Marina Dunes RV Park - Thousand Trails

This park was really great! The walk to the beach was right outside through the dunes. It was a short drive to Monterey. The manager was so friendly. The bathrooms were the best of our entire 6 week trip! The only problem was that the site was really tight. The manager said that we could have parked down at the newer part. There was no one there when we arrived so we didn’t know that. We have a 38 ft fifth wheel.

We have stayed here before in the original loop and this time in the newer lower loop. Pricey campground with functioning amenities and friendly staff. You can definitely hear the highway from either loops but it did not bother us. They really need to build a privacy fence that separates the lower loop from the Motel parking lot. That was really the only bummer. We’d definitely stay again but ensure a fence has been built or get a different spot.

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.