Doran Regional Park

Great sites with water on both sides of us. Nice breezy days not to cold. Big fluffy clouds but the storms all seemed to pass us. Sites are spacious. no hookups. Site was paved and pretty level with fire pit and table. Camp host was pleasant. We spend each day walking down along the beach with our dog. On Sat and Sunday it got a little more busy with people crabbing along the levy. We were lucky to spot a bob cat with a baby. We would come back again.

The first thing you have to know about this campground is that there is a fog horn that goes off every 9 seconds... it’s not too loud or obnoxious, it’s just there. If you’re expecting peace and quiet, this probably isn’t the place for you. That being said, you do get used to it and eventually tune it out.

We stayed at the “Jetty” portion of the campground and it was clearly the best in terms of location, views and proximity to the beach. All the sites were fine, though you’ll probably end up getting your leveling blocks out if you want to be 100% level.

Showers are $2.00 and the facilities were pretty clean.

Go to town to get firewood (gas station, the only one in Bodega Bay) and save yourself $4.00 per bundle conpared to the campground host’s prices.

You’d never no it driving into Bodega Bay (where we had mostly no cell signal at all) but the Verizon and ATT cell service here is THE FASTEST I’ve ever experienced... Verizon was 60 MBPS upload and 140 MBPS download. That’s not a typo... 60/140 up/down. That was unboosted and with an external antenna. I couldn’t believe it; and that was with only 2 bars of service on my iPhone X standing at the sea shore. Incredibly fast; enjoy your multiple 4K Netflix streams :)

The park itself was just ok; no playground for the kids, but there was a nature station near the circle campgrounds. There’s also access to maintained walking and biking trails from the main road.

We love this park for an easy get away from 'the city.' The park extends into Bodega Bay at its northernmost end, and the feeling is like being on an island... a sometimes cold, windy and wet island!

There are two distinct areas... the Jetty campgrounds, and the Marsh/Harbor side Campgrounds. Each has its own charm... Jetty being closer to actual beach, and the others looking across the harbor - which can reveal seals, birds, and windsurfers depending on tides.

Restrooms are clean and well maintained, with hot showers available.

It is dog friendly, but to clarify another post: Dogs must BE ON LEASH when on the beach. There is a separate Dog Run on the harbor side that is only really usable when the tide is low. It's about a hundred yards long... our small dog LOVES it.

Sonoma parks recently made all of these sites available to book online, but will attempt to accommodate 'walk ins'. Weekends are almost always full up.

Spectacular sunrises and sunsets camping right across from the long strand beach. This is the only CG in the area where dogs are allowed on the beach. Doggie bags everywhere. Resv highly recommended. Sites are level. Put your chairs away at night to avoid dew. Nearby is the best clam chowder at Spud Point Crab Co. Outdoor seating only on picnic tables.

We got very lucky and had 3 days of sunshine and very little wind. Our campsite was partially protected by bushes and trees which gave some additional protection from the wind and some added privacy. The bathrooms and pay showers were very clean. It seemed like most camp sites were set up to be able to back in quite easily. And there are sites for very large rigs as well. The website for Doran Regional Park gives good information on the size of the sites and any objects or bushes that might be in the way. We did find that we were not able to back all the way back into the site and be able to open our awning due to a tree branch. It made it a little tight parking the truck within the site.

We were able to check in early, but they said the site may not be cleaned yet. We wished we had brought a rake, because there were crab shells and legs left around the picnic table.

Warning: do not pop up a tent under an inviting tree. The fog will condense and rain down on you all night. I've never camped in such foggy conditions and now I know. Site was windy during the day and cool and calm at night. The south-facing beach was protected from the prevailing northernly winds.

There was broken glass and a baggie of dog poo in my site which was disappointing for an otherwise well-regulated and expensive campground. Bathrooms are ok, showers are coin operated but I did not use them bc I did not come prepared with quarters. Site 122 is near by the bathroom at the far west end of the sandbar.

Highlight of the area is Spud Point Crab Company just across the bay but they close at 5. Went on an off time in mid week and there was no line, just delicious food.

The locals jokingly call it "Blowdega Bay" sometimes. And it really did blow -- about 30-knot winds all day and night for the 2.5 days / 2 nights we were there. When it's this windy, you get quite the show of kite-boarders out on the bay. The wind curtailed a lot of outdoor activity for us and kept us awake at night with a shivering trailer and a horror-movie soundtrack.

No hookups, but there are plenty of potable water outlets and there's a dump station. An older section, probably designed to be more tent-friendly, is out at the end of the point. We saw plenty of RVs out there anyway, and some of those sites looked appealing.

The newer section has a bunch of wheel-and-spoke campsites, and it was just fine too. A few sites seem fairly private; most aren't, because there just isn't a lot of vegetation.

Beach-combing is wonderful here -- it's a great beach for walking. The last morning (the morning we left, of course) the wind had calmed and it was really pleasant.

Bathrooms... not fabulous, but okay. Some of them are vault/pit toilets, some have flushable plumbing. All clean, but could use an update. We didn't use the showers.