Petaluma Lake Area Campsites

We pulled into this small (no kidding, 6 sites!) park on New Years Day and had only two neighbors. By the end of the week, we had the park all to ourselves. This is one of those hidden gems that would be oversubscribed if it were too perfect. By that, I mean the absence of sewer hookups makes this park just inconvenient enough to keep out the long-term'ers and other less-mobile travelers. For our nimble crew, a few runs down the road to the dump station wasn't so bad... got pretty good at the rapid hookup by the end of the week! Speaking of hookups, I'll echo others' feedback: the hookups are on the wrong side. This seems like a silly design error that could have and still should be quickly remedied, but alas current state is such that the electric/water/cable post is on the side facing away from the road. This means that if you want your door to open onto the scenic views of green pastures and hills you have to run your utilities out and under your rig to the opposite side and incorporate that wired mess into your porch ambiance. We opted instead to face our door to the small roundabout road that makes up the donut-shaped park, made more acceptable by the fact that we also took the one 50A site which abuts the children's playground. Perfect for our small family and our rig that has large roadside windows that we can watch the kiddo play through. Were that not the case or were we more interested in the pasture views, we probably would have done the undercarriage routing. Regarding that 50A service, it worked until it didn't. On day 3, after our first dump run, we plugged back in and found it to be intermittent. After being woken up at 1am by the low battery alarm, we flipped over to 30A and rode out the rest of the trip there. Will report the issue on our way out, but frankly if you're the 50A-or-bust type than his probably isn't the place for you anyway (because you probably need sewer for your dish washer, clothes washer, water feature, lap pool, etc.). Each site is outfitted with a fire pit, picnic tables, and a trash can that's emptied every couple days by the facilities folk. Again, these amenities are on the same side as your utilities pole, so in our case they're on the backside of our trailer and not widely utilized. Still a nice feature, especially that trash can which removes one logistical hurdle in exchange for the lack of sewer. There is also a detached bathroom across the street at the Teen Center / Boys & Girls Club with toilets and sinks; nothing to write home about, but a good backup should you need an extra toilet (or somewhere to dump your liquids from a composting toilet, as is our case). The aforementioned kids playground is also a great feature for families of that age, and in these COVID times we were happy to see that it's sanitized daily by the facilities team. The park is frequented by the local childcare facilities, so our nomadic kiddo had others to play with which was nice. Lastly, some decent trails bring you from the campground around the "lakes" (manmade ponds) and around a small but scenic base. There's a decent coffee shop on base, as well as a pizza joint that we defaulted to one late night. Otherwise you're 15 minutes from Petaluma and all that great town has to offer in terms of dining, services, and entertainment. 20 minutes in the other direction gets you to Tomales and Bodega Bay, beaches and cute beach shops, and some fantastic seafood places. We didn't make it to the wineries, but those are a similar distance to the northeast and make this place a perfect adult getaway. All in all we're very happy we came to TRACEN. It's everything you could want without the crowds!

We are new to RVing so I do not have a lot of experiences to compare this trip to. We enjoyed the park very much. It is quiet and the spaces are very spacious. There are only 6 spots, but they could have made double that amount. If you have younger children with you there is a really nice playground with and a horse shoe pit. Bring your own horse shoes. The lake is small and some might call it more of a pond. The Canadian Geese have taken it over so there is a lot of goose poop around it. Walk carefully. I also might add for those of you who do not know the area that This is pretty common in this part of the state. Those geese are everywhere. Each site has a nice fire pit and a table. Make sure to bring your own wood as there was none available on the base. The exchange is small and there is no commissary. The gym is nice and there is a nice coffee/sandwich shop with good hours. Religious services are available on Sunday. The base theater has new movies but you do have to pay. $4.00 per adult. (still a bargain in today's world). There are lots of trails on the base. This would be a good place to run, walk or ride a bike. We were able to use the dump station. Everything was in working order. Make sure to check the hours of the MWR desk. They close at 1:00 on Saturday and do not open again until 1:00 on Sunday. You need to check in or out with them, so make sure to make arrangements if you will not be there during that time frame. We will be returning. A really great experience.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

We are going to use this campground in a couple of weeks. We went to the base to check it out. The base security were very helpful and had no problems with the VA health ID and the background check. They told me to check-in with the folks at the MRW office. The folks there were a delight to talk with and knew the ins and outs of the new system and what was available to us. They gave us all sorts of flyers with a ton of info on them about different programs. The camp ground is in a nice area and very open and spread out. They have 6 spots and a nice pad to park your rig. The dump area by the sewer treatment plant is easy to get to but be aware of which side your sewer hook ups are on. You might have to turn around to put them on the right side. We are looking fwd to staying here and checking out the base.

This was our second stop with our new trailer and our second time here. The woman who checked us in this time was a bit rude at first. But after a bit of joking with her she opened up. I still prefer this family camp to the others we have been at. This is a RURAL base set amongst many dairies. If you can’t handle the “smell” of live stock in the area then go to Travis. This is a perfect spot for families with children. There’s the playground area which was perfect for our now 28 mo old granddaughter. The free movies on Friday night are also a plus. The library has a wonderful area for young children to sit and read or be read to. You can take a book to read (bring back of course). You can swim in the pool, fish in the pond, play volleyball in the sand or horseshoes. Once the gym is finished you can shower there and you will be able to rent bikes and some other equipment. The kids from base housing are very polite and helpful. Since school is out they are there every day for a couple of hours. There are kids of all ages to play with. If kids bother you Travis might be a better fit. It’s sterile and does have everything you would need. It's about 50 miles to San Francisco, 20 miles to Bodega Bay or 55 miles to Travis. If you need diesel the cheapest is at Valero 910 Baywood Dr., Petaluma - they do charge more for credit but is still the cheapest. From North bound 101 take the 116 Sonoma/Napa exit stay in left lane to turn for fuel or right lane to take you to Washington St. Turn left at 1st intersection, station is on right. Base does not have diesel.

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!!!

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

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.

We borrowed a friends’ trailer (1984 - 24’) to find out if we like trailering. Was our first time to try a trailer & 1st time to stay at a FamCamp. We stayed here for 3 days with our 19 mo old granddaughter and had a great time. We arrived on Sunday, they had only 1 spot left. Monday 3 left, Tuesday 2 left with no new arrivals. We left on Wednesday for the Monterey FamCamp. The playground equipment was great for keeping our granddaughter entertained. We were very impressed with the facility and will definitely be back.

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.

While not exactly close to San Francisco it was perfect for what we needed. There are six spots in a horseshoe that were plenty big enough for my motorhome and trailer with space left over to park the car and motorcycle. The staff at the MWR were very friendly and competent. I will stay here again if in the area.