Samuel Taylor State Park

If you’re looking for a dense forest camping experience then this is a lovely place to stay but for us, we just couldn’t eek out much solar. Nothing hit the rooftop panels and the ground deploy had dappled light just a few hours a day. Generators are allowed but we don’t have one. Dump station was closed during our stay. The road through the campground was narrow and winding, definitely wouldn’t want to do it in anything bigger than our truck and 25’ trailer. There are water spigots scattered through the campground but no option to fill your onboard tank. We did have enough cell service for work and video meetings on AT&T plus our Mimo. Without sunlight it stayed dark and damp in the trailer even though it wasn’t overly humid outside... and in mid April it was still a bit too cool to keep windows open all day.

We had no idea what to expect when we booked a night at this location but loved it. Some of sites were a bit close together but the location was fantastic, in and among Redwoods.

Victoria was able to hike several trails and I was able to take the ebike on a paved trail that runs for several miles along the adjacent creek.

We had no plans for the next night having initially planned to search out something new. However, this location was great. Even though our site was booked by someone else the following day, we were able to rent another.

PS, our motorhome is 25 feet long and there were several sites that could accommodate it. However, there are several that could not. If reserving a site make sure it is adequate for your equipment.

We stayed here in early January 2020 and it was fairly empty, even on the weekend. We pulled in on a Saturday and stayed for a week. We got decent cell signal and could work and stream shows for our kiddos. The staff were friendly and the showers (50 cents for 2 minutes) were very spacious. It did take a full 1-2 minutes for the hot water to finally warm up, which means you pay and can't really shower, but it was very hot when it finally warmed up. There were only a couple other RVs and a lot of tent campers. The hiking in the SP is absolutely amazing and the Bear Valley visitor center in Point Reyes is wonderful!! Also the nearby town of Point Reyes Station is darling. We will for sure stay here again if in the area.

Samuel P Taylor state park campground is a close jump from the Bay Area, on Sir Francis Drake Blvd through the San Geronimo valley. The trip through the tight streets of San Rafael wasn't the most fun in a 26' class A so if you are going to visit in an RV, try to plan your drive through town when there won't be traffic (not sure when that is, seems really busy all the time). That said, once you get past Fairfax, it's an easy road through a beautiful area to Camp Taylor. The length limit of 31' for a motorhome at the park seems iffy, since at 26' we were barely able to navigate through without hitting trees (especially upon exiting through the day use/picnic area).

This historic park/campground seems well maintained, in spite of its age - decent firepits, picnic tables, several dumpsters/recycling bins, bathroom near us had hot water, soap, paper towels(!). There was a big ranger and sheriff presence when we were there, in our opinion not because they expected issues, but seemingly because that's just how CA Parks staffs the area. There are a number of ranger residences nearby/within the park. Every ranger/sheriff we talked to was great and helpful.

The nights we were there, which were a Wed and Thur night in late April, all campers near us were very respectful & the place was silent overnight. There were a couple of generators running here and there but no late night loud partyers. Not sure what happens here on weekends or during holidays but I suspect that the high visibility of rangers/sheriff deters loud partying. If you take the gorgeous and strenuous hike up Barnabe peak to the fire tower, you'll be too tired to party very long :)

Lots to do/see here. Aforementioned Barnabe peak hike was awesome. The Pioneer Tree trail was also really cool. Exploring both directions on the Cross Marin Trail is fun. You can hike over to Kent Lake, or head (in a vehicle) to Tomales Bay or Point Reyes. Verizon 4g signal was good. Didn't see this mentioned in other reviews: there is a lot of poison oak everywhere in this park, which is not a surprise, given the climate/terrain. We were vigilant and (hopefully) avoided contact but just a heads up, bring your Tecnu!

The campsites themselves are widely varied at SPT. I had booked 49 based on availability & photos, but upon arrival, it was on top of the neighboring 48 (who also happened to be running a loud frame gen when we pulled in, one of the least appealing things to hear in a beautiful, natural setting). The rangers let us move to another unbooked spot, they were very accommodating. There are great sites for tents, some great sites for RVs, some really unlevel/tight spots, some more open but less private spots. All spots but 22-25 in the Creekside loop are pretty close to the road so there's road noise. The Orchard Hill loops are a little farther from the road. https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/469/files/SamuelPTaylorCampgroundMap072516.pdf

Site 57 appears to be the largest and a pull thru so accommodated our 30 fifth wheel but pulling out slides is an art in this site. And if you need to back up and redo it’s rather steep so get it right the first time. We will try 48 and 49 soon and think that’s a better place for us. Great short and long hikes. Level bike path. Solar obviously doesn’t work here long. We pull in with our own water and take our shit home. This place is way better than olema. Did that for many years cuz that’s what the family wanted but get a generator and go to better places enjoy!

I'll start with the positives. Samuel Taylor State Park is nestled into a stand of redwood trees and is very pretty. There are trails throughout the park. It'd be a heavenly spot to come for a weekend with a tent and relax. The cell service is oddly fast considering the remote location.

But there are, for a full-time traveler at least, plenty of negatives. The campground loop is tight with hanging branches and a narrow entrance road. The sites are small and sloped (I had a hard time leveling my 16 foot van). The tree canopy is beautiful but solar power isn't possible. Showers are available but are coin operated and not regularly cleaned. The dump station is closed, and there is no place for a rig to fill up water (spigots are available but for filling jugs only). State Park staff directs you to a private RV park in Olema, which charges $10 to dump and fill.

The reason to stay is that it's the nearest public-land campground to Point Reyes National Seashore, which makes it worth a visit. But at the end of the day, I can't get past what is essentially $35 to park on a slope without any services (and an additional $10 to dump at a different location, even though a dump station exists in the State Park). California's State Parks have the worst cost to value ratio I've seen, and yet they are consistently booked full. I can't tell if people don't care, or it doesn't matter to them, or they've simply given in.

AT&T was 20.1/mbps down and 8.66/mbps up in the morning, slowing as the day progresses to around 7/mbps down.

We love our quiet little old Samuel P. Taylor. campground. We have always managed to have good luck booking a spot on a short notice at this camp ground. the rangers still pick up the PHONE when you call!

Our trailer is 29-8" long and considered a shorty in the 5th wheel game, but at Samuel P. she is a land yacht! This is a very old park with narrow roads a couple tight turns that also have enough elevation/slope in them to make you stop and go Whow $H!t We camped in spot 27. its almost a straight shot back that you have to land between a pair of very large redwoods. I would say that NONE of the spots are level so be prepared for that. Even with our trailer all the way to one side, we still didnt have enough room to push our slide all the way out on the driver side.

lastly, DONT leave anything out at night. the raccoons at SPT are large and in-charge.
we left our Scrabble board game out on the table ( no big deal right?) . My wife and me were woken to a fat racoon ripping the box to shreds.. When I tried to chase the raccoon off with a BBQ spatula & flashlight, it just sat there and laughed at me.