. We have so much fun. Things we learned.. don't let your kids pick flowers. Do not hang things on tress.

Recently stayed at Sunset State Beach for one night on a Hwy 1 road trip. This spot is only about 20 minutes of the main hwy but definitely feels off the beaten path. We made reservations at site number 62 about a week ahead of time as this know to be a busy area during the summer time. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to a half empty campground(Every other campground we had passed in the area was full to the brim). The campground has bathrooms with hot water and quarter payed showers. As for the sites they are large enough that you are plenty far from your neighbors, but open so you can definitely see what everyone around you is up to. There are a couple of short, but steep trails to the nearby beach. The nearby beach is beautiful and definitely called Sunset beach for a reason! If you take a walk along the beach you’ll be sure to find a few different shells and maybe even a whole sand dollar. Definitely a great spot to stay for a Hwy 1 road trip.

great location, close enough to civilization in case you forget any necessities, yet far enough away to make you feel away from everything.

campsites are pretty close to each other.

We love camping at Sunset State Beach. We have camped and have done day trips on the beach. Dogs can be allowed on beach if you go to the right of the main entrance. No dogs to the left.  Camp sites vary but the best loop is South Loop. Some with ocean views but those are hard to reserve.  All sites are close to beach trails. Steps down to the beach but can drive to beach parking lot if not full to spend the day or ferry down your stuff for the day. The campground is next to typical watsonville fields. We love seeing the tons of strawberry plants when in season. Can be cold at night. Campfires allowed. Rangers do come around to enforce quiet time after 10pm but we didn't mind. Make sure to secure your food or the racoons will get into your cooler.

This site has showers, water, bathrooms and trash bins. There are a lot of sites and I reserved mine to guarantee a spot as it does fill up. It has beach access that is easy to get to and is very beautiful! The sites do not really have any boundaries between them and I could see everyone’s site. Definitely could use some shrubs or trees so each site isn’t in full view of Each other.

This site was less then ideal yet worked out in the end. It’s a bit windy from 4-8 pm. We were here in June. The bat show in the evening was great. Close to the beach. Ground was in even yet close to the bathroom and had its own water spout.

Nice campsite within driving distance on the Bay area on a 1 night stop on the way down to Big Sur.  Only negative experience was our bear locker wouldn't close properly, and we suffered the consequences when we awoke to a family of raccoons raiding the box.

Nice lots on a cliff above the beach protected from the wind by some doug firs and eucalyptus. Beach is long and expansive with very few people on an average day. Nice place to take a stroll and relax. Not far from Santa Cruz, maybe 25-30 minutes depending on traffic. Sometimes there's a decent sandbar for surfing. Always had a good time at this campground.

The campground was almost empty in the middle of the week with only a few vehicles and tents there early for the weekend.  Strawberry fields surround the campground and are next to the Hike and Bike area. The walk is not too difficult down to the beach.

Close to the beach, hot showers, fire pits

This is a great place for the day or for a few nights. As far as California beaches go, this one is always the least crowded. The sand is wide enough that all the people can spread out fairly well. You bound to find plenty of sand dollars and hopefully a sea lion or two!

Nice quiet campground surrounded by rich soil that strawberries are grown . Beautiful view from the cliff of the ocean .

Multiple areas to camp that are all pretty close to the beach. I've been camping here for 20 years.

I'd say every place I've ever stayed on the beach is lacking in privacy. It's always so strikingly in my face though since most of my camping is done in the forest where you always at least have the illusion of privacy. Truthfully I hate it but that's a matter of preference. There are some more private-ish spots to be found here. I like to have space and at least shrub lined sites that separate you from the other campers. The beach here is beautiful. You can walk to it from the campground some sites are further away than others since there are three big loops of sites. It's mass camping near the beach. Great for loading up your stuff for the day and spending the day at the beach then coming back to your site to eat and crash. Everything I've read says no dogs on the beach but if you enter the beach near the ranger kiosk at the opening and go right after descending the stairs you aren't technically on Sunset beach and you can take your on leash dog for miles.

If you can get a reservation here (which is VERY difficult) you will have the best time. We had a spot that was facing the strawberry fields instead of the water and it was still great. Beautiful sunsets and a quick walk to the beach (down about 100 stairs or you can drive down and park). The campground is full the whole summer and sometimes the bathrooms suffer from overuse. Campsites are close together and not private. But really, you are here for the proximity beach.

Wanna see an epic sunset? Bring your family, and camp here. Hike to the top of the dune. Don't forget your layers, the windy is chilly! A great beach to relax on, sometimes there's surf here too.

Awesome beach camping. We camped in the winter and had no reservations, but got a good spot anyway. Winter can be a very nice weekend!