RV Parks In Gilroy, California

Gilroy mixes excellent county parks with private full-hookup options. For public camping, Mount Madonna County Park sits on a redwood ridge with water-and-electric RV sites and a free dump station, and Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park offers lakeside sites with water and electric and free hot showers, both reservable through Santa Clara County. For full hookups, Thousand Trails Morgan Hill just north is a full-hookup resort, and in-town RV parks near US-101 provide full hookups close to shopping. The county parks win on setting and value; the private parks win on hookups and big-rig access.

The private parks do; the county parks do not. Thousand Trails Morgan Hill and the in-town RV parks near US-101 offer full hookups with water, sewer and electric. The Santa Clara County parks, Mount Madonna and Coyote Lake, are partial hookup, providing water and electric at the RV sites plus a free dump station to use on your way out, but no sewer at the individual site. So if you need full sewer hookups or you are running a big rig, base at a private park near the freeway; if you want the redwood or lakeside setting and a lower price, the county parks are the way to go.

The Santa Clara County parks are the value play, running roughly in the mid 30s per night for a water-and-electric RV site at Mount Madonna or Coyote Lake, plus a small county reservation fee. The private full-hookup parks cost more, generally in the 50s to 70s near US-101, with Thousand Trails Morgan Hill built around a membership but open to nightly guests. Weekly and monthly rates lower the cost at the private parks for longer stays. Compared with camping on the Monterey Peninsula, basing in Gilroy and day-tripping to the coast can save a real amount over a week.

For summer weekends at the Santa Clara County parks, book early, because Mount Madonna and Coyote Lake are popular with Bay Area campers and the good sites fill quickly once the warm weather arrives. Holiday weekends go first of all. Midweek and in the shoulder seasons you have a much better shot at a county site with less lead time, and some sites release as first-come. The private full-hookup parks near US-101 are generally easier to book and stay open year-round, so they are your fallback when the county parks are full for a peak summer weekend.

Spring and fall are arguably the best, with green hills and wildflowers in spring and warm harvest weather and wineries in fall, both less crowded than peak summer. Summer is warm and dry inland and very popular, so the county parks book early, but the coast an hour west makes a cool escape any time. Winter is mild and green but it is the rainy season, with quieter campgrounds and the private parks staying open year-round. For comfortable weather and easier reservations, target the spring and fall shoulder seasons in this part of California.

Yes, but choose the right park. The private full-hookup parks near US-101, including Thousand Trails Morgan Hill, are built for big rigs and easy to reach off the freeway, so that is where a 40-foot coach belongs. The Santa Clara County parks are more limited: Mount Madonna caps RV sites around 31 feet, and the Hecker Pass road up to it is narrow, winding and steep, not a place for a large motorhome. Coyote Lake has its own size considerations too. Bring the big rig to the private parks and use a tow vehicle to visit the county parks and the coast.

Options are limited but they exist. Some Santa Clara County park sites release as first-come midweek, so a weekday arrival at Mount Madonna or Coyote Lake can sometimes land a site without a reservation. To the east, Henry W. Coe State Park, California largest state park in the area, has primitive and more rugged camping for the self-sufficient, better suited to smaller rigs and adventurous setups. True free dispersed camping is scarce in this developed part of the state, so for most RVers the practical budget option is a water-and-electric county park site rather than boondocking.

Plenty for a multi-day stay. Gilroy Gardens is a horticultural family theme park right in town with gentle rides for younger kids. Mount Madonna County Park has redwood hiking, a herd of rare white fallow deer and views toward Monterey Bay, while Coyote Lake offers boating and fishing in the eastern hills. The Hecker Pass corridor has a cluster of wineries. Best of all, Gilroy is about an hour from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk and the coast, so you can camp inland for less and day-trip to the famous attractions.

Yes, and a lot of RVers do exactly that. Gilroy sits about an hour from both Monterey and Santa Cruz, close enough for easy day trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the beaches, but far enough inland that camping costs a fraction of what you pay on the peninsula. The smart move is to set up the rig at a Gilroy-area park and take the tow vehicle or car to the coast rather than dragging the whole rig over Hecker Pass. It is one of the best value strategies for visiting the Monterey Bay area by RV.

Hecker Pass, the SR-152 route west from Gilroy toward Watsonville and the coast, is scenic but challenging for RVs: it is narrow, winding and steep in stretches, with tight curves that are no fun in a large motorhome or with a big trailer. Smaller rigs, vans and tow vehicles handle it fine, and it is the direct way to Mount Madonna County Park up on the ridge. For a big rig headed to the coast, you are better off taking US-101 and a gentler route, or leaving the coach in Gilroy and driving the car over the pass instead. Know your rig before you commit to it.

Yes. The private full-hookup parks near US-101, including Thousand Trails Morgan Hill, stay open year-round, and the Santa Clara County parks generally operate through the winter as well, just with quieter, often wet conditions. Winters here are mild compared with most of the country, with green hills and daytime temperatures usually in the comfortable range, but it is the rainy season, so expect showers and the occasional muddy site. Camping is very doable in winter, especially at a full-hookup private park, and you trade summer crowds for solitude and the greenest landscape of the year.

San Jose is about 30 miles north up US-101, the nearest major city and home to San Jose Mineta International Airport, which makes Gilroy convenient if you are flying in to pick up or meet an RV. San Jose and the rest of Silicon Valley cover any shopping, groceries, and RV parts and service you might need. Gilroy itself has solid services, grocery stores and fuel right off the freeway. For the coast, Monterey is about an hour west. The combination of easy freeway access and proximity to a major airport is part of what makes Gilroy a practical RV base.

Gilroy mixes excellent county parks with private full-hookup options. For public camping, Mount Madonna County Park sits on a redwood ridge with water-and-electric RV sites and a free dump station, and Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park offers lakeside sites with water and electric and free hot showers, both reservable through Santa Clara County. For full hookups, Thousand Trails Morgan Hill just north is a full-hookup resort, and in-town RV parks near US-101 provide full hookups close to shopping. The county parks win on setting and value; the private parks win on hookups and big-rig access.

The private parks do; the county parks do not. Thousand Trails Morgan Hill and the in-town RV parks near US-101 offer full hookups with water, sewer and electric. The Santa Clara County parks, Mount Madonna and Coyote Lake, are partial hookup, providing water and electric at the RV sites plus a free dump station to use on your way out, but no sewer at the individual site. So if you need full sewer hookups or you are running a big rig, base at a private park near the freeway; if you want the redwood or lakeside setting and a lower price, the county parks are the way to go.

The Santa Clara County parks are the value play, running roughly in the mid 30s per night for a water-and-electric RV site at Mount Madonna or Coyote Lake, plus a small county reservation fee. The private full-hookup parks cost more, generally in the 50s to 70s near US-101, with Thousand Trails Morgan Hill built around a membership but open to nightly guests. Weekly and monthly rates lower the cost at the private parks for longer stays. Compared with camping on the Monterey Peninsula, basing in Gilroy and day-tripping to the coast can save a real amount over a week.

For summer weekends at the Santa Clara County parks, book early, because Mount Madonna and Coyote Lake are popular with Bay Area campers and the good sites fill quickly once the warm weather arrives. Holiday weekends go first of all. Midweek and in the shoulder seasons you have a much better shot at a county site with less lead time, and some sites release as first-come. The private full-hookup parks near US-101 are generally easier to book and stay open year-round, so they are your fallback when the county parks are full for a peak summer weekend.

Spring and fall are arguably the best, with green hills and wildflowers in spring and warm harvest weather and wineries in fall, both less crowded than peak summer. Summer is warm and dry inland and very popular, so the county parks book early, but the coast an hour west makes a cool escape any time. Winter is mild and green but it is the rainy season, with quieter campgrounds and the private parks staying open year-round. For comfortable weather and easier reservations, target the spring and fall shoulder seasons in this part of California.

Yes, but choose the right park. The private full-hookup parks near US-101, including Thousand Trails Morgan Hill, are built for big rigs and easy to reach off the freeway, so that is where a 40-foot coach belongs. The Santa Clara County parks are more limited: Mount Madonna caps RV sites around 31 feet, and the Hecker Pass road up to it is narrow, winding and steep, not a place for a large motorhome. Coyote Lake has its own size considerations too. Bring the big rig to the private parks and use a tow vehicle to visit the county parks and the coast.

Options are limited but they exist. Some Santa Clara County park sites release as first-come midweek, so a weekday arrival at Mount Madonna or Coyote Lake can sometimes land a site without a reservation. To the east, Henry W. Coe State Park, California largest state park in the area, has primitive and more rugged camping for the self-sufficient, better suited to smaller rigs and adventurous setups. True free dispersed camping is scarce in this developed part of the state, so for most RVers the practical budget option is a water-and-electric county park site rather than boondocking.

Plenty for a multi-day stay. Gilroy Gardens is a horticultural family theme park right in town with gentle rides for younger kids. Mount Madonna County Park has redwood hiking, a herd of rare white fallow deer and views toward Monterey Bay, while Coyote Lake offers boating and fishing in the eastern hills. The Hecker Pass corridor has a cluster of wineries. Best of all, Gilroy is about an hour from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk and the coast, so you can camp inland for less and day-trip to the famous attractions.

Yes, and a lot of RVers do exactly that. Gilroy sits about an hour from both Monterey and Santa Cruz, close enough for easy day trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the beaches, but far enough inland that camping costs a fraction of what you pay on the peninsula. The smart move is to set up the rig at a Gilroy-area park and take the tow vehicle or car to the coast rather than dragging the whole rig over Hecker Pass. It is one of the best value strategies for visiting the Monterey Bay area by RV.

Hecker Pass, the SR-152 route west from Gilroy toward Watsonville and the coast, is scenic but challenging for RVs: it is narrow, winding and steep in stretches, with tight curves that are no fun in a large motorhome or with a big trailer. Smaller rigs, vans and tow vehicles handle it fine, and it is the direct way to Mount Madonna County Park up on the ridge. For a big rig headed to the coast, you are better off taking US-101 and a gentler route, or leaving the coach in Gilroy and driving the car over the pass instead. Know your rig before you commit to it.

Yes. The private full-hookup parks near US-101, including Thousand Trails Morgan Hill, stay open year-round, and the Santa Clara County parks generally operate through the winter as well, just with quieter, often wet conditions. Winters here are mild compared with most of the country, with green hills and daytime temperatures usually in the comfortable range, but it is the rainy season, so expect showers and the occasional muddy site. Camping is very doable in winter, especially at a full-hookup private park, and you trade summer crowds for solitude and the greenest landscape of the year.

San Jose is about 30 miles north up US-101, the nearest major city and home to San Jose Mineta International Airport, which makes Gilroy convenient if you are flying in to pick up or meet an RV. San Jose and the rest of Silicon Valley cover any shopping, groceries, and RV parts and service you might need. Gilroy itself has solid services, grocery stores and fuel right off the freeway. For the coast, Monterey is about an hour west. The combination of easy freeway access and proximity to a major airport is part of what makes Gilroy a practical RV base.

The highest-rated station is The Garlic Farm RV Park with a rating of 3.7/5 stars.

Yes — there are free RV waste disposal options available near Gilroy.