Smithwoods R V Park

We have visited on two occasions and we are already reserved for the next. Each time we have gone, the people running it (mostly family if not all family) has been so nice and absolutely accommodating. We love this place. The planned activities are great! It’s great for families. Can’t wait for our next visit!

We stayed here while waiting for our place to become available. Our original time was to stay until sep 3^rd, but they changed it last minute because they profiled us as jobless, young adults with duck tape on our camper… before they even met us. Which we both have jobs and no duck tape on our rig. They put us in a horrible spot in direct sun light. The bathrooms were dirty and toilets were gross. Instead of fire pits they used old washer drums with welded on pipes for legs. Im glad we don’t have to stay here ever again. I would recommend finding a different place to stay.

The staff is really nice, the location is great and the amenities are perfect. But our site was so small we couldn’t even extend our awning! For $ 75 a night (which includes added on fees for my tiny dog and extra people) I don’t want to have to set my camp chairs in the road because there is literally no room for them next to the rig.
Five stars for the coffee bar staffed with super friendly people, great coffee and delicious donuts. One star for not being able to actually enjoy my campsite.

What a great camping experience. The owners /​staff went out of their way to take care of all our needs. We had stayed at Smithwoods years ago. Still the same owners now. Our son who lives close and daughter in law were going to have a baby. We scheduled time at Smithwoods to be present for the birth and to help the kids around the house. Well Lily had other ideas about when she was going to great the world. I went to the office to see if I could extend my stay but with the upcoming holiday the park was 100% booked. One of the owners said if I didn’t mind not having a great view that he would make a campsite for us. Out came the tractor, crushed rock and decomposed granite. It wasn’t long before we had a newly made camping site to move into. I do not know of any other campground that would go to the effort to meet a customers needs. Because of all their hard work our stay was extended and we got to welcome our new granddaughter into this world.

Would have liked to stay, but — No Tents are allowed

How this place can have 4 ½ stars is beyond me. Granted, the location is beautiful among the redwoods, the San Lorenzo River flows right by the camp, there are very nice hiking trails all around, and the swimming pool is heated. But holy crap, this place is so run down and dilapidated, it’s amazing that they can stay in business. There are two shower stalls each for men and women for the entire campsite and four toilet stalls. One of the toilet was covered with feces and hadn’t been cleaned for at least two days and who knows knows for how long after we left. The paper towel dispenser had not been replenished in one of the bathrooms. If you want peace and quiet, this is not the place to go, at least not when kids are off school, but that’s probably the case for every RV park.

This is the best RV camp ever. It is family owned and they go all out to cater to families. We are grandparents that love to bring our grandkids. They have special event days all year long. All are fun for kids and adults of all ages. Friendly Staff, beautiful park, trails to hike, all the best sites in Santa Cruz within 15 minutes. We love coming here.

Called two months ahead of time and made a reservation with a very nice woman. That is where the nice ended. We arrived and they had changed our site without warning. We had requested a specific site because it was roomy and sunny, we were given a site that was cramped and all in a burnt out tree, absolutely NO sun, ever. The few cable channels we received were fuzzy and impossible to watch. Wifi? Not in our site, ever. Staff was snarky and unhelpful after I made it known I was unhappy and asked why we hadn’t received the free night we were promised.
Will we go back? NEVER!

I arranged for my daughter and her friend to stay here for a night in our camper so they could spend two days at the beach. The girls are just 18, so I was a little nervous about this «adventure.» The staff was wonderful on the phone, providing me with information about the campsite and then greeting the girls upon their arrival. The girls were shown to their campsite, and later, when they came back from dinner, the hosts let them know they were there if the girls needed anything. The girls loved the location, the redwoods, and park. They said the bathrooms were great (the camper doesn’t have one). They (and we) will definitely stay here (again).

My wife and I just stayed here two nights and had a nice time! It is your typical rv campground, with the basic amenities. We used our own shower and toilet, and didn’t go into the restrooms. The location is nice, with many shady spots, bit they are not very large and fairly close to each other. It would be a bit intrusive if it had been busy, but we had a large area, the point to ourselves. It was a nice peaceful time and we did not hear any noise from the highway and will likely come back again!

Great place! Love camping here and the kids have a blast. Already looking forward to our next trip!

My wife and I were very happy with our visit. The staff members were nice and someone even lead us to our campsite and gave us wood blocks to help level our camper. We only saw a few people the entire stay and there were no noise issues. We liked the woodsy feeling. The bathrooms were clean and the wifi worked good enough to do what we needed to do. The cable TV had at least 60 channels which was also a plus. The AAA discount was also nice. Will definitely return!

Clean, quiet RV Campground under the redwoods. The staff is always very friendly and accomodating!

Lots of dirt, no grass anywhere, tons of kids and noise. No restrictions on quiet time. Never going back. Dogs were filthy.

My family and I have been camping here multiple times a year for the past 5 or so years. Now that I added an addition to my family (now I have 5 kids me and my wife that makes 7) we are no longer welcome there cause we are over the 6 person limit per site. They say the limit is a county rule but I find that hard to believe cause all the places around them allow up to 8. Wish they could be more accommodating and take care of there repeat customers. Me nor my family will be returning to there park in the future. Will now be staying next door. We took up about 10 sights a year.

My family and I just completed a weekend of camping at Smithwoods RV. We are already planning a return trip. I highly recommend this place. It was only a 50 minute drive from south Sam Jose.
We were running late on the day of check in. We received a courtesy call from the staff to get our status. When we arrived we were greeted by two wonderful ladies at the office. They checked us in effortlessly and were very helpful with guiding us on activities for the area. We were lead to our site by Randy. He was very helpful in backing me into the site #76. He returned later to make sure we settled in fine.
There were lots to do here. My 3 and 5 year old boys never had a dull moment. They rode bicycles, went swimming in the pool, played in the playground and field. We also hiked into Henry Cowell State park. It is a very short walk to the entrance. We walked down to the river by the trestle. It’s a beautiful area.
The campground was full of RVs but it didn’t feel crowded. It is very clean and quiet. Being it was Memorial Day weekend, Smithwoods hosted a BBQ for everyone. A band played and raffles were given away. At the end of the night they played «America» and taps over the loudspeaker. Very patriotic.
We will be returning by the end of summer.

Stayed there for three nights this last weekend and it was beautiful. Many of the sites were close together but we stayed in Site N (the point) and it was (in our opinion) the best! Our door opened to a great group of redwoods! If you need 3 sites for a group I would recommend K site and those next to it … Very private overlooking the river (no river access from the sites though).
The park has full hookups, is pet-​friendly, has a pool and playground and basketball court. Also a billiards room with two (excellent condition) pool tables. The owners are helpful and very friendly. We stayed in a trailer so didn’t use the showers or restrooms but did look at them and they appeared to be very clean. The pool was clean and a perfect temp. Only downside was the lounges need to be updated there were only three in good condition.
Cute little local pub a mile up the road called Monty’s which was a ton of fun with lots of local flavor.
Call for directions and take them ;)… the 17 not the 9, much easier driving route.
We would definitely stay here again.

Just finished our maiden voyage in our new tiny RV today. My kids had a blast. This RV park is loaded with amernities. There are full hook up’s, cable, wi fi, etc. I can’t understand why people would say the bathrooms are not clean. They smelled like perfume, kind of, and had not a bit of dirt on the ground. The showers were hot and free. The other thing to remember is this is an RV only campground, so there were some BIGGGG rigs in the park, and I think most people shower and pee in their own rv’s, so the bathrooms were empty.
There are great community gatherings, like a free pancake breakfast on the Saturday morning of Presidents’ Day weekend. We got there a bit late, and they turned the grill back on for us! These are good people.
When it comes to spots, we had a smaller spot (we got the last spot in the park) but I have no complaints. Every spot has a picnic table and a fire ring, and a decent amount of space. I don’t believe there are any «bad» spots. The redwoods are quiet and majestic. People are out having fun, everyone says hello and starts a conversation with you. It’s great.
We’ll be back soon!

Smithwoods is a great RV Park. Our site was 117 and we were there this past weekend. We leave fairly close by and wanted to give it a try! Check in is a breeze, and a nice host takes you to your site and guides you into the spot. We were in 117 which is a GREAT spot with the river behind (not accessible from campsite) and Redwood trees all around. The sites have full hookups. The little check in office has some supplies if you need them. Not a big store, but there is a Ace Hardware and KMart nearby. The campground is quiet and really nice. It has a pool (opens April 15^th) and other fun things to do.
Four stars because I can see that if the campground was full, the sites would be really close together… which could make people shy away…

We recently went on our first RV adventure. We ended up in this very pretty spot nestled among the redwood trees. I wish we had more time to explore the area & the trails nearby. The staff was very helpful as we had no clue how to hook up & dump. Great place!
For first timers dont take the narrow hwy 9 (scary) from downtown Santa Cruz to this spot. Call first & they will tell you the best route to get there.
Enjoy!