Saddle Mountain Ranch

This was the worst campsite I've visited at this price point.

Parking our relatively short 16ft trailer was difficult in the cramped spots. I had to come in the exit road in order to get the angle required to park. The group that arrived after us had similar issues.

Our site had dog poop left in the turf.

The spa was out of order.

The oak trees were covered in "oak worm" caterpillars. They were descending from the trees continuously through our 4 day stay in August. Our "luxury" patio area was covered with them, and they crawled up wheels, cables, chairs, awnings, chocks, everything. We cleaned off the picnic table and within 5 minutes it was unusable. We were stepping on them and getting them under our feet in our sandals. We understand that nature must take it's course, but when customers are paying $120+/night, they should shut down the plagued sites while it does or at least warn campers before they book.

Oh and it's 15 mins away from town.

This place really could be delightful however they have just crammed way too much into their tiny cliffside property. First you ascend up a windy one lane country road and then straight up a hill. Beware if you are towing. Do not bother if you have a wide load. RV spots are just crowded around a small parking lot, tent sites are quite literally terraced one on top of the other, and cabins share the walls of the one beside it. It really is a shame because the location, amenities, and pool are gorgeous. They could really have created a luxury experience with their resources. The bathrooms however, provide one toilet and shower for each M and W restroom with open air windows that stay open and freeze the room.
During our stay the entire property's water stopped working for a morning. Each day, children ran around the entire property screaming unsupervised through parking lots and playgrounds until about 10:30 pm. Overall I would not recommend or stay here again.

If you read past reviews you will discover that Saddle Mountain is not for everyone. But it was a perfect spot for our 20ft RPod. Arrival was quick and easy. Backing into site 16 was no problem. The amenities were plentiful. Due to its proximity to Carmel it is not cheap but it beats paying Carmel hotel room prices. We drove the 5 or so miles into Carmel for a day at the beach and also drove down to Big Sur for some hiking. The road leading to Saddle Mountain is very narrow and could be an issue with larger rigs.

We had a very bad experience. The road to the park is very, very narrow. The RV sites are quite tight, jammed around an asphalt square. It felt like a Costco parking lot. Very unattractive. We have a 26' foot Class C, and I was quite concerned about backing into the allotted "premium" spot.(There are no pull through sites). It was also quite noisy, with so many RVs crammed into such a small area. After checking in early afternoon and being assigned our site, my wife and I decided we could not stay. We expressed our concerns to management and asked for a refund, which was denied. We left and checked into the Carmel by the River park, just down the road, where our stay was delightful.

Read the earlier reviews. If you have an RV longer than mid-20's this probably isn't the place for you unless you are a confident at backing in tight spaces. The park is carved out of the side of the mountain and the grade to enter and depart is steep. There is not a lot of room to maneuver when you get to the RV parking area by the office. Our sub 20' bunkhouse was no problem to fit. There are bigger trailers here so I know it can be done...I would not want to.
The resort is well maintained and very clean. The staff are attentive, friendly and accommodating. If you have a second vehicle, be advised that the tow vehicle parking is away from the RV site, they charge for additional vehicles, and that the overflow parking is up, up and up the hill.
The pool is excellent, as are the other facilities such as playgrounds, gazebos, corn hole, horse shoes, basketball and sunset cocktails with a view. There is a trail that continues to the top of the mountain winding through the woods, it is a vigorous climb with excellent vistas of Carmel Valley around every turn.
The WiFi is solid and enough bandwidth to support Zoom schooling.

Unique RV park in the hills and tucked away off of Carmel valley road. I wouldn't stay with a unit longer than 24ft because backing in can be tough. Spaces are small but adequate and only 20 or so RV spaces. Really geared for tent camping up above the RV spots. Nice (cold) pool for the kids; nice hike up the mountain from the back of the park. Staff friendly and helpful. Spaces are close together so if your neighbor is oblivious to quiet hours it can be loud. Short 15 minutes to Carmel beach (best dog beach in California), and close to Monterey, Pacific Grove and everything else that makes this place special. Don't arrive by Salinas and up and over the mountain, take highway 1 and exit Carmel Valley Road. We stayed in multiple spots because we came back for additional stays.

Just do not stay here. I wish we had read more reviews before our trip. This is NOT an RV friendly location. The road to the site and down from is VERY narrow and steep. We have a 26 foot trailer towed by a full-size pickup.

Then we find the RV spots are basically a glorified parking lot and honestly I think we have more room at our storage spot at home. Other negatives points which many other reviews noted - very limited parking, limited shower facilities, self-service check-in mid-afternoon, rude staff, etc.

If you are a tent camper, the spots are equally as small and crowded. I can't speak to the cabins although they too are very closely situated. My husband described it as a hobbit village.

I was really looking forward to the hike they tout on the website with "360 degree views of the mountains of Big Sur, Carmel Valley and the Pacific Ocean" which turns out is not accessible near the end due to downed trees. Another group warned me on my way up the trail and I went to check it out. These were not recently fallen so I question how often any staff member checks it out.

The final straw - we were in town for a wedding and en route heard my husband's aunt had a stroke so obviously we needed to change plans and wanted to leave one night early. I inquired about a refund from the office staff and was told flatly "no". In fact the woman practically gloated about how Paul, who I assume is the owner, refused a refund to a guest whose father had a heart attack. My comment to her was that was not good business practice and her reply was "actually it is". Well - I will be sharing our experience on every social media site I can to ensure others do not have the same as we did.

We booked Saddle Mountain Ranch for our trip down the coast after realizing rain was in the forecast and wanting to escape the dirt ground campsite we were at ... The paved (though narrow and winding) road up to the park and the gravel spots were appealing considering the forecast.

The RV spots are all lovely and separated by bushes and flowers (a very nice touch). Each site has full hookups (including basic cable) - some have wonderful views of the valley and a couple include nice touches like the Japanese maple tree in the corner of our spot. Each site has a picnic table, bbq for cooking and some have larger plots of "yard" (fake grass) to hang out on, which we loved. They were also very happy to welcome our little dog and seemed very pet-friendly in general with several waste bag stations on the property.

The wifi was strong even inside our trailer and cell reception was solid. The bathrooms and showers were clean. There is a large pool (though it was too cold for swimming while we were there) and there are lovely spots to sit all over the property, including one with a fire pit.

The staff was friendly and helpful and genuinely seem to care about the place.

There is a medium-difficulty hiking trail that leads through the woods and up the hill to some amazing views of the Carmel Valley and the ocean. But at the same time, you're only a few minutes away from grocery stores (including a Whole Foods) and all of the amazing retail and restaurants in Carmel (including the amazingly dog-friendly Porta Bella).

It ain't cheap, but we loved our stay at Saddle Mountain Ranch and look forward to returning!