Johnson’s Beach & Resort

This is such a throw back to another time. I recommend simply jumping in the car and heading up. You can rent beach chairs, umbrellas, and inner tubes! You are also welcome to bring your own stuff. The beach is very rocky, so if you don’t do the whole beach chair thing, be sure your towel is very thick! We rented inner tubes and floated around to my hearts desire.
Food is available for purchase. We opted to bring our own picnic, but had to some of their giant soft serve ice cream cones. What’s a summer day without a vanilla cone?

When in season, Johnson’s Beach is one of the most fun ways to burn a few hours in Guerneville. Cheap inner tube and paddle boats rentals are located right on the shore, the river is often cool and serves as nice respite from the heat, and the people watching is on point (especially if you find yourself there during Lazy Bear weekend). There’s no outside booze allowed that I know of, but hey — get crafty. Or just buy a $ 3 Bud Light from the snack shack located just a stones throw away.

I was here for the Jazz & Blues Festival. We stayed in one of the cabins which made the weekend so easy! The lady in the office was great and the maintenance guy was also great.
We plan to go back for next years festival.

My family has been going here for years.
Wonderful staff, cheap good food, (so I don’t have to pack a picnic), umbrellas and fun water sports. Love this place. A family tradition.

Owners and staff are beyond rude and unprofessional. You can’t make any noise so don’t bring kids or music! Over priced for what you get. Not a real campground there’s a bar that you can hear all night right across the street, yet they shush you even during the day when it’s not quiet hours. Used to be my favorite camping site but new owners have made it very unpleasant. Never going back.

We had a horrible time. We were harassed constantly about playing music, too many cars and being too noisy and it wasn’t even 9pm. We payed way too much money for the accommodations. You have to pay for hot water with quarters in the bathroom. And God forbid you don’t have a bathroom key to use the restrooms. Never going to this place again

Stop your griping! Sure Johnson’s Beach has new owners and charge a bit more for food and parking-​JB is a great destination for a family day trip and all you have to do is pack a thick blanket (for the rocky beach) and beach chairs! Umbrellas, food and drink are all available. If you don’t like the $ 5 parking, park on the street less than 100 yards away. If you don’t want to pay $ 5 for a cheeseburger bring your own grub! If you want a beer bring $ 5-it’s that simple.
I arrived 11:30 am SAT of Labor Day Weekend 2015. $ 19 got me two float tubes, an umbrella and a Big Daddy IPA! Even better — a dude pounding a stake into the ground to hold the umbrella. Really people this place is turn key. And don’t bring an easy-​up shade they’re just 100 sq inch sails when the wind gusts. I saw 4 hit the river during my stay.
I floated a while, drank a bit more and later enjoyed a cheeseburger and chips with the kiddos. A rootbeer float and swirly cone later and I was off to nap time. It was pure glutony. I later awoke and splashed around in the water some more since I felt so guilty.
Beach is basically drain rock so bring river sandals and a thick moving blanket from Harbor Freight (cheap) to lie on. Low beach chairs are good too. Sunscreen and a boonie hat to protect oneself is a must. Paddle boat, kayak, tube and canoe rentals are available.
My main complaint, especially being the parent of an 11yo girl-​the bathrooms were old school and dark. The men’s urinal was a trough. I’d say put the renovation capital expense toward the bathrooms and you have a 5 star day trip destination.

We love Johnson’s beach! When we first moved to CA from MI we rented a place in Rio Nido, so I have a soft spot for Johnson’s and even though there’s nicer, sandy beaches I will drive the fam all the way out from Santa Rosa to go to Johnson’s.
In the summer season, they Dam the river and rope off a kiddie pool area. You can rent kayaks, paddle boats, umbrellas for cheap. They serve good hotdogs and hamburgers like surprisingly good for a concession stand. They also have ice cream and beer and play music. Can’t go wrong with that.

Family really enjoyed our day here! 12 $ kayaks both single and double, foot paddle boards, canoes. Or ranging around 40 $ for the day. They sell beer! Shock top, Big Daddy IPA, and Bud Lt. Cute little snack shack and every one of the staff members we encountered was friendly and happy to help. We took the kayaks out on to the water down past some gorgeous river houses and just enjoyed the water, trees, scenery. Kids loved it! All in all I’d definitely come down here again. Everything was pretty reasonably priced. Good for groups.

Wow what happened?
My «entire» family has been going to Johnson’s Lodge for over 50 years and we were all disappointed with the changes made by the new owners. This used to be a family place where everyone could have fun. But between the price gouging of the camping areas, cabins and snack stand on the beach I don’t see many families returning. They also reduced the size of most of the camp sites making it difficult to fit a trailer and car into the same spot and asking some to move their cars to town. As my sister said «The new owners vision for the resort doesn’t seem like it’s going to be family friendly». You guys also need to bring back weekly rentals with a price break for doing so. The new price of $ 150 per night is crazy for the cabins. You’re not the Hilton

The new staff has got to get their act together and be on the same page.
They were rude and not willing to help when it came to simple things like exchanging the towels form the cabins. And what’s up with the parking? I swear I saw them lurking around checking cars. We called them the parking police. Requiring people to park under the cabins just doesn’t work all the time. Some of us need to swing our door all the way open to get in and out. And if you had two cars you we were told we needed to park the second car in town (wtf). Also having any guest park in town is just plain stupid. The center strip should be reserved for guest and guest of guest parking.
The beach has become crazy without Clare on the loud speaker keeping the boaters and the people on the beach under control. The prices at the snack stand, boat rentals and even the umbrella rental have soared out of control. I understand the need to make a profit but this is sticker shock to a lot of people with and without families. Don’t be surprised if people don’t come back.

This place is great! It is close to the SF Bay Area, so it is easy to get to, and once you arrive, everything is near by. We were there for July 4 weekend and we had a blast. The place is under new ownership, which is great because now you can make reservations for your visit. The cabins are nice, but not worth the increased rates, and camping is fun. The only advice I can offer the new owners is that they need more garbage cans and (clearly marked) recycle bins throughout the camp ground and also on the beach. While camping, it was tought to have to walk our garbage so far. This past weekend, they could have made a small fortune on recycling cans alone! I am looking forward to our next visit!

I loved every bit of it, and there seemed to be something for everyone. From the cabins we stayed in, to the camping and RV spots. Super charming and perfectly located close to everything. I got to meet the owners, who made me feel as if I had been coming for years, even though it was my first time. Selfishly, I almost didn’t write this review because I wasn’t sure I wanted to share this little gem… Nonetheless, word is out, its awesome!
Sadly I do not remember the names of the owners and staff that assisted us, or I would address you directly. However, if you happen to read this, THANK YOU !!! Good times.

Under new ownership and they now charge for parking and limit access to the beach in the month of May.
«New owners Nick Moore and Dan Poirier, a San Francisco couple, said that aside from a few cosmetic upgrades and 21^st-​century touches, they mostly intend to keep the place just as it has been.»
I guess charging for parking and limiting access the the beach in the month of May is a 21^st-​century touch.

Awesome place to be if you love going to Rivers and lakes. My kids loves to hang out and play all day at the river. The water is clear and clean. The scenery is cool, surrounded by nature. Located in a secluded town. The river is close to Safeway, which is a plus!

What an amazing place! The new owners Nick and Dan are fabulous and helped accommodate our large group for a wonderful birthday weekend. We rented out all of the cabins and some of the camp grounds. All the cabins are simple and rustic, but well maintained and comfortable. The rest of the staff were all friendly. The location is also hard to beat! Location is top-​notch and just steps to everything in town. Our friends were definitely impressed and we definitely want to return for our Summer Camp 2.0!

Johnsons Beach has lost its magic. A change of hands is sadly apparent. I’ve been coming here for 50 years and today I was gravely disappointed with the lack of friendly warm happy staff. I miss the old timers who made everyone feel special, like family.

Love this place. Very friendly staff and beautiful grounds. Amazing location and beach. Very close to restaurants and bars. Would come back again.

We decided to stay in the cabins for a little «staycation». Cabins were nice, very basic with a little kitchenette. Had a queen bed, its own bathroom and cable tv. Location was great, right by restaurants, bars and grocery store. They only thing I would change are the rates, they were a little high with a two night minimum. I would definitely come back a lot more often if they were a tad bit more affordable. For now once a year will have to do!

This place is great! If you are looking for a centrally located, lower cost option for Guerneville, this is it! The beach access is unbeatable and while the campgrounds are small, how often are you there during the day? Highly recommended!

Went camping there for memorial day weekend and under new ownership. Everything has a fresh new coat of paint grounds are well kept. There have been a few changes that were brought to my attention while enjoying my day on the beach from surrounding patrons. All the prices have gone up and people complained about the price for the umbrellas, people were complaining about the price of the beer, people were complaining about the price of the ice cream, blah blah blah. No no one was complaining about the service, accommodations nor the friendly hospitality. So there it is. The same great Johnson’s beach with a little bit more of a price increase that local patrons don’t seem to appreciate.