Marina Dunes RV Park

You are immediately adjacent to freeway, separated by only a wood fence. Yes, the noise might well wake you like it did me.
The staff, with exception of the receptionist, was friendly, but she was a b@&$!.
I left after one night & had a much nicer experience boondocking nearby and staying in other nearby parks in the Monterey area.
Del’s bottom line: The park has nice amenities, but for the location, and in consideration of the alternative parks nearby, it is highly overpriced.

The park itself is clean and well-maintained. The staff is friendly and helpful. All sites have full hook ups, a fire pit and picnic table. You can walk to the beach through the sand dunes which is beautiful. The nightly rates are high even with our 20% military discount. Hwy 1 is right behind the park, so there is a lot of freeway noise, but after awhile, you tend to forget about it. The original section is better then the lower new section, especially for privacy. Sites 63-69 overlook the back of a hotel. No privacy! Although the staff say they are waiting on their permit for a fence. We eventually moved to site 45 which was better. The WiFi is average, but my At&t worked well. Monterey wharf was about a 20 minute drive. We really enjoyed Carmel by the sea. Cute shops and good restaurants.

Small sites close to each other but is a pretty campground. Small paved patio that picnic table sits on. Gravel sites, which I much prefer to asphalt or plain dirt. Sites have fire pits, but some, like in our site, are so close that bad wind direction blows all of the smoke right into your rig.

Great location close to various attractions:

Monterey Zoo: 23 minutes away
Old Fisherman's Warf: 14 - 28 mins, depending on traffic
Cannery Row/Monterey Bay Aquarium: 15 - 30 mins, depending on traffic
Blue Ocean Whale Watching Tour: 11 mins
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: 40 - 60 mins, depending on traffic
Marina State Beach: within walking distance but recommend you drive to parking lot if you are hauling beach chairs or other stuff (get to parking lot as soon as it opens as it fills up quickly and stays that way all day)

LOTS of excellent seafood restaurants nearby.

This was our second favorite spot in 15,000 miles. It is close to the highway yes and there is road noise yes. It is a closely spaced campground, but really beautifully kept. We did not use the facilities so can’t comment on those. What we did every day was open the gate by the trash bins and walk into Narnia. There are our dogs ran like crazy and we walked down to the ocean. (Wish everyone would pick up their dog poop in Narnia!) We walked along the ocean and then back to the camper to do chores with two tired border collies. We ended the day on the beach in Carmel at sunset where we did some more beach walking and ball throwing for the dogs. We had one great dinner after another in Carmel after enjoying the beach. It could not have been a better life.

We had a mechanical problem at the site and the staff came to repair it within 5 minutes of receiving the report. It was not too busy the week of Dec 10th when we were there. My husband golfed and shopped. It was cloudy, foggy, rainy, and sunny in turns but nothing could change the magic of the place.

Stayed here for a week in November 2020. The beach it is next to is really private and nice to walk to. Nice bathrooms and showers and laundry facilities. Folks who run it are really nice. Can't beat being that close to Monterey and surrounding areas. It would be amazingly off the beaten path except for the road noise. It is definitely a sleepy location where not much is happening, but be prepared to sleep with road noise. It was like white noise to us, so we didn't mind it.

Great location! Right across from the sand dunes and walk to the ocean. Close drive into downtown Monterey. Hwy noise is a bit much so know it’s not a quiet, peaceful getaway. Our site (15) was small and awkwardly shaped. We have a 22’ and saw smaller pop up campers in much larger spaces. Would stay here again because of location, but it’ll likely be awhile. But so thankful it was open during the COVID SIP!!!

We really enjoyed this campsite. The staff was friendly, the facilities were clean, and the location is great. It’s a short walk (1/4 mile) through the dunes to this amazing beach! We were traveling with littles and there’s a playground, plenty of kids to play with, and just a ten minute drive to the aquarium.

Campsites are a little tight and can be a little difficult to back into. Not impossible, just be prepared to have someone spot you backing in. Our spot backed up against the freeway, but if you don’t like the noise try to get site 50-62.

Our only complaint was we booked two spots six months in advance and we’re not put next to each other. When we booked we were told the sites would be next to each other, but upon arrival they said with the timing of the surrounding rigs it was impossible. We were placed only two spots away so it was too bad, but still a little disappointing.