Family-friendly
Recent Hipcampers say this Hipcamp is great for families and kids.
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Site 2 - Redwood Forest Tenting
91%
(44)4WD recommended
Toilet
Potable water
Pets allowed
from
for 3 guests$48
/ night
Instant book
Site 1 - Redwood Forest Tenting
99%
(42)4WD recommended
Toilet
Potable water
Pets allowed
from
for 3 guests$55
/ night
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Site 6 - Redwood Forest Tenting
88%
(30)4WD required
Toilet
Potable water
Pets allowed
from
for 3 guests$44
/ night
Site 7 - W Electric + lights
100%
(6)4WD required
Toilet
Potable water
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for 3 guests$63
/ nightfrom
$44
/ night4 sites
Reviews
94% Recommend133 ratings · 87 reviews
I love camping in the forest, it was absolutely beautiful. Only downside like everybody says is that it’s a little rough getting down to the campsites. Scott is an incredible host and was very helpful in directing us to the campsite as we arrived later and had trouble finding it. Make sure to have four wheel drive if you do not want to walk back and forth from your campsite to your car. It’s a bit of a walk especially with stuff. If you have four wheel drive though, it will be awesome.
N
Nikita C.
2 years on Hipcamp
Recommends
· February 2026
Super quiet and peaceful. Awesome spot. Compost toilet could use a solid deep cleaning however.
J
Jared J.
1 month on Hipcamp
The campsite seemed very nice! I planned a trip with my best friend to visit UC Santa Cruz, and we chose to stay overnight there at the campground. We arrived extremely late, which is not recommended by him, but we planned it at the very last minute, so we didn't read the full instructions. Likely a mistake on our part, but the link to the location of the sight took us to the wrong spot at first. However, after going further up the road, we found the driveway entrance. When we were lost, Scott was incredibly helpful and understanding. I recommend you stay there if you want to camp a bit in Santa Cruz. It's a bit expensive, but a good spot.
S
Samuel H.
2 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· February 2026
Tent camping here was a blast! Beautiful land surrounded by redwoods. Close enough to drive into town or head to the beach, but secluded enough to make you feel disconnected from “everyday life”
E
Eva S.
1 year on Hipcamp
Recommends
· November 2025
Tent · With kids ·
Site 1 - Redwood Forest Tenting
Rad spot in the redwoods. Next door access to great mountain bike trails. Really easy trip into town. Good parking and flat tent sites.
We’ll definitely be back
P
Paul S.
4 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· November 2025
Great spot. Definitely need a 4x4 to access but quite and beautiful
C
Christopher D.
3 reviews
Mixed feelings
· October 2025
Good location but expensive
Tent · Group trip ·
Site 2 - Redwood Forest Tenting
The location was great and the campsite was clean and well kept but way overpriced imo, especially given the lack of amenities. The extra guest fee was crazy. Listing says there’s a composting toilet but then we found out you’re not supposed to pee in it. As a group of women, that would’ve been nice to know. The spigot water also came out discolored so we didn’t end up using it.
L
Lauren F.
12 reviews
Recommends
· October 2025
Tent · With pets ·
Site 1 - Redwood Forest Tenting
It was a great location and close to Wilder trails.
P
Phillip S.
4 years on Hipcamp
Tent camping with our dog was great at this spot, we chose site 2 which was a little closer to Site one than we expected. We were lucky our neighbors were very quiet and kept a similar schedule to us.
Lyra W.
3 reviews
The site was incredibly beautiful and we had the entire place to ourselves. The bathroom is very primitive and the trail to the sites isn’t clearly marked but once you get there it’s lovely.
A
Amity H.
2 reviews
Recommends
· October 2025
I’ve already written a review about this spot but wanted to make sure I registered once again that it is great.
S
Sten S.
10 reviews
Exceptional. You’re in the middle of the forest, yet the campsites are well-defined. Beautiful area. And Scott was an excellent host!
S
Sten S.
10 reviews
Mixed feelings
· September 2025
Tent · With pets ·
Site 2 - Redwood Forest Tenting
Overall, this was a fine place to stay! Our only notes are that the first night there was a rave about 500 - 700 feet away in the woods that went until 3:30 am (not exactly the type of thing youre looking for when trying to unplug for the weekend) and you can hear the road. The campsite was clean and there was easy access to water and a composting toilet. We drove our sedan to save on gas, but wish we had driven our truck since you can only drive all the way up to your campsite if you have 4wd. Good place to go if youre in a pinch and need a campsite near the coast!
S
Susannah O.
6 months on Hipcamp
Not recommend
· September 2025
Beautiful but unorganized. 4WD only
Tent · With pets ·
Site 6 - Redwood Forest Tenting
This is a great spot if you have 4-wheel drive. I have RWD and spent much of the trip walking back and forth to my cooler which was too heavy for me to transport from my car to the campsite - getting to the campground on foot involves walking down a long, steep hill. I tried reaching out to the host 10 days before my trip to discuss this but I never received a response. Additionally, when I arrived the host was not there to offer assistance with my car issue or to help me find site #6 - I never actually found my campsite. There was a couple who lived in a tiny house who told me to just camp wherever I found a site since the sites don’t often sell out during the week. My second and final evening a new camper arrived who had booked the site I set up at. I offered to move to a different location but he was kind enough to let me stay there for the night until I left the next morning.
Overall takeaways - while this place was beautiful it was very unorganized and the host was nonexistent both virtually and in person once he got paid. It’s very close to the road and not suitable for people without 4WD. There is also not much to do there - I was hoping to have access to multiple trails for my dogs but there was only one “trail” which we completed in a mere 30 minutes. And note that other people live on the property year round, it is not exclusively a campground. Overall, this campsite and the management were a disappointment and I would strongly suggest looking into other options.
M
Megan D.
3 years on Hipcamp
Gorgeous property! The layout is well thought out so even with other campers close to us it felt secluded. Wonderful potable water straight from the mountain. Peaceful. Just 15 min from UCSC, 20ish from Santa Cruz. Highly recommend
Y
Ynana Rose Z.
3 reviews
Recommends
· September 2025
Tent · Group trip ·
Site 6 - Redwood Forest Tenting
Site 6 was nice and felt secluded from the other sites. The trees around the grove gave a sense of privacy and shade during the day. Having trash cans on the site made things easy.
David H.
3 reviews
Camping in this little slice of redwood paradise super close to Santa Cruz was a treat for our whole family. It was quiet, relatively private, and we loved being able to bring our dogs. We would definitely camp here again, thank you!
C
Celeste R.
6 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· August 2025
Great spot for a few nights of car camping. 4WD was very helpful to bring some of our items closer to the campsite. There was a bit of noise during the night (machinery?) but overall very peaceful and quiet spot. We had our privacy as we stayed during the week and the other sites were empty. Lots of beautiful hiking trails accessible by foot without driving. Composting toilet worked great. We kept our food stored in closed plastic bins around the picnic table and didn’t have issues with animals or critters. Would come back!
R
Ren B.
8 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· August 2025
Tent · Group trip ·
Site 2 - Redwood Forest Tenting
The area is pretty in a young redwood forest slope. The directions were great and when we messaged the host, he responded fairly quickly.
L
Lorelei V.
1 year on Hipcamp
Recommends
· August 2025
Tent · With kids ·
Site 2 - Redwood Forest Tenting
This was a beautiful patch of redwood forest with a nicely laid out campsite.
M
Mitch S.
8 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· August 2025
Tent · With pets ·
Site 1 - Redwood Forest Tenting
My partner and I absolutely loved our stay on Scott's land! The views from Site 1 were breathtaking - waking up surrounded by the trees was everything I needed. It is a perfect spot for a small family and anyone with a dog! Also, you are about 10 min from town, which made getting around a breeze! I highly recommend a getaway to this redwood paradise ☺️
S
Shannon H.
9 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· July 2025
Beautiful property, a short drive to Santa Cruz. Would absolutely stay here again!
Hannah B.
3 reviews
Recommends
· July 2025
Tent · With kids ·
Site 6 - Redwood Forest Tenting
I really loved the serenity of Scott’s property. The property was well maintained.
Definitely need 4WD to get to our spot, but wasn’t a problem! The weather was perfect, so no complaints there either. The little privacy fence for potty was nice.
The bathroom was up the hill, which wasn’t a problem, but definitely felt uncomfortable going really close to someone else’s site to use the restroom.
Not a problem for us, but there was some poison oak around the outskirts of the site and on the hill. We taught our kids what it looked like and to stay away from it.
Also, be weary of critters. Bought a new plastic tote from Target to put food in. Went to the beach and came back and something had eaten the plastic. Learned our lesson and threw it in the truck the next night. Nothing to do with the host, but just for future campers.
Overall, great trip, great location, great host. Scott was excellent with communication and the wifi was an added plus.
K
Kylie L.
2 reviews
Recommends
· July 2025
Tent · Group trip ·
Site 7 - W Electric + lights
Great spot to camp super close to santa cruz not too far of a drive from big sur. wonderful trees and easy to find with great instructions from host. Would definitely stay here again!
R
Rowan O.
2 years on Hipcamp
Recommends
· July 2025
Sick site, stayed here last year and again this year and love it. Pretty secluded so that’s a plus
O
Oliver Y.
1 year on Hipcamp
Our stay was great! Site 1 was perfect for what we needed. Nice open area for the kids to play and close to the water source and toilet. The road is pretty rough and steep getting to the site but our AWD Chevy express handled it fine, even saw someone in a Prius drive down, but I wouldn’t recommend that. Site two was closer than I was hoping, but still quiet and didn’t interact too much with the other guests. Hiking trails really close by, beautiful 2 mile hike with the family. Tons of shade in the site, but plenty of sun near by if you have a solar panel you might want to use. All in all this property was great and we would definitely recommend it as a place to stay. Scott is a great host and very friendly as well.
T
Tucker S.
5 years on Hipcamp
I stayed here with my 2 best friends sharing a tent with a 2 wheel drive car. The site was great, and parking was simple enough. I would definitely camp here again! I wish I didn’t forget our pillows though 😭😭
A
Antonina S.
9 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· July 2025
Tent · Group trip ·
Site 1 - Redwood Forest Tenting
This site is all about location! Great proximity to the Boardwalk and gorgeous beaches. Feels far away but is an easy trip from the East Bay. Keep in mind that it’s near the UC campus so there may be some parties in the woods during the night, but we thought that made for a fun atmosphere. Great fire pit, Adirondack chairs and a wagon to help walk items down from the parking spot if you don’t have 4-wheel drive. Would stay again!
Kristy Z.
3 reviews
We camped here over Fourth of July weekend and had a fantastic time! The site had everything we needed — the bathroom setup was clean and convenient, and we appreciated the chairs and fire setup that made evenings super enjoyable. The location is beautiful with great access to nearby hiking trails — perfect for spending long days outdoors. Definitely recommend having a reliable vehicle to get in and out of the site. It was such a fun experience to gather with a big group of friends for the holiday weekend. Would absolutely come back!
A
Alexandra G.
10 months on Hipcamp
Recommends
· June 2025
Tent · Group trip ·
Site 1 - Redwood Forest Tenting
Great site! A bit expensive to have extra people join
M
Max O.
1 year on Hipcamp
Location
Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United StatesTo respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking
Hosted by Scott E.
Joined in June 2021Response rate: 100%Response time: Within 4 hours
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