Pacific Dunes Ranch & RV Resort

We stayed in late October and loved it. I was told by a local that October and early November are the best weather times of the year. Fog rolls in and cools it down during other months. We had clear blue skies our entire stay.

With Thousand Trails you still pay $20/night for this location. You can also camp on the beach for $10/night through the state park and we saw many RV's right on the beach, including large fifth wheels. Pacific Dunes Ranch is in the dunes 1/2 mile from the beach which is a hearty hike or you can drive to the state park to get to the beach.

3 miles up the road is the Monarch Butterfly Grove with free entry. There were 850 estimated Monarchs when we visited. Best time is November/December from what I was told. We were a little early. We still managed to get a picture through the scope they had on site.

Overall, we loved this location. It is one of the few places I would pay the extra fee with TT.

This resort is what you make of it. If you plan on being out and about doing activities - exploring the town, dunes, SLO County, etc. it’s a great place to come back to, have a fire (make sure to bring a fire pit), and rest for the night. Otherwise, the sites are pretty tight. We were given both 44 and 45 because our site was only long enough to hold our 30’ TT, so they gave us the next site to park our truck. Luckily, they did this with everyone in our row which meant we all had a space in between us that allowed for a bit more room to spread out. Without the extra space, we wouldn’t have been able to have a fire and set out camp chairs. I was thankful that the resort did this even on a holiday weekend. We were in the lower level which didn’t give us a great view of anything, but it meant it was much less windy than the upper sites. I’m giving 4 stars only because of how tight this place can be. We were fortunate that the pull through spot in front of us was empty when we arrived and again when we left because there was no way us newbies could have backed in and pulled out very easily.

We stayed here close to 4 months. Sites are adequate and if they have space they will give you the spot next to yours for parking your truck/tow vehicle. Gravel pads with a picnic table. Quiet location between vegetable fields and the dunes. Access to the dunes is in the back of the park. Great spot to let dogs runs. My only complaint is how many dogs (atleast 4 on a regular basis) were running around leashless without owners anywhere to be seen. Honestly, it was a little absurd. I mentioned it to one of the ladies in the office who's response was "you're not the only one who's complained, I'll talk to them" It's been several weeks and it's still the same. Dogs running around, marking peoples personal belongings. This is a little bit of a soapbox issue for me because it's a safety issue and one that's simple to prevent. Not all dogs are friendly or good with other dogs and the front office seemed blasé about it. It's not fair to "hope they are friendly" while you're walking your leashed dog around.

Check-in was great and very friendly. Park needs some trees/shade and kinda run down and sites are super tight. Rigs with awnings could almost touch other rigs with slides, and in some case, do. There were a lot of full timers with a lot of old run down rigs. The bathrooms were OK. Location is great if you enjoy the sand dunes, our dogs loved it. Would stay again, as there are not may options, but not high on my list of pay-parks.

We like this location right on the dunes. It is close to town with access to a Walmart and Trader Joe's in Arroyo Grande. We are longtime members of Thousand Trails and enrolled in Trails Collection to get access to this Encore resort for only $20/night. Only issue was that the water didn't taste good even though we use filters. Staff and most of the other campers were very friendly.

Pacific Dunes Ranch RV Resort was the ultimate Pismo Beach Oasis. We especially loved the location, the staff, and the nearby attractions. The staff provided information about local attractions and made us feel welcome.

On the downside we would have liked to have a better internet connection (very weak and slow even though we paid for it) and there was only one shower stall in each of the bath-houses on the upper level.

Otherwise we really loved the park and the area. We recommend site number #192 which has the greatest views of the sand dunes, the horses, and you will have a great neighbor to boot!

We will definitely be back to this beautiful area and this park.

Check out our full review here: https://youtu.be/vyxMQG3sDiE

We camped here overnight but we would have stayed longer if we had more time. The staff was very friendly and helpful and we absolutely loved the location. Right on the dunes, very quiet at night and close to the town of Pismo Beach. From our site, it was only 100 feet to the trailhead which led right into the most stunning dune landscape. Provided you wear the right kind of shoes, hiking to the beach takes between 20 and 30 minutes. Another great thing about a location this close to the ocean is that there are no mosquitoes.
On our hike we were treated to an absolutely fabulous sunset. Considering the number of photographers present, this was no exception. Make sure you head back on time, because after the sun is gone, it is really dark out there.
It was a little windy. We had a site in the upper part, which meant proximity to the dunes and a terrific view, but more wind. If you want less wind, find a spot in the lower part. It will be a little further from the trailhead and the view will not be as nice, but the wind will be much less. The road up the hill to the upper part is a pretty steep incline, but by all means doable.
The sites are not very large. Our site was big enough to get in and out easily, but we would have liked a little more room for privacy. But considering the whole package, we were very happy to be here!