Willow Creek Environmental Camp

Beautiful campground! Arrived Thursday night and had plenty of sites to choose from. The place filled up by Friday night but a few sites opened up on Saturday. The sites all have ample space and are spread apart. I hate pit toilets, but the ones here were surprisingly clean. There are trash and recycling bins adjacent to the toilets so you don’t have to bring your trash home like at some environmental camps. We stayed at #8 which was secluded and had a path to the river. We ended up renting a kayak in Jenner and were able to paddle right up to the back of our site and dock (I did end up falling into some green slime so not super easy to do). There are some bugs but not terrible and its California so of course there is poison oak. If you are a light sleeper, bring some ear plugs because there are many owls, bull frogs, and coyotes singing their tunes in the night. We absolutely loved our stay and will be back soon.

This place is great. Super quiet and not terribly well known, so if you get there early enough, you have a good shot at snagging a nice spot. I stayed in site 8 and was amazed at the size. Our group’s two tents were further apart than if in two separate sites in other campgrounds, and we had private access to the river to boot. There is a walk in, but it’s flat and completely undemanding unless your idea of camping requires a waterbed, space heater, flat screen, and mini fridge. I felt spoiled that I was so easily enabled to drag in luxuries like a propane lantern and cooler full of beer and steaks in a little wagon. All in all, I’d say this place lets you enjoy all the no brainier comforts of car camping without all the car campground crowds.

If you can manage to get away from work a day early you can secure a peaceful, sunny campsite right on the Russian River without needing reservations. We stayed here over the past weekend and it was warm, relaxing and pretty private. The site was idyllic and there are lots of things to do in the area though none are within reasonable walking distance. You can drive to the beaches on the Pacific, hike in the redwoods off Pomo Canyon, go wine tasting along the Russian River, or visit cute towns like Occidental.
SITES
There are 11 non-​reservable campsites at Willow Creek and they’re all along the gravel road. You can’t tell really which ones have been taken other than walking down and looking. Most of the sites are close to the gravel road (closed to vehicles) but a few are down in the woods. Sites #8, 9 and 11 have direct access to the river.
The sites range from minutes from the parking lot to over ¼ mile. It’s best to backpack it in if you can or bring a cart/​dolly to help haul the firewood and water. Just resign yourself to making several trips. It’s not strenuous to walk, just further than you might be used to if all you do is car camp. It’s further than most other hike-​in sites that I’ve stayed at.
Site #9 is the best IMHO and I scoped them all when I arrived at 8:30am on Friday. It’s tucked away in the woods and you can’t really see the other sites or hear them. But it’s also open to the river so you can get a great view. There’s enough room for 4 tents packed together on the site and another one down below right next to the river. Though sites #8 and 11 also have river access the sites were smaller, more shaded and the river path was just a short trail through the weeds.
The sites with the river access are the most popular and go fast. After I arrived at 8:30am the other site #11 was taken by 10am. The sites just off the gravel road are the last to go. Site #10 which is right next to the road and the furthest away from the parking lot stayed empty the entire weekend.
The rangers don’t actually check the sites. So even though it says only 8 people per site you could probably fit more if it’s physically possible. We had 9 people in 5 tents at site #9. It was a bit of a squeeze for the tents but fine otherwise.
I don’t think there are any racoons here. There’s a food box but we didn’t have any problems or see anything — the garbage containers next to the pit toilets don’t even have special covers. Just lots of birds and frogs. Coolers were fine.
No mosquitos.
PAYMENT
Once you pick out your site you’ll need to fill out the self-​registration envelope in the parking lot and leave your money and info in the green pillar with the slot in the top. It’s $ 25/​night for a site which includes 1 vehicle. $ 8/​night for each extra vehicle. The rangers only come around once a day in the afternoon to get the envelopes and possibly check that each vehicle has a receipt (??).
LOCATION
It’s not where it displays on the Unilocal map. Nor is it where Google Maps displays when you search «Willow Creek Environmental Campground». It’s here —
.
There’s no signage for Willow Creek Rd on Highway 1. Look for the Sizzlin’ Tandoor restaurant on the south side of the Russian River. Once on Willow Creek Rd go until you cross a creek (Willow Creek) then turn left next to a house. There should a sign there that points you to the campground. It’s just ½ mile down a dirt road.

My friends and I were originally going to go to Pomo Canyon, until we realized they were closed, due to construction. Then we happened to come upon Willow Creek. We left on a Friday morning, around 10ish, and the drive, from the East Bay, to this place was about two hours. Getting there was a bit hard. There was no sign to tell you where it was. So we missed our entrance by a little bit. It’s before driving over the bridge and a restaurant, and you would have to make a right turn. Then you drive along a one way road for another 5 – 10 minutes and you will see a sign, directing you to the campgrounds.
After arriving there, since this was our first time at Willow Creek, we had no idea where to pay/​sign in, since it is a self-​registration. We talked with a couple that stayed the night before and he was very helpful. There’s a sign near the tree where you would have to take a slip, fill out that form, place the money inside and place it in a compartment where the ranger will then check it. It’s $ 25/​night and $ 8/​vehicle. There are 11 campsites to choose from. Each, which are roughly a couple of feet from each other. Some are out near the walk-​way, while a few others are in an enclosed area. The 11^th campsite is about a mile from the parking area. We ended up with campsite 10, and it was such a hassle carrying all of our things over. We made about 4 trips, each, since we were staying for 3 days and 2 nights. We got all settled in, and explored the area. Each campsite has their own picnic table and a fire pit. There are only two pit toilets, which were less than 3 minutes walk from each other. Trees were every where, of course, and is close to a tree of mountains. You can find all kinds of creatures living there. Insects, amphibians, reptiles, deers, cows, coyotes, etc. It didn’t seem like there were rangers there, so it felt as if you camped out with no authorities there. We chatted with a few other campers there, and they were really cool. Gave us some helpful information about things, on account of being first-​time campers.
Overall, this is a pretty decent place for a last minute camping trip. I’m not sure if I will come back though.

We just got back from this place. It sucks. The area is beautiful but the camp sites are very far from where you have to park. Take a wheel-​barrel or dolly TRUST ME! The sun did not come out at all. Never again!

The location is wonderful: 5 – 10 minutes from great beaches, 30 min from vineyards, 10 from Duncan mills and its tweet, jolly, shops. There are 11 camp sites, and many of them are nicely secluded. They have picnic tables and a grill pit. I recommend getting there at 10 when people begin to check out. The cost is $ 15 plus $ 7 for any extra cars.