Olema RV Resort & Campground
Category: Hotels & Travel Campgrounds Campgrounds [Edit]
10155 Highway 1, Box #175Olema, CA 94950
(415) 663-8106
12 reviews for Olema RV Resort & Campground
12 reviews in English
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Review from Jeff B.
Santa Monica, CA
12/4/2011
This place is pretty nice for a private RV "resort," which usually just means that the place will charge you a steep fee to sleep in a parking lot. This spot has a few tent-only sites and quite a few pull-in sites for people in RVs or (like us) in a VW bus. It's not in a forest, by any means, but it meets the camping essentials by being surrounded by some tall trees, a creek and the occasional bleat from cows in fields nearby. Fire rings are well-maintained. The overnight fee is almost unreasonably expensive, but they apologize for it by having a post office, laundromat and other services on-site.
Not camping, but as close as you can really expect to get in the area. -
Review from Jowin C.
8/9/2011
It's like an unpaved parking lot, and a bunch of people camp in it. You're surrounded by trees, but it's not the nature scene you expect out of a magazine. Our camp area was next to mini bulldozer or excavator--and there was a pile of cut trees saying keep out. It's a great site if you want to bring your kids and let them experience "camping", in addition, there is a playground. I like that you can use their bathroom to shower for free. If you want to wash your dishes, you have to go to designated areas for removing grease.
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Review from Crystal S.
San Rafael, CA
7/28/2011
We booked our reservation online (a month or so ahead) after browsing their beautiful website (Camp Taylor was full, boo). My husband even called ahead to make sure all was in order (we have 3 kids and didnt want to be squished up in someone else's business). But, alas, when we arrived at our destination we were a bit disappointed by our findings.
The big red barn they advertise is boarded up and closed. "newly paved roads" were not exactly newly paved. And the whole right half of the campground designated for tent camping was closed and under construction (and yes we could hear the saws).
We proceeded to our assigned spot in a cul-de-sac shared with rv's and were disappointed to see that the campsite was **really** small and squished between two other campsites already full. Plus, it was right up against some ugly dead shrubbery. No at all picturesque as West Marin can be. So we drove around the (pretty empty, we booked a few weekdays) campground and ended up requesting a different spot (141). It was in an RV ring, but still better than what we had been assigned.
The woman at the office was polite, and once we set up camp it didn't seem too too bad (until an RV pulled up *right next to us* the next day), but I think Olema RV Resort & Campground sort of misrepresents itself online. I think if I was driving an RV all day, it might feel more like a "resort." But for tent camping-- go somewhere else prettier with more privacy.
Pros
*bathrooms were moderately clean (including showers) and well stocked
*each campsite has a water faucet, picnic table and fire ring
*post office and laundry on site
*playground (though it's an old school steep one (which I don't mind, but other kids kept getting hurt).
Cons
*Campsites are ridiculously small (try to get a corner or end spot) with lackluster landscaping.
*Should have been up-front about the construction and assignment when we talked on phone.
Though it wasn't a miserable trip, we won't be back. -
Review from David S.
San Francisco, CA
7/20/2009 7 photos
This is a very nice campsite for both RV and tent camping. We were tent-camping so this review reflects only that. Reasons why I would return:
Wi-fi available and cell phone access (at least by Verizon).
Storytelling by a professional storyteller for children & families on saturday nights.
Playground area for children.
Places to play games such as Volleyball, Tetherball, and Shuffleboard.
An on-site Catholic Church
At the entrance to the park, there is an onsite Post Office, Laundro-mat, and a store where you can buy more charcoal, wood, and simple supplies but they don't carry milk, butter, juice, eggs or anything like that. If you need more ice or dairy, just drive north to the next town about 1.5 miles to Point Reyes Stationhouse.
Very clean bathrooms with free hot showers (as opposed to the coin-operated ones in most other places)
Dishwashing stations.
There are security guards in golf carts that patrol the premises to make sure the park rules are followed.
A COUPLE OF THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW:
There are racoons everywhere, but if you'r a camper, you already expect that. Just pack your stuff away tightly before going to sleep.
Individual campsites are not that big, so you might be a little close to your neighbors if you have campers on both sides of you. -
Review from Jasmine L.
San Jose, CA
6/12/2008 5 photos
If you want to rough it while camping, this site is probably not for you.
Plenty of water faucets located throughout
Flushing toilets
Hot Showers
Electricity outlets for the RVs
and...
a LAUNDROMAT!
When I first arrived, I was pretty amazed with all the amenities the site had to offer. Checking in was easy, and the staff were resourceful and friendly. They also sell firewood for $8.50 a bag. At first, I thought we were barely camping, but I quickly appreciated hot running water and clean bathrooms. I wish there was more space between the camp sites, because we really had to keep our voices down at night, even though all we wanted to do was laugh and chat over the camp fire.
One thing that we did was harvest cattails from the wetlands, a short walk north of the campgrounds. Not sure if we are allowed to do this, but we did. Check out this website for some pointers on how to prepare them (http://www.wildmanstev...). I had never seen/eaten these before, but they were delicious, stirfried with pork we bought at the Inverness Store (http://www.yelp.com/bi...), and some seasonings! (Check out our cattail stirfry: http://www.yelp.com/bi...). Who would have known that we could harvest food for ourselves while camping!!! -
Review from M M.
San Francisco, CA
10/15/2008
Spent 2 nights in October here and we wanted a quiet site, so Ed gave us a campground in the 400 series. Definitely alot quieter in this area than in the other areas. (Maybe, it's busier in spring/summer and this series gets busy at those times) The only downfall is that the bathroom is quite far, especially if you go to the bathroom numerous times.
The bathroom closest to us...did have hot water, but this certain bathroom had REALLY bad plumbing. I think that the flush doesn't work well and you have to wait sometime and keep flushing it. In the AM, two out of three toilets were clogged.
Nice that there's an area to clean your dishes and that there's hot water. Be careful washing late at nite, there are racoons.
This campground does not accept credit cards, so you need to send a check prior to your arrival. I'm not really keen with writing checks anymore, so it took a while for me to mail the envelope & check.
It's not roughin' it really here, but definitely kid friendly. I don't have kids so heads up that there is a playground...get my drift? -
Review from Bridget S.
Richmond, CA
7/19/2010
It was gross, overcrowded, not at all like a resort (I really think they need to remove that word from their name), and I'm pretty sure the owners are making a killing. Not sure what the other reviewers are smoking, I could have just set up a tent in a strip mall parking lot and it would've been just about the same experience except that I wouldn't have been dying of smoke-inhalation.
The only puny bathroom is a trek from the tent-campsite we were in, and was disgusting: muddy floors, toilets that won't flush, over-crowded, showers with push-buttons for the water and no hooks or shelves for towels or toiletries. The other bathroom options were abused porta-potties that were cleaned once a week even on the busiest time of year - they were already sprayed with pee, full to the brim and had no seat covers just a few hours after being cleaned. No wifi - at least in the campsite we were in. Teensy tiny campsites marked by white spray-painted lines, one on top of the other - each overcrowded with too many people and big-ass trucks. Right next to the highway so you get the car-noise and all day Saturday and Sunday a bulldozer drove around near us making us feel like we were still in the city. Not peaceful, tranquil, relaxing and not fun in any way. I could go on and on about the cons, it was the worst camping trip I've ever had. -
Review from Kurt S.
El Cerrito, CA
8/17/2010
This place attracts the hard party crowd and management looks the other way.
Around 3 a.m. Sunday August 15 we were almost run over by a camper who had been partying hard here since the night before. He threatened his girlfriend with a gun, threw her in her car and raced it down the path of the densely packed tent section until he crashed into a truck, which blew his windshield out. He continued on his way out of the campground while assaulting his girlfriend before crashing again. Here's a link to a CBS report on the incident: http://cbs5.com/crime/...
Camp management was nowhere to be seen that night and early the next morning they had no interest in the incident until they realized the sheriff was investigating. Even then they did not attempt to figure out which campsite the driver had come from -- not until someone pointed out that the driver's camp mates were still in the campground at noon the next day did management decide it might be worth going over and talking to them.
This campground has a local reputation as a party place but management still markets themselves to families. Do not be fooled. Drunken car accidents may not happen every night, but loud yelling into the wee hours is a sure bet. There are not enough trees here to prevent a maniacal driver from taking out 5 or 6 tents in one skid. If you must go, park your car between your tent and the camp path for some protection.
Oh, and if you're curious about the drunk driving camper, here's a story about the person he killed with his car when he was 18:
http://www.sierrasun.c...
Happy camping! -
Review from Monica S.
Saratoga, CA
8/6/2010
I just tried to make a reservation during the Labor Day Weekend and had the most "rude" person on the other end of the phone. Because of the awful experience, I felt it was unconscionable to make a reservation with them and give them my business. Making it difficult for a person to make a reservation at a business sounds like a bad practice to me. I will gladly give my business elsewhere.
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Review from sheri n.
San Francisco, CA
2/3/2009
if you are looking for some down and dirty extreme camping, this is not your place. but if you want to sleep in the great outdoors and have the luxury of hot showers, bathrooms, and warm running water, then look no further...
we picked this campground because they were dog friendly, and close to our weekend destination: point reyes. the attendants were very kind to inform us about what neighbors were in our camp area, and when i requested for privacy, they placed us in a spot all to our own.
please do note that this location is right on highway 1, and you will frequently hear cars coming along. also beware of the large amount of raccoons on the premises. those pesky little rascals were all over the place creeping around in the evenings.
this is a small facility, and it definitely lives up to the rv resort in it's title. the place even had a laundromat and game room! -
Review from Ann T.
San Diego, CA
12/3/2008
SHOWERS and WARM WATER. There's even a playground for the kids. I wish we could of had a campfire but we got there to late and were exhausted. I hope to come back and do it again but with campfire and all. It's a little cooler up here and the drive is interesting since its a windy road coming down, but leaving it was SOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL lots of beautiful nature scenery :) Check this out too.
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Review from M and A W.
Hayward, CA
7/25/2010
This review reflects our tent camping experience...My partner and I are both avid outdoors folk and quite frankly this is the WORST campground for tents we've ever experienced. At 44 bucks a night peak season at a private campground, you'd think they'd try to make things a little better.
The NEGATIVES:
1. the price...44 bucks is about 10 bucks more than nicer state parks...like samuel b. taylor which is really close to olema.
2. The tent camp sites are a joke! they're not even camp SITES...just a field with very few trees which leaves NO privacy or solitude of any kind. If you're there when every site is booked...the place will look like a refugee camp or one of those camp-music festivals. Our campsite was literally (NO EXAGERRATION) 10 feet away from neighbors on both sides with no shrubs, or trees, or vegetation to act as privacy. We heard a group of campers talking late into the evening...and get this they were TWO campsites away...and by any other campgrounds standards they weren't even speaking loudly....its just that we were so damn close!
THE POSITIVES:
Really...the only thing good about this place was its proximity to Pt. Reyes National Seashore...and the wine Olema...definitely needed to deal with random people walking through your campsite likes its some major thoroughfare!
Parting words of wisdom...
If you enjoy solitude...the feel of camping and being isolated in nature...where when you look around your nearest neighbor is 50-60 feet away...this is NOT for you.
If you enjoy camping behind a catholic church's parking lot, people packed into a space which should realistically be holding half the amount of folks they say they accomodate...no trees or vegetation...then this place is for you.
we're definitely staying at samuel b. taylor state park next visit to pt. reyes...the only reason why we even tried the olema rv resort and campground was because the state-park was fully booked.
