Petaluma Lake Area Campsites

We are still at this great place. If they could add another 30 sites, it would be a great boon to the military RV community. A great jumping off point for touring the area, from San Francisco, to Bodega Bay and points North on CA-1. There is no way I would want to do CA-1 in a motor home or large RV trailer. There are signs posted that tandem axle over 30 ft in length should avoid portions of the highway. The gym is the place to check in with. A little clarity on the directions once on-base. There are two entrances to the old helo pad just past the gym on the left side, and recreation parking lot mentioned. One is on Pennsylvania Ave, and the other is on to turn right on Colorado Avenue and enter there. The one off of Pennsylvania Avenue is a sharp turn and a down hill drive onto the parking lot. We exited there as you will need to travel down Colorado Avenue and turn right on Wisconsin Avenue. The helo parking lot is large enough to U-turn if there are no vehicle parked in there. Either exit is doable. Travel to the end of Wisconsin Avenue to the stop sign. This will be Pennsylvania Avenue again. Turn left, and just past the picnic area is the horseshoe driveway for the RV park. As to the galley food, we have found it excellent so far, and I doubt if we will be disappointed. All of the personnel and staff have been very friendly and helpful when information was needed. I gave the amenities a 4 rating because of the lack of sewer connection. Everything else has been great. We stayed here in a motor home and would return again.

This base in a pretty country-side setting among rolling hills and farmland about 8 miles west of Petaluma. It was very quiet with deer and wild turkey roaming the area. The base is relatively isolated yet it does not have a commissary or exchange - just a small mini-mart. We came to visit Point Reyes National Seashore which is 25 miles away. There is no parking at the office in the gym - had to park at helo pad about 200 yards away for check-in. Only 6 sites, with 30 amp and no sewer. Overflow is no longer available. All 6 sites were reserved for the weekend so I had to leave after 2 days. Dining is available at the chow hall but I was a little disappointed in the quality of food. They ran out of some items halfway through serving hours. But you can't beat the price. I thought that $16 was a bit high for 30 amps and no sewer. I had just left the FamCamp at Travis where full-hookups with 50 amp and sewer and a full selection of cable TV was $17. And a large exchange and commissary were just blocks away.

Staff was great. Sites are big and plenty of room between you and your "neighbor". The only downside is there is no campsite sewer hook up. The rest is super. The wildlife in the area is beautiful. I will be back!!!

This is our first time staying here and it is absolutely fantastic. Checking in was very easy and since the sites are all pull-through, parking was a breeze. All six sites have 30 amp service and water. The dump station is about a half-mile from the park. If you want quiet and dark, this is the place to be. We visited Petaluma, Point Reyes National Seashore and Bodega Bay while we were here and had family visit us as well. Getting someone on base is very no problem. Just call the main gate and tell them who is coming and when. Make sure your visitors have driver’s licenses, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. There is gas (no diesel) on base, a small exchange, barber shop and a mini-market. The gym is great. The movie theater is open every evening as well. You and your guests can eat in the Galley for all meals. The noon meal during the week has limited hours for retirees; 12:15-12:30. Friday is seafood day and it is a feast. When we got in they were out of crab but there was some huge peel-and-eat shrimp (some fried too), fried calamari, grilled Ahi tuna and jambalaya. The salad bar is wonderful as well. Both of us ate that meal for $6.50 and I think you can eat breakfast for under $3.00. The only negative is if the wind is blowing in the right direction, you will know that there are neighboring dairies. Nuff said. We will be back!

Small, quiet and beautiful campground and the only improvements would be the addition of sewer at the sites and a laundry somewhere on base. All staff were wonderful and the galley was great.

G.W. left this review using the Directory software: Ditto to all the great comments on this site. This is a wonderful quite site with lots of walking trails. Makes me proud I'm a retired Coastie.

Don't miss this campground! Although only 6 RV pads, the campsite is beautiful; the on-base facilities are excellent -- very guest-friendly. Jason, in charge of the library, has a huge collection of DVD movies, well organized. The lower rating on hospitality was from a brusk reception for me and others awaiting help when we went to resolve a routine Tricare matter. The rest of the experience was a "5". Petaluma is an excellent base from which to visit the dramatic, beautiful seashore and hundreds of California's best wineries. We were sorry that our plans only allowed us to stay a five days.

S.R. left this review using the Directory software: What a fantastic deal. Super large sites, so big that you could put a couple rigs in each designated site if necessary. Beautiful views of the lake and the surrounding hills. More small bases need to model after this one.

This is the way to run a FamCamp. Boy were we surprised how nice this gem of a campground was. We had traveled for almost 3 weeks when we got here for our last week of leave, and what a way to end our trip. One word, RELAXING! A charming little base with good amenities for such a small place. I don't know what the Coast Guard is doing, but the Navy and Air Force could learn a LOT from these young men and women. We were routinely greeted and welcomed everywhere we went. From the great gym, to the nice movie house, to the awesome galley. Breakfast for 2.40, dinner from 3.85, and the food was EXCELLENT. They are family friendly and all are welcome to eat there. Contrary to the other comments, the seafood buffet was delectable, equal to a 5 star restaurant in Chicago. I must admit, we were able to get in right away, so the food wasn't gone. Our retired "friends" weren't let in until almost the end. By then, I had consumed 6 LARGE crab legs that were dynamite, a pound of large pacific shrimp, and an awesome fillet of sea bass. We hated to leave, and at 16 a night, this is value. The only drawback was no sewer at the site. They have wild blackberries all over the place. We picked enough to make an awesome pie, and plenty for our ice cream too. The lake is nice, the trees smell great, and deer walk all over the place. They have a free RV/car wash site on the old helo pad too! Overall, it was THE BEST military campground we have ever stayed at. We will be back as soon as we can. Pt. MuGu and Fairways at NBVC could learn a lot with a stay here. A hearty ooh-rah to this base and it's fine staff and CO. Thanks!

New directions when entering the base and getting to the campground:
Take Washington Street exit off US 101, proceed west through the City of Petaluma. After passing the Chamber of Commerce building on the right, continue 8 miles (Washington Street will become Bodega Avenue). Follow the Coast Guard signs and turn left onto Tomales Road. A flashing amber light marks the main gate. Turn left through the main gate and immediately turn right and go around the building. Stop at the gate for an extensive interview with the gate guards. When directed to leave the gate area, turn right and go straight on Pennsylvania Avenue. Park at the helo pad on the left past the gym since there is no big rig parking permitted in the gym area. Stop at the Gym on the left to check-in with Rob or Roy. Proceed down the hill on Colorado Avenue until you get to the last right turn. Turn right until you get to the dead end and turn left. You will see the lake on your left. Campground is past the lake on the left. --- You can no longer preceed on Pennsylvania through the housing area to get to the campground.

Stopped by to look around and update the information. Pleasantly surprised! Nice, pretty, and quiet campground! Looks like a GREAT place to relax and enjoy the local area. Very nice base with small, but adequate facilities. Based on previous reviews, we had Friday lunch at the dining facility. Good, but we weren't impressed. Retirees have to wait until 15 minutes before closing before they can enter to eat. By the time we got in, the clam chowder and the cold seafood bar was empty and wasn't refilled. We enjoyed a good shrimp lunch.

Located near wine country, the famcamp was a good location to hang out and explore the area. There are only 6 sites, W/E only - dump station is back towards the main base along side the road. There are plenty of nice walking trails, including trails to the main part of the base. No BX/Commissary to speak of, but there is a mini-mart and small CG exchange. Theater has movies every night, and retirees are allowed to use the dining hall. Nice, quiet famcamp - we would stay again.

No sewer connection, showers at base gym, a mile or so.

Every year we camp at this country base and for us it is a true vacation. Wonderful location for peace and quiet and what a great viewing spot for watching a variety of many kinds of birds. The food at the dining facility is still great, although now the rates went up five cents! All you can eat for lunch or dinner for $3.55. The salad bar is larger at the lunch meal and if you are a seafood lover, be sure to go on a Friday lunch, they serve all kinds of fish and a special seafood cold bar. Last summer we had our ten yr old granddaughter with us and she too fell in love with this small base. She went swimming at the pool everyday, went to the library every morning and attended the movies twice a week and discovered how nice and friendly everyone was on base. She was ready to move there permemently after two weeks!